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He is also on his third case manager. One was burnt out from having too many cases, he says, while another was essentially fired when she refused to transfer to Halifax because the government had shuttered the Veterans Affairs office in Sydney.

“Many veterans are facing the exact same challenges,” MacLeod said. “The bureaucratic processes that are part of this are starting to fall apart because of the cuts, and it’s the front line cuts that are having the biggest, biggest impact on veterans.”

Marc Miller served as an army reservist from 1990 to 1994. Now he is a lawyer running for the Liberals in the newly created Montreal riding of Ville Marie. He said there is an essential bond of trust between veterans and the government, which has been damaged.

“No person serving in the military ever thinks about getting injured,” Miller said. “They get in there wanting to serve. But when they are injured, Canadians in turn owe them that duty. When that’s broken, it’s very difficult to repair.”

A former Canadian Army commander who is now running for the Liberals in Orléans, Leslie said there are “lots of voices which are now crying out for some sort of redress to the current veterans situation.”

“Why Mr. Harper has chosen to declare war on veterans, against people who have fought for their nation,” Leslie said, “and why he refuses to treat veterans with the dignity and the respect and the resources they’ve earned is beyond me.”

The Liberals are hoping to convince Canadians, particularly disaffected veterans, that they are best placed to undo the damage and fulfil that duty. But it may take more than platitudes to convince veterans as well as serving military members to vote Liberal.