Six controversial moments in Fantino's time as veterans minister

Jan. 28, 2014: Mr. Fantino doesn't attend a meeting with veterans who are concerned about closures of Veterans Affairs offices, then turns up in a waiting room outside a press conference and ends up lecturing one of them about the improprieties of finger pointing.

May 29, 2014: Mr. Fantino appears to run away from Jenny Migneault, the wife of a veteran who wanted to talk to him about supports for veterans’ caregivers. She shouts after him: “You’re forgetting us, once more. We’re nothing to you.”

Nov. 20, 2014: It is revealed that the Veterans Affairs department has returned $1.13-billion in unspent funds to the federal treasury, even as veterans complain about the services they are being provided. Weeks later, The Globe and Mail reveals that tens of millions of dollars in approved funding on veterans’ programs – such as death and disability benefits – went unspent in the past year while exceeding the budget for internal services like communications.

Nov. 25, 2014: The Auditor-General reports many vets are waiting months – and in some cases years – to access mental-health disability benefits. Mr. Fantino is in Italy as the report is released, on a trip to commemorate Canada’s actions in the country during the Second World War.

Nov. 28, 2014: The Globe and Mail reveals that a recent commitment of $200-million to help veterans deal with their mental-health issues that the government said would be spread over six years would actually be paid out over decades.

Dec. 2, 2014: The Globe and Mail reveals that Veterans Affairs shed a quarter of its work force over the past five years even as bureaucrats warned that the changes could put the delivery of services to veterans and their families at risk.