Robert Kitchen’s connections to the Canadian Forces are well documented.
His father was a major general with the forces, and he has numerous family members who are serving their country.
It’s why Kitchen, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Souris-Moose Mountain, wanted to be part of the standing committee on veterans’ affairs – an appointment he received in late January.
“This is my way of trying to, hopefully, step in there, and hopefully speak on veterans’ behalf, and work on their behalf,” said Kitchen.
He is one of three Conservative MPs on the committee. There are also six Liberals and one New Democrat.
Kitchen found out on Feb. 16 that he had been appointed as the vice-chair of the committee. If the chairperson, Neil Ellis, a Liberal MP from Ontario, is unable to attend a meeting, Kitchen would assume the chair’s responsibilities.
The committee’s first meeting was Feb. 16. They’re now setting up sub-committees and establishing protocol for what they’ll study.
The committee meets twice a week.
“A lot of people, when they look at Veterans’ Affairs, they look at it from a dollar point of view,” said Kitchen. “But there are other aspects that fall into it, such as support for families.”
The support can be affected by the age of the veteran, if they have a family, the age of their family, and if their family is trying to provide assistance.
“There are issues such as transition into civilian life, how they transition from the military and the service they provided,” said Kitchen.
He noted there are other issues the committee will deal with, such as healthcare, particularly when it comes to mental health, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide.
Kitchen noted several other committee members have family who have served with the Canadian Forces and the RCMP, and he believes there is a good mix of MPs on the committee.
