Evidence of meeting #19 for Veterans Affairs in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was office.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
Brent St. Denis Liberal Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Is every department that deals with citizens covered by the ombudsman?
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
Brent St. Denis Liberal Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
I might find a department that didn't deal directly with citizens, like the finance department, but generally speaking, a citizen dealing with the department can ultimately access the ombudsman if necessary?
4:30 p.m.
Australian Department of Veterans Affairs, As an Individual
Yes, in the broad, yes.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
Brent St. Denis Liberal Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
If I were to be on the other side of the fence, arguing not to have an ombudsman, that statistic, the low uptake rate by veterans, would be a good argument for not having one because of the low numbers. So I guess it speaks highly of your veterans affairs department. In fact, I think our own department has an excellent reputation, so it would be interesting to see what the interest and the complaints would be.
It's evident from the chart you provided that this started as a government-wide ombudsman program, it would seem, and then it was broken down to the individual department level, as we see in the chart, whereas ours, if we do implement such a position, will start from the bottom, working it's way up, with the idea to propose an individual ombudsman for the department and there not being a government-wide ombudsman.
Do you see that as a benefit or as a disadvantage to the veteran? In this case, you have a master ombudsman overall, versus in our proposal a specific ombudsman for veterans only. Do you have an opinion on the merits or demerits of one way or the other?
4:35 p.m.
Australian Department of Veterans Affairs, As an Individual
Often one size doesn't fit all, and it's up to various countries and jurisdictions to work out what best accommodates their needs.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
Brent St. Denis Liberal Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Fair enough.
I also notice that the ombudsman is permitted, if he or she sees a trend with a certain type of complaint, to initiate a more general study of a certain area. Have such generalized studies taken place within the veterans affairs area?
4:35 p.m.
Australian Department of Veterans Affairs, As an Individual
Not in recent years, not within my memory.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
Brent St. Denis Liberal Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
They've generally been a response to individual citizen or veteran complaints?
4:35 p.m.
Australian Department of Veterans Affairs, As an Individual
In the main, yes. Most of what we call own-motion are in other areas of government.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
Brent St. Denis Liberal Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Thank you, Mr. Winzenberg.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Anders
All right, thank you, Mr. St. Denis.
Now over to Mr. Mayes for five minutes.
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Colin Mayes Conservative Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Winzenberg, your Veterans' Review Board, how are the members selected or appointed?
4:35 p.m.
Australian Department of Veterans Affairs, As an Individual
They're appointed on recommendation by the principal member who runs the board to government, and I think it's the minister who actually signs it off.
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Colin Mayes Conservative Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
It's interesting to look at the various issues the different ombudsmen oversee, because we do a number of those things in our constituency offices as MPs. In some respects we're almost ombudsmen, rather than members of Parliament.
Do you think it's because of vague policy that there's a need for an ombudsman? Is it poor response from civil servants to those who are being served? What is the need? You have elected people and you have policy and you have civil servants--and you need an ombudsman. What do you think is the reason for that?
4:35 p.m.
Australian Department of Veterans Affairs, As an Individual
I wouldn't want to comment, other than to say that I think it's recognized across the western world that an ombudsman is a good thing in terms of the overall governance of the citizens, and that it's another avenue of redressing the system.
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Colin Mayes Conservative Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
So it's almost an overview of how the system is working and the ability to reflect on that.
4:35 p.m.
Australian Department of Veterans Affairs, As an Individual
Well, it's another mechanism within your governance structures that citizens can use to address complaints that they might have with particular government agencies.
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
Thank you very much for taking time to answer our questions.
Of that 143 staff, do you know what percentage would be forensic-level investigators for the ombudsman?
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
Do you have a tri-service as we have here, in which all three services are combined, or are they a separate army, navy, and air force?
4:35 p.m.
Australian Department of Veterans Affairs, As an Individual
My colleague, Lieutenant-Colonel Anderson, may be best placed to comment on that.
December 4th, 2006 / 4:35 p.m.
Lieutenant-Colonel Lyndon Anderson Military Attaché, Australian High Commission
We have the Australian Defence Force--the army, navy, and air force.
4:35 p.m.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
Lieutenant-Colonel, do you know what the standing force is right at the moment--the number on the standing force, the combined three forces?