The Royal Canadian Legion responds: 2022 federal budget

OTTAWA, April 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Royal Canadian Legion is generally encouraged with the range of specific investments made in this year's budget, which will have an impact on our Veterans and their families.

"We are pleased to see these commitments," says Bruce Julian, Dominion President. "But we would also like to see action on previously announced investments because the sooner we see implementation, the better off our Veterans will be."

Defence and Security. As anticipated, defence and security will be a major focus with over $8 billion in new funding over the next five years. We are encouraged to see a financial commitment to supporting culture change and modernizing the military justice system. Additionally, we are pleased to see immediate investments in equipment and technology to increase the capability of the Canadian Armed Forces. Military equipment acquisition, modernization and maintenance is essential to supporting the operational capability, training and safety of Canada's military personnel.

Reduction in Veteran homelessness. We are pleased to see a continued investment in Veteran homelessness from budget 2021 to budget 2022. Veteran homelessness is a key priority of the Legion, and transparency and timely details will be needed to ensure this investment brings results.

While there is positive movement for Veterans in the budget, gaps remain. The Legion is disappointed that there has been no movement on the elimination of the marriage over 60 clause. We would also like to see progress on previous government promises, including the Veterans Survivor Fund announced in the 2019 Budget, and the development of national standards for service dogs. For more information on our advocacy positions, please visit Legion.ca.

The Legion will monitor details and plan of action on Budget 2022 investments and continue to advocate for the services and support Canada's Veterans and their families deserve.

For more information on the full list of Legion priority areas, please visit: https://www.legion.ca/advocating-for-veterans/advocating-for-change

About The Royal Canadian Legion

Founded in 1925, the Legion is Canada's largest Veteran support and community service organization. We are a non-profit organization with a national reach across Canada as well as branches in the U.S. and Europe. With 250,000 members, many of whom volunteer an extraordinary amount of time to their branches, our strength is in our numbers.

Public Relations / Media Inquiries: [email protected]

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