Yes.
Evidence of meeting #3 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 board.
Evidence of meeting #3 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 board.
4:15 p.m.
Bloc
Gilles-A. Perron Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Otherwise, you'll spend a half-hour talking about the problems and only two minutes talking about the solutions. I would like you to spend as much time talking about the solutions as the problems.
4:15 p.m.
Chair, Veterans Review and Appeal Board
The solution is always to ensure that there is very tight operational oversight of the processing of cases. What we can say is that 90 per cent of our cases are adjudicated within 30 days. What happens to the other 10 p. 100 of files and why do they get bogged down? It's often because of problems obtaining medical evidence. There is no available expert, or no physician is available to provide evidence in that area, and so forth. So, we have to locate that expertise quickly, and it isn't easy for anyone -- either for the Board or the individuals involved.
The second very important point is that people must understand why their claim has been refused. That requires training and quality control, so that the individual being given the decision understands perfectly why his claim was refused.
Those are the two points that came out in our customer satisfaction survey.
4:15 p.m.
Bloc
Gilles-A. Perron Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
You're lucky; you only have two problems.
However, I do have questions about another problem. How are your adjudicators and lawyers appointed? Is it through political connections? We hear it said that there is political influence operating within the Board.
4:20 p.m.
Bloc
4:20 p.m.
Chair, Veterans Review and Appeal Board
Board Members are appointed by the Governor in Council. Therefore, by definition, the government appoints them. It is within the discretionary power and jurisdiction of the Governor in Council to do that. At the Board, there is now a process in place whereby individuals must qualify on the basis of their competence. I have to ensure that the screening committees establish the criteria for the position and that all candidates are required to take a written exam. Following that, they are interviewed by another committee, and at the end of the process, that individual's name is put on a list of qualified candidates. I then make the minister aware of my operational requirements. For example, I may need someone in a specific city. I also need to have more women on the Board. That is an objective that we have set for the Board. I try to ensure that there is a good mix of individuals within the Board.
4:20 p.m.
Bloc
4:20 p.m.
Bloc
Gilles-A. Perron Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
I mean acceptance of the candidate by a committee, or something along those lines. At the present time, it's the Prime Minister or the government in office that suggests the candidates among whom you have to chose.
4:20 p.m.
Chair, Veterans Review and Appeal Board
No, absolutely not. We advertise in the newspapers, or publish notices in the Canada Gazette, and we also advertise on our own website, where people can print off a form directly from the site or call us to get one. They then have to fill out an application, which is not necessarily easy to do. It is extremely complex and rigourous in terms of the information to be provided regarding experience, training, education and references. The entry point is the application form, Mr. Perron.
4:20 p.m.
Bloc
Gilles-A. Perron Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
And who defends a veteran that appears before the Board?
4:20 p.m.
Chair, Veterans Review and Appeal Board
He is represented by an advocate from the Bureau of Pensions Advocates. They are public servants who work full time for the Veterans Affairs Department. That program has been in place for 90 years. Advocates would represent veterans returning from the World War I in their dealings with the Department. They're professionals...
4:20 p.m.
Bloc
4:20 p.m.
Bloc
4:20 p.m.
Chair, Veterans Review and Appeal Board
That's a budgetary matter. In actual fact, I am paid by the Treasury Board, acting on behalf of the Governor in Council. From a financial standpoint, I imagine my salary is paid out of the budget of the Veterans Affairs Department, but ultimately, it comes from the Governor in Council, as does your own.
4:20 p.m.
Bloc
Gilles-A. Perron Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Pardon my sense of observation, but I find it rather unusual that a little while ago, a representative sitting behind you -- and I have nothing against the gentleman behind -- who is supposed to be defending the interests of the Canadian Legion, was actually defending the interests of Veterans Affairs by whispering the answer in your ear.
4:20 p.m.
Chair, Veterans Review and Appeal Board
No. He simply wanted a copy of my opening statement.
4:20 p.m.
Bloc
Gilles-A. Perron Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
No, he whispered an answer regarding the number of lawyers. He said 19, or something like that. I saw what happened. I don't understand.
4:20 p.m.
Chair, Veterans Review and Appeal Board
You're talking about the number of lawyers who were hired. There are six of them. I wasn't sure. But I can tell you we have hired six lawyers.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Anders
Pardon me for interrupting.
We have reached the end of the seven minutes, spirited as it was, so now Mr. Stoffer has his five minutes.
4:20 p.m.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, folks, for your presentation.
One of the biggest concerns that I have is when someone makes an appeal, usually.... The biggest one I have is for hearing loss, an aging veteran with hearing loss. Of course they are told repeatedly, and I have seen the documents at the table, that the government is correct in its assumption that it is a 5% disability or a 10% disability and that is it.
In order to have changes to that table of disabilities, if I have called it that correctly, who has the authority to change it in order to increase the benefit to aging veterans in that regard? Do you have the ability to do that, or does the deputy minister? Is it the minister or is it Parliament that has the final decision on changing the amounts that are in that table of disabilities to assist veterans and their families?