Veterans Affairs Committee on Dec. 12th, 2023

[Steven Harris]

I can't answer that question, since I wasn't involved in the file.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

You weren't involved in the monument file at all?

[Steven Harris]

No, not at all.

I'm involved in service delivery, but the commemoration issue is not one of my responsibilities.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

To your knowledge, at Veterans Affairs, have the results of a survey like this ever been used to make decisions?

[Steven Harris]

We use surveys at every opportunity. We survey veterans every two years or so to learn more about their experiences related to programs and their accessibility, as well as their level of satisfaction with them. We use the results of these surveys to learn more about how we should improve or change our programs to better meet veterans' demands.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

You're really telling me about the serious, scientific surveys you're setting up.

[Steven Harris]

Yes, but we also conduct consultations with veterans, particularly through the Let's Talk Veterans site, which allows us to ask them a number of questions. Recently, we consulted them about their experience with the service application process. We asked them questions to see if they had any tips for improving the process, for example.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

I've seen several of these surveys, which are well designed. However, in the case of the monument, we're not talking about the same kind of survey.

I know you're very sensitive to the cause of veterans and their perception. If, in the case of the monument, veterans had been clearly asked whether they would prefer to choose it themselves or have a jury choose it, what do you think they would have said?

[Steven Harris]

Unfortunately, I can't answer that kind of question. I was not part of the discussion.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Harris, you must have heard about this. You have meetings with other deputy ministers. You're aware that the file has moved along, that a jury had been set up and that the jury's choice had to be endorsed by both ministers and created, outright. You must be aware of all this.

[Steven Harris]

I follow the progress of the file, because I want to get good results for our veterans. Unfortunately, I'm not privy to everything.

I'm personally responsible for a rather important file, and I must devote my full attention to it.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

I will move on to another issue.

I've been on the committee for four years. I'm going to continue along the same lines as my colleague. We're talking about backlogs.

Do you think it's normal to base a system on backlogs, i.e., the inability to respond to requests?

[Steven Harris]

I didn't create this system. I want to make sure veterans can get answers as quickly as possible. Steps can be taken to improve the system, to increase capacity and to respond to all requests.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

You understand my question, and I understand that you may not feel like answering it.

In the health care field, would there be a way of operating that's similar to this? In other words, let's try to lose as few individuals as possible and work towards as few deaths as possible.

You set a threshold, a certain number of days to settle cases. You haven't been able to reach it for millennia, it seems. Is it normal for things to work like this?

[Steven Harris]

We're well on our way to achieving our service targets. As I said earlier, nearly 70% of decisions are made in 16 weeks or less, in the case of the additional pain and suffering benefit and other benefits. We can certainly take steps to ensure that we respond to claims within a reasonable time frame. In fact, we've already taken some.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Can you tell me about the processing times, over the last six months, for applications made by francophones as compared to those made by anglophones? They were very different. Can you also tell me about the processing times for requests made by women compared to those made by men?

[Steven Harris]

Yes, certainly.

For the current fiscal year, so far, processing times for requests in French are less than those for requests made in English. We have responded to more requests made by French speakers, and the gap is now 0.4%.

When it comes to requests made by men and women, there's a three-week gap. The processing time for applications made by women is three weeks longer, but...

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

When will we have these results?

What you are saying is historic.

[Steven Harris]

These results will soon be published on our website. There is always a delay.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Did you say it was the same in the case of requests made by women?

[Steven Harris]

When it comes to claims made by women, the gap is currently three weeks. Last year, the gap was one week. Since the number of claims made by female veterans is smaller, at 15% to 17% of the total claims received by Veterans Affairs, this varies a little from year to year. However, we have gone from a gap of 10 to 12 weeks to a gap of 1 to 3 weeks. Female veterans' experience has shown that the processing time for their applications is faster than for male veterans.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Harris.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Thank you, Mr. Desilets.

Now I will invite Ms. Rachel Blaney to take the floor for six minutes, please.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Thank you so much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the folks who are left over to chat with us a little bit more about Veterans Affairs.

I will allow you to decide who the best person is to answer, but if you don't answer soon, I'll have to bother Mr. Harris, I think. That's just a little heads-up.

One of the concerns that we've heard, especially during our study on women veterans, is about identifying any preventable causes of sex-specific illnesses and injuries in the CAF. Women are calling for VAC to communicate to the CAF the lessons learned from the first few decades of service by women in operational roles and environments.

I'm wondering if the department has any plans to work together with the CAF to prevent unnecessary sex-specific injuries and illnesses among military women. If so, could you elaborate on how that might happen, and if not, can you explain why?

[Steven Harris]

Sure. I can—