How Shameful Our Nation

Perhaps it is naive to believe Canada would be any better at its treatment of veterans than any other country, least of all our closest foreign neighbors. But it always seemed to me growing up how proud we were that our young men and women served our nation. Certainly the parades were colorful and jubilant, even if I could not have at that time appreciated the experiences and sacrifices of our military.

Growing up, the inevitable comparison we drew with United States permeated every nuance of our lives, from entertainment to manufacturing, from currency to vacation spots, and everything between. I recall during those formidable years the one thing we always seemed to do better than our American neighbors was how we treated our servicemen and women. We didn't seem to forget our debt to those who gave so much.

Over the years, the US media showed countless examples of veterans living in abject poverty, inching their wheelchair through the soup line, dressed as shabbily as some third world refugee. I never saw that here.

But then again, how would I know?

It's not as if a Canadian veteran living on the streets would be in dress uniform, with spit-polished boots, freshly pressed shirt, and colorful ribbons from which shiny medals are proudly displayed. It's only when I think of it in this manner and with my more worldly eyes that I can begin to fathom the truth behind stories published in our major media.

I saw a news story on television about a Canadian veteran living on the streets of Edmonton and it made my heart sink. After serving our country, MY country, and as a result of a number of issues, this man was scratching out a bare existence on the streets of the city in which I lived. How shameful our nation, I professed.

The news story was so close to home that I could almost reach out and touch it, given the amount of time I donate to charitable causes in Edmonton.

Compelled to do something but blind to what I could do, I was then relieved to also hear in the same news story about an organization called VETS Canada (Veterans Emergency Transition Services), a not for profit organization dedicated to helping Canadian veterans in need. They reached out to this particular man and gave him the hand up he needed. And they have done so for many others as well.

So maybe the something I could do was write and publish this small story. And even though I was ill-equipped to touch this one particular fellow's life, he indeed touched mine - once for serving his country, and once for being the catalyst in the news story that spread the word that there are some Canadian veterans suffering and need some help.

Let us all step up to the plate, because it is the right thing to do. We can all do something. Help VETS Canada help. Donate your time. Buy some merchandise from their website. Donate some money. They even accept Canadian Tire money. Surely you can at least do that much, can't you?

Thank you to Feral Dog Studios for the use of their photograph for this article.