The Minister of Veterans Affairs in the federal government, Lawrence MacAulay, continues to show steadfastness in the face of anger over the government's treatment of sick and wounded veterans, and even calls for his resignation.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Minister MacAulay argues that after years of complaints and criticism, Justin Trudeau's Liberal government is making progress on several fronts when it comes to providing better and faster support to veterans who need help.

The minister specifically mentions the hiring of hundreds of temporary staff and awarding a new $570 million contract to an outside organization to provide rehabilitation services to veterans across Canada. But this contract angered the Veterans Affairs employees' union, which recently asked the Prime Minister to remove MacAulay from office.

However, Veterans Affairs argues that this contract will ease the burden on overworked public servants and at the same time ensure that veterans receive services from a national network comprising 9,000 professionals including psychologists, physiotherapists, social workers, and others across Canada. But this contract angered the Veterans Affairs employees' union, which recently asked the Prime Minister to remove MacAulay from office.

However, Veterans Affairs argues that this contract will ease the burden on overworked public servants and at the same time ensure that veterans receive services from a national network comprising 9,000 professionals including psychologists, physiotherapists, social workers, and others across Canada.

But the union claims that this contract will have the opposite effect by adding another layer of bureaucracy that veterans will have to deal with, in addition to drastically changing the role of the staff who decide on their applications. The union also criticized the department's ongoing reliance on temporary employees to solve its problems. This issue was also raised by the Auditor General of Canada, Karen Hogan, who calls for the department to develop a long-term hiring and funding plan.

Minister MacAulay also stated that he does not intend to resign and that the government will continue to work to ensure that veterans receive the support and benefits they need. Some criticisms question the extent of Minister MacAulay's influence within the government and the genuine attention the Liberal government gives to veterans.

The Trudeau government has been criticized for years for failing to fulfill its promises to sick and wounded veterans. It is particularly criticized for its inability to restore the lifelong disability pension granted to veterans who fought in World War II and the Korean War, but not to those who participated in the Canadian mission in Afghanistan.