Oh, Toole: too little, too late

Waiting in line at the Second Cup in York Lanes, I see poppies in a donation box sitting in front of a bag of Colombian Supremo, Paradiso, and Royal Blend coffee.
I’m skeptical at first, knowing full-well how the poppy is used, or manipulated, most notably for political photo-ops, lip service, and the empty posturing of elites who know nothing of the beleaguered body and mind. The vets I know would rather have a beer at the Legion, out of the sun, away from it all.
However, these poppies at the Second Cup look different. This time, the box is sponsored by the Royal Canadian Legion. The centre of the poppy is not green, but black, perchance symbolic of the deep black hole the Conservatives have left behind, like a block of scorched Earth evaded from a bent steel pin.
If anything could be described as partisan, it would be politicians, sock-puppets, and trolls masquerading as “honest brokers.” It’s  in an effort to counter negative press, such as the case of former Minister of Veteran Affairs Erin O’Toole in his failed attempt to spin the state of his former department, leaving it a scalding quagmire for the next seething cauldron of debate.
Like many other youth, I’m what you call a “base brat” or “military brat,” meaning my family is military, and even past generations of my family was military, going back before the First World War.
However, my parents, especially my mother, were insistent in making sure I, along with my two brothers, did not follow in these footsteps. Especially when such banal and insincere governments took power. And especially in a world in which the sacrifices families make are increasingly taken for granted.
I initially wanted to approach this subject objectively and have the Conservatives’ side of the argument, but seeing how my phone calls haven’t been returned and my inquiries were ignored, I can only assume objectivity was not in their best interest at the time. So, I put my article on hold.
Now, that I have Mr. O’Toole’s side of the story laid out for me in the Huffington Post, let me provide you, dear reader, with the other side, or, at the very least, a mere glimpse.
“They (the Conservatives) have been deliberately, maliciously, negligent and evasive in their dealing with veterans issues with the intent of purely saving money so they can balance a budget in an election year. Full stop,” says Liberal MP Frank Valeriote, who explains how the Conservatives lapsed 1.3 billion dollars over the last five or six years for the purpose, in part, of being a contribution to try and balance a budget this year.
It’s almost unquantifiable to the damage they’ve done to veterans, their families, and their caregivers.
Unfortunately, I do not have enough space to list, or convey, the kind of damage done. I’d even feel hypocritical, or negligent, to mention a list of maltreatments or budgetary procedures and, because of lack of space, not be able to mention the rest of them. All of them.
But, nonetheless, you can easily find them if you care to look and see through the pompous photo-ops and the terrible commercials played on CBC during Hockey Night in Canada.
I find it utterly laughable how voters, who know nothing about military life, can buy into such pitiful propaganda campaigns disseminated by bureaucrats hiding in ivory towers and, who in turn, sound the clarion of battle without a forethought of Canada’s real military history, or of the costs to the families in question. Being pro-military isn’t only sending soldiers overseas. It’s also taking care of all of them when they return; paying the debt.
 
Nevertheless, I remain skeptical of all political partisans, of all stripes, growing ever-more weary by the day. I also remain skeptical of those who use words such as “we” and “us” without permission. As if “we” are all in agreement, and as if the third-hand opinions of armchair generals are good enough.
The auditor general’s report is particularly revealing.