OTTAWA — The new veterans minister is under fire for posting some details of a highly anticipated progress report on improving the treatment of ex-soldiers on Twitter and Facebook even before MPs and the wider veterans community had a chance to see it.
The update is seen as the first significant political test for Erin O'Toole, who replaced the embattled Julian Fantino last month, but the report did not arrive well after the close of business Friday night, missing a deadline imposed by a parliamentary committee.
The six-page letter was tabled Monday, but is in limbo because the Commons veterans affairs committee does not have a chairman to receive it.
O'Toole posted an info graphic on social media over the weekend, which apparently tracks the government's progress in implementing changes to legislation and benefits proposed by the veterans committee.
He defended releasing the information to his 3,300 followers, telling the Royal Canadian Legion in a tweet that young vets are online and that he had shared details with veterans and serving members in Hamilton over the weekend.
Liberal veterans critic Frank Valeriote called it contemptible that O'Toole seems more interested in posting to social media, than being accountable to Parliament and the wider veterans community.
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