Conservatives call on feds to disclose $4.23 billion in Veterans Affairs cuts

Conservatives are demanding the Carney government disclose which Veterans Affairs services will be cut to meet the $4.23 billion in “savings” earmarked in the 2025 Federal Budget.

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Conservatives are demanding the Carney government disclose which Veterans Affairs services will be cut to meet the $4.23 billion in “savings” earmarked in the 2025 Federal Budget.

Conservative MPs, many of whom are veterans, demanded answers from the Liberal government. They said many veterans are concerned that the 15 per cent budget cut to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) in the federal budget will leave them without critical services owed to them for serving Canada.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget explained that the $4.23 billion in cuts to VAC would come from a reduction in the amount Canada pays to reimburse medical cannabis costs for veterans. Instead of reimbursing veterans at a rate of $8.50 per gram, the government would transition to paying $6 per gram to meet “market price.”

The plan says it will cut $1.2 billion from the budget in 2026-27, followed by another $1.2 billion cut the next year and $1.06 billion in the third year. According to Veterans Affairs Canada, the medical marijuana reimbursement program cost nearly $245 million in 2024-25, leaving Canadians in the dark about where the additional almost $1 billion in savings would come from in the following year.

“The math doesn’t add up for me on that one. We’re talking about a 245 or $245 million a year program. We’re talking about $2.50 reduction in the reimbursement rate,” Richards said during a press conference in Ottawa on Thursday, while responding to a reporter who asked why he doesn’t accept the government’s explanation for the savings.

He noted that VAC has stated on its website that 90 per cent of its budget goes “directly to Veterans, their families, and other program recipients.”

“There’s no way that there aren’t services and benefits that are being affected here,” Richards said. “This is a government that has a long history of not being honest with veterans, telling them they’re asking for more than they can give. We’ve heard about the instances where they’ve offered medical assistance and dying to veterans who are just looking for help and living their lives.”

The Royal Canadian Legion released a statement on Monday calling for “immediate clarity and transparency” from the government about the cuts to veterans affairs earmarked in the federal budget. The Legion expressed concerns that the cuts could lead to staffing reductions amid a disability backlog, and affect long-term care, pension calculations and cannabis access and research.

Richards noted several other grievances about the government’s treatment of Canada’s veterans, including unanswered questions on dealing with homelessness, an attempt to stop providing wreaths for cenotaphs for Remembrance Day ceremonies, banning chaplains from praying at Remembrance Day ceremonies and a failure to build a monument to the mission in Afghanistan over the last decade.

“Veterans are worried. What are the services, and what are the benefits that they’re going to lose as a result of these cuts? No answers, no accountability, no honesty at all from the government about what’s going on,” Richards said. “It’s really time that the Liberal government comes clean, they’re honest with veterans and tells them what services and benefits they’re going to lose as a result of these $4 billion in cuts.”

One reporter asked Richards whether Conservatives would restore the funding that Liberals pledged to cut in the federal budget. He said the Liberals needed to make cuts as the federal budget revealed a planned $78.3 billion deficit, but that the reductions should never come from those who served and sacrificed for Canada.

Veterans Affairs Canada deferred True North’s requests for comment to the Department of Finance, which was not immediately available.