Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time today with the incredible member for New Westminster—Burnaby.

I am quite honoured to be able to stand and speak to this debate today. I am very grateful to the member for North Island—Powell River for bringing this forward to the floor of the House of Commons. I have been listening to today's debate very carefully. It is something that all parties clearly feel there needs to be action on. We have seen, of course, that action has not been taken by the current administration or the administration prior. There is a clear indication that this piece of our legislation is deeply wrong.

I am a proud advocate for the well-being of Canadians and a strong supporter of our veterans. I am here today to talk about the provision within veterans' pensions that some call the gold digger clause. I am deeply grateful that we have the opportunity to have this debate, because what has been happening for far too long is that this piece of policy, this piece of how we deal with veterans, is cruel. It is unjust, and for too many veterans and too many veterans' families, it means financial insecurity, unfair restrictions and unnecessary hardship.

To give a bit of a sense of what the gold digger clause is, in Canada, this refers to the rule that denies spousal benefits to any surviving spouse who marries a veteran after the veteran turns 60. This provision applies to all veterans, but it is extraordinarily discriminatory. It assumes that there is an ulterior motive for marriage, that those marriages are not based on love or partnership and that they are not genuine marriages. This is an absolutely appalling thing to say to our veterans. It punishes honest, committed relationships. It disregards the rights and dignity of both veterans and their partners.

Obviously, this is very misogynistic as well, when we consider that this has a disproportionate impact on the group of seniors who are women. These seniors are already among the most vulnerable and discriminated against, those who will already find life more unaffordable. This is one more way we are making lives more difficult for women seniors. This is appalling, and it needs to be fixed as quickly as possible.

This discriminatory and outdated policy has real and harmful impacts. Many veterans remarry later in life. We have heard about that from many of our colleagues today in the House. They are seeking love and companionship after years of service, but their spouses are denied that financial support simply because of an outdated and old rule. It is not about protecting pensions from exploitation; it is about denying help to families who need it.

The reality is that many of these spouses dedicate their lives to caring for veterans. Often making personal sacrifices along the way, they act as caregivers, as advocates and as companions. When the veteran passes away, the surviving spouse is left without the pension benefits they need to maintain their livelihood. This is obviously a situation that is unjust and needs to be avoided.

I want to tell a personal story. My grandfather was a veteran. His name was Albert, or Bert, McCoy. He was a gunner in the Second World War. I have told this story in the House before. He was shot down over Belgium. He lived in the underground for two years. It took two years for him to come back to my mother and to my grandmother. Sadly, my grandmother passed away, and my grandfather remarried Dorothy later in life. At the end of his life, my grandfather had dementia. He had a number of health issues. He was in his late eighties when he passed away. Dorothy cared for him and provided the love, companionship and care my grandfather deserved.

When I think of the legislation, I do not just think about random policies we need to fix. I think about my grandfather. At the end of his days, as he was suffering from dementia, as he was reliving those moments that he had spent during the war, it was Dorothy who cared for him. She made sure he was loved, and he was given that companionship. To say that any veteran's partner who cared for them does not deserve those benefits, does not deserve to be supported, is really something we should all be deeply ashamed of.

Canadian veterans have made incredible sacrifices for our country. They have served in peacekeeping missions, defended our values abroad and responded to domestic crises. They are Canadian workers. They deserve the utmost respect. Of all workers, they are the ones who have sacrificed the most for this country, for us; however, the gold digger clause sends the message that we do not trust their personal decisions, do not value their loved ones and do not value their families. This is not the Canada I know. Canadians believe in fairness, in dignity and in compassion. We understand the importance of standing with those who have supported us.

Therefore, we need to look at the report we are discussing today. We need to look at what needs to be changed to deal with this outdated and discriminatory rule and to stop this. We need to modernize the policy so that it supports veterans and their loved ones rather than penalizing them. In this report, we have nine recommendations that were brought forward; the government could act on them right now. In fact, the member for North Island—Powell River brought forward two additional recommendations, which I would encourage the government to follow. I am just going to read these two: “That the Government of Canada eliminate the ‘marriage after 60’ clause from all pension legislation, immediately” and “That Veterans Affairs Canada distribute the Veterans Survivors Fund to the identified survivors, immediately.” It says “immediately”.

We have heard in the House today from many people that this is something that has been going on for far too long; this is something that has not been fixed by the current Liberal government and was not fixed by the Conservative government before it. This is an opportunity for the current Parliament to do the right thing and to actually adopt these recommendations, including the two recommendations from the New Democratic Party, and fix this problem.

In closing, I will just say that our veterans and their families have given so much to our country. They have earned more than just our thanks. They have earned policies that support them through every stage of their life. The gold digger clause does not align with Canadian values, and it is time we changed it. Let us work together to build a system that truly supports our veterans and their families, a system that is based on fairness, justice, compassion and respect.

Heather McPherson

$561,484.00