Press conference - The last veterans' hospital in Canada - the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Hospital - is about to be transferred over to the provincial government. Will the Conservative government let down its veterans?

MONTREAL, Nov. 11, 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - The Public Service Alliance of Canada, Quebec Region (PSAC-Quebec) and the Union of Veterans Affairs Employees (UVAE) will avail themselves of the opportunity afforded by the Quebec federal public service week and Remembrance Day to speak out about the danger of transferring the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Veterans' Hospital to the provincial government.

"According to the information we obtained, the hospital will be amalgamated with the CSSS de l'Ouest de l'île, thereby jeopardizing the services provided to veterans," said Yvan Thauvette, president of the UVAE.

"At a time when the hospital is just about to be transferred over, it is absolutely abhorrent to see that the federal government is moving away from the commitments it has historically made to veterans," commented an indignant Magali Picard, the Quebec National Vice-President of the UVAE. "Instead of balancing its budget on the backs of veterans, the Conservative government should take advantage of this historic day to remember the sacrifices they made."

Stakeholders who take veterans' affairs to heart would like to invite you to a press conference to discuss this alarming situation further:

Location:
Omni Mont-Royal Hotel, Autumn Room, 2nd floor
1050 Sherbrooke Street West, Montréal (between Metcalfe and Peel Streets)

Date and time: November 11 at 1 p.m.

Who:
Representing the Royal Canadian Legion
Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, MP for Rosemont/La Petite-Patrie and Treasury Board critic
Yvan Thauvette, President of the SEAC
Magali Picard, Quebec National Vice-President of the UVAE

PSAC represents more than 178,000 members across Canada. An FTQ affiliate, PSAC-Quebec has more than 40,000 members in the federal public sector, including 600 members of the Union of Veterans Affairs Employees working at the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue hospital.

PSAC-Quebec also has members in Quebec universities and in the private sector.

For further information:

Patrick Leblanc, political attache, PSAC-Québec, 514-706-5997, [e-mail]