Leeds-Grenville MP Michael Barrett introduces bill to expand access to service dogs for veterans
Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands—Rideau Lakes MP Michael Barrett introduced a private member’s bill this week aimed at improving access to service dogs for Canadian veterans.
Barrett introduced Bill C-282, the Service Dogs for Veterans Act, in the House of Commons on Wednesday, June 3.
The proposed legislation seeks to recognize service dogs as an eligible form of rehabilitation support under the Veterans Well-being Act. It would also create a national training and certification standard for service dogs, including standards for breeding, training, accreditation and placement across Canada in coordination with provinces and territories.
“Veterans who have served our country deserve access to reliable, quality support services,” Barrett said. “For many veterans living with operational or other service-related injuries, service dogs provide life-changing and often even life-saving assistance. A national standard is an important step toward ensuring veterans receive the care and support they have earned.”
The proposed legislation was inspired by the work of Veteran’s Elite Canines, a non-profit organization founded by veteran and service dog handler Cindy Weir.
The organization supports veterans through trained service dogs, advocates for a national training standard within the service dog industry and works to match service dogs with veterans in need.
“This bill would support our Veteran community and recognizes the life-changing impact that properly trained Service Dogs will have on many Canadian Veterans,” Weir said.
According to Barrett, the bill builds on support for creating a national framework to train, certify and improve access to service dogs for veterans.
“It’s thanks to the incredible dedication of veterans, their advocates, and organizations like Veteran’s Elite Canines that we have seen the meaningful impact service dogs can have on the lives of veterans. These organizations have demonstrated that veterans living with operational stress injuries can lead healthy, happy, fulfilling lives and remain active members of their communities with the support of a trained service dog,” added Barrett.
“Now is the time to act to include service dogs as a recognized form of federal support for veterans, establish a national training standard, and ensure that service dogs are available to every veteran who needs one.”