Thunder Bay veteran hopes Liberal promise to reopen offices becomes a reality soon

The president of Thunder Bay's Branch 5 of the Royal Canadian Legion says he hopes the government reopens the veterans' affairs office in the city.

After the Thunder Bay centre was closed, Rob Cutbush's file was moved first to Pembroke, Ont., and then toShiloh, Man.

He said he's currently working with a caseworker in Winnipeg.

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Cutbush said service is much better when the worker, the files and the veteran are all in the same room.

"It's a trust issue with these," he said "That's your personal information and dealing with someone that you can actually speak to face-to-face really builds up trust levels."

The federal government has not given a date for when its decision to reopen nine veterans affairs offices closed under the previous Conservative government will come into effect.

And the Liberals aren't saying if the offices will be in the same locations.

Cutbush said he's hoping to hear something positive in six to nine months news that would help those veterans who often have to travel long distances to plead their case.

"I know of one veteran who had to travel to Winnipeg for an appeal hearing, where we used to have those appeal hearings in Thunder Bay," he said.

"I actually had one here, on Red River Road."

The nine offices closed by the Conservatives in an effort to cut costs were in Kelowna, B.C., Prince George, B.C., Saskatoon, Brandon, Man.,Thunder Bay, Ont., Windsor, Ont.,Sydney, N.S.,Charlottetown and Corner Brook, N.L.