[1]“I’ve always voted Conservative, because they’ve always been pro-military,” Cpl. Brett Irwin says. But in this election, he may change his vote. Photo courtesy of Mike Mason Photography.
By Devin Roherty [2]
BELLEVILLE – The Conservative government’s budgets cuts to Veterans Affairs Canada [3]and to the military could be a deciding factor on how one Afghanistan veteran will vote.
“I’ve always voted Conservative,” said Cpl. Brett Irwin, “because they’ve always been pro-military.” But the government’s budget cuts to the military and Veterans Affairs show how the Conservatives have changed, he said.
The Conservative government has laid off 900 Veterans Affairs employees and shut down nine of its offices across the country.
Irwin, who lives in the Toronto area, served with the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment in Kandahar from April to November 2010. He openly admits he faced a number of issues trying to reintegrate himself into society.
“When I first got back … I started noticing I was having a bit of trouble with just coping, and they have a 24-hour service with a military (chaplain) – you can speak to them,” Irwin said.
It was after he left the military altogether that the network of support he had once had disappeared, he said.
He felt there was no safety net, he said: “You’re on your own. The onus is on you to go out and get these services.”
Irwin acknowledged that he received positive treatment from Veterans Affairs, as far as the speed with which he was referred to a therapist. But what bothers him, he said, is that he was the one who had to reach out. Irwin wants to see Veterans Affairs make an effort to get in touch with soldiers after they leave the military.
Veterans Affairs knows that there are former soldiers in need of its services, and a lot of those same vets are getting fed up with the current system, Irwin said. With Veterans Affairs jobs cut and offices closed under the Conservative government, he said, there are a lot of veterans left without access to a close resource.
He also expressed doubts about federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. Irwin said he was aware of the the $300 million Trudeau pledged for veterans [4] during a recent campaign stop in Belleville, but said that it might just be political showboating.
He hasn’t yet decided how he’s going to vote, he said, but the issue of treatment of veterans, and the military, will play heavily into his decision.
Canadians go to the polls on Oct. 19.
You can read more about Irwin and the Afghanistan Veteran Project here [5].