Veterans Affairs office closing, rally held in protest

A rally to protest the planned closure of the Veterans Affairs office in Corner Brook was held on Thursday.

About 40 people, including veterans and union members, gathered outside the J.R. Smallwood Building at lunchtime.

Winston Childs, who served in the armed forces for 34 years, said older people that use the office will feel the impact of the closure the most.

"I know lots of cases now where people, they don't [like to] bother things, if it gets difficult and they are trying to talk to someone and they are not getting the point across, they just give up," said Childs.

"Well sometimes it might be a disability, and [they] may be entitled to something through the VAC system. And they will never know about it."

Nine Veterans Affairs offices across the country are set to close by February 2014.