Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon.
Thank you for the invitation to address you today.
As mentioned, I'm Doreen Weatherbie, consultation president for the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada vis-à-vis Veterans Affairs.
I have with me today my colleague Paul Hartigan, one of the employee relations officers and manager at the Atlantic PIPSC office in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Over the years, I have endeavoured to create a strong, productive and meaningful relationship with senior management, including the deputy minister, the ADMs and HR staff. I am happy to say that they have generally reciprocated, and together we have worked on many files to create positive change for employees and veterans. I respect the integrity of senior management, and I have complete confidence in the nobility of their intentions.
Having just observed Remembrance Day, it is abundantly appropriate that we are having this discussion on the backlog of veterans' benefit claims and how to address them.
The members I represent are immensely proud of the work they do. They provide support for Canadians who were willing to sacrifice everything for Canada. On a daily basis, my members see the consequences of the ravages of war. When Canada chooses to send men and women across the world to defend what we believe to be right and just, there are consequences.
I would suggest that veterans deserve a balanced, thoughtful review of their case. That is why it's imperative that each case be given the appropriate review time. The files that my members review are long, complicated and full of horrifying details that would result in nightmares for most of us.
The report “Disability Benefit Processing at Veterans Affairs Canada” identified that an experienced employee could expect to complete 17 applications per month. Therefore, on average, each case takes a little over a day to complete if the reviewer is experienced. As the report notes, it will take a couple of years for the new employees being hired to reach the level of experience.
Further, given the complexities and implications that each case can present, it is not unreasonable to devote more than a day to a veteran for the review of the implications of their military life. Because staffing levels have been inadequate, the backlog has grown. This adds frustration to my members and to the veterans.
I want to see the backlog addressed, as do my members. Timely service for our veterans would bring an immense satisfaction to all. However, the proposal to date has been akin to addressing an amputation with a band-aid.
My members are being asked to put in long hours of overtime to address the current workload and train new employees. However, the problems being faced are systemic. The number of clients continue to grow, and the support they require becomes more complicated as they grow older.
The overtime compounds the problems by creating mental health issues, such as burnout and stress leave within the workforce. Even the planned hiring identified in the report is temporary. While the analysis clearly shows that those resources will barely bring the workforce up to a sustainable level, only after the new hires have a couple of years' experience can we expect to see a significant dent start to be made in the backlog, at which time the current plan would dismiss all of the newly trained resources.
The health care and computer science professionals that I represent have demonstrated time and time again that they will go above and beyond the call of duty to help veterans. My members are willing to work with management to come up with innovative and meaningful solutions. However, we need management to be strategic and hire for the long term if we are going to address the looming backlog. Veterans are not going away, and the issues they face are not going away.
In closing, I want to say that while the actions being proposed in the government's plan are meaningful, they are also inadequate. Short-term hiring for permanent problems doesn't fix anything. It merely postpones the problem of an increasing backlog. The best way to support our veterans is to ensure that enough resources are in place to review and resolve their concerns in a timely way.
Thank you.
Mr. Chair, if there are any questions, I'm available.