SYDNEY, N.S. A Nova Scotia veteran is upset over news that the federal government is transferring veterans' medical records to a company in the United States.
Ron Clarke, a retired sergeant, says it's "just one more slap in the face'' following the closure of nine Veterans Affairs offices.
Clarke, who travelled to Ottawa several times to try to persuade the government to keep the offices open, says he wants to know how much the outsourcing will cost.
NDP MP Peter Stoffer said Friday that veterans seeking help will now have to wait while files are retrieved from a company called Iron Mountain Holdings.
The Nova Scotia politician also says the government is closing what are known as treatment authorization centres, responsible for approving treatments needed by veterans.
Stoffer says it is wrong to put medical files into the hands of a private, for-profit firm.
He says it would mean delays for vets who would have to wait for their records to be retrieved, then passed on through Veterans Affairs.
Conservative politician Parm Gill said in a statement Saturday that veterans' information is securely housed at the company's Canadian headquarters and will be in the hands of Canadian workers at all times.
Gill, the parliamentary secretary to the Veterans Affairs minister, added that Iron Mountain Holdings has a proven track record of providing secure data services on Canadian servers.
