Veterans Affairs Canada Office Reopens in Corner Brook - Nine additional offices to open by spring 2017

CORNER BROOK, NL, July 5, 2016 /CNW/ - Veterans and their families joined the Honourable Kent Hehr, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, today in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, to officially re-open the first of nine Veterans Affairs Offices to be opened across the country. 

The office, located at 1 Regent Square in Corner Brook, is the first of nine offices that will re-open in Charlottetown, PE; Sydney, NS; Windsor and Thunder Bay, ON; Saskatoon, SK; Brandon, MB; and, Prince George and Kelowna, BC. A tenth office will open in Surrey, BC, and outreach will be expanded to Veterans in the territories.

In addition to re-opening the offices, the Department will continue towards hiring 400 new employees to help ensure that Veterans, Canadian Armed Forces members, RCMP personnel, and their families are provided with the best possible services in their own communities. This includes new staff to ensure case managers have a caseload maximum of 25 Veterans.

Quick Facts  

• Re-opening the nine Veterans Affairs offices that closed is a top priority in the Minister of Veterans Affairs' mandate letter.
• Corner Brook is the first office to re-open, while the remainder of the offices will open between now and May 2017.
• As of May 2016, more than 250 new frontline employees have been hired.

Quotes

"Ensuring Veterans can access the best possible services as close to their homes as possible is a priority for our Government. This was part of our commitment to Canadians, and we stand by this promise—we are re-opening these nine offices and delivering on our commitments to treat Veterans with the care, compassion and respect they deserve."
The Honourable Kent Hehr, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence

Associated Links

• Office Openings
• Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence Mandate Letter

SOURCE Veterans Affairs Canada

Media Relations, Veterans Affairs Canada, 613-992-7468; Sarah McMaster, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs, 613-996-4649