Prince George has been left out of a wave of new jobs posted by the Department of Veterans Affairs following widespread criticism for poor service.
Eight other cities where regional Veterans Affairs offices were shut down last year are listed as potential locations for new client service agents but not Prince George.
The Service Canada office on Fourth Avenue downtown is now the point of contact for veterans seeking help from the federal government.
Cariboo-Prince George MP Dick Harris said Monday his office has not received any complaints from veterans since the office was closed but he had talked to a bureaucrat at Service Canada about a week ago to find out what happens when a veteran seeks help in Prince George.
Harris said the office was closed due to low a caseload. Client service agents were subsequently placed at the Service Canada office for a period, "but there was basically not much for them to do. They would get maybe two to three walk-ins a week and sometimes none."
He said the positions were moved to busier offices and staff at Service Canada in Prince George were trained on how to assist veterans looking for help. Veterans have access to videoconference with case workers in other offices and if there is a need, a representative from Veterans Affairs can be brought in within a matter of days to help, Harris said.
Harris said he was satisfied with the answers he received but will keep an eye on the situation.
"I said, 'we'll just see how it goes, I guess and if we start getting any complaints or we start hearing any, then we'll certainly be in touch with you and I know that you're going to want to look after this,'" Harris said in recounting his conversation with the bureaucrat.
Harris said that whenever a veteran contacts or walks into his constituency office seeking help to make their way through the bureaucracy, staff treat the matter as "priority one on anything we're doing that day," but added such cases have been few and far between.
Royal Canadian Legion Branch #43 president Bruce Gabriel said Harris has heard so few concerns from veterans because they do not want to go to the constituency office and claimed the Veterans Affairs office in Prince George did have enough work because it was the only office for the northern B.C. region.
He said many veterans need special attention because of their health needs.
"They have eyesight problems, they have hearing problems, they suffer from post traumatic stress disorder and these things," Gabriel said.
Across the country, Veterans Affairs is seeking case managers for 41 communities and client services agents for 50 communities. For B.C., Pentiction, Comox, Victoria, Chilliwack, Vancouver and "other locations" on Vancouver Island were listed for both positions.
To become a case manager, candidates require a masters degree in major in social work, nursing, counseling, or some specialty relevant to the position. The salary ranges from $61,614 to $81,566.
For a client service agent position, the requirement is a post-secondary school diploma with specialization in a health- related or social work field or other related field and the salary ranges from $45,886 to $63,153.
The deadline for applications was Monday.
