Finance Committee on Feb. 5th, 2026

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Yes.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

How many resigned?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Six members have departed the committee. Five of them chose to resign, and one was completing a term.

I thank all the members of the women veterans council for their service.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Do you know why they resigned?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

The members are part of a volunteer advisory group. I respect the decision of any member who chooses to move on to other opportunities.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

What is the purpose of the council?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

It is an advisory committee for the minister that shares lived experiences that help shape important conversations.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Thank you very much.

Did you know board members claimed it was mainly used for photo ops and that they didn't have access to the minister?

Did you meet with the council?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

I have met with members of the women veterans council. I continue to meet with them as we go forward in our work together.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

What do you think about their comments that the council was only used for photo ops?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

The members of the women veterans council have brought incredible lived experiences that have helped shape important conversations. I remain grateful for their efforts.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Thank you very much.

Why, then, did the minutes of board meetings have to be approved by your office, and why were they subject to modifications before being published if you're saying you took them into account?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

To clarify, the minutes do not get approved by cabinet.

The work of the women veterans council is incredibly important in sharing those experiences—

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Minister, Veterans Affairs employees have released emails indicating that council meeting minutes had to be approved by the minister's office and could be altered before they were released. There are emails to that effect.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you, Mr. Lefebvre. Your time is up.

We will continue now with Mr. MacDonald for five minutes, please.

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for being here today.

Minister McKnight, Veterans Affairs Canada maintains a significant departmental presence on Prince Edward Island, and Islanders are very proud to serve our veterans. Some of the services being carried out in Charlottetown support disability benefits processing and case management, which are direct services for veterans and their families. They are essential to those who have served our country and to the skilled public service workforce in Atlantic Canada.

In budget 2025, as you've already outlined several times, the government proposed an investment of $184.9 million over four years, and $40.1 million ongoing after that, for Veterans Affairs Canada to strengthen processing capacity, modernize operational procedures and upgrade IT systems to deliver benefits reliably and accurately. Can you outline in more detail how these investments will impact our veterans in Canada?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Certainly, and thank you very much for the question.

You made reference to the connection to Prince Edward Island, and Charlottetown specifically. I want to acknowledge the incredible individuals from your riding and from surrounding ridings who work with VAC.

Thank you very much for mentioning the investments we've talked about a couple of times: both the investment over the next four years and the ongoing funding, which is $40.1 million. The stable support strengthens VAC's ability to serve veterans effectively as needs continue to evolve. This funding is going to stabilize and modernize the disability benefits and service delivery. These investments are going to ensure that VAC can meet increases in demand while modernizing how disability benefits are delivered, making systems more responsive, consistent and sustainable over the longer term.

Specifically within the $184.9 million is $24 million that is dedicated to modernizing IT infrastructure and operational processes. This allows VAC to manage current and future demand more effectively to ensure that veterans receive timely, accessible and reliable support. These investments allow us to continue simplifying processes, reducing paperwork and eliminating unnecessary barriers so that veterans can spend less time navigating systems and more time focusing on their health, their families and their next steps.

My message to veterans is this: When you serve, you can count on us to have a system that is dependable and built to support you throughout your life.

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

As a follow-up question, Minister, do you anticipate that these investments will impact the federal public service presence in Prince Edward Island and across Atlantic Canada? The public servants there play a vital role in delivering these essential services to veterans.

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

The investments being made in service modernization and delivery through this budget support the work of the public servants who work with our veterans every day. We rely on a highly dedicated workforce, including those in Prince Edward Island and across Canada, to deliver essential services to veterans and their families. I want to acknowledge and commend them for the excellent work they do.

To veterans, our priority is service quality, not service disruption. These investments are focused on stabilizing and modernizing service delivery so that they can get the benefits they are eligible for. This goes back to the $24 million in tools, systems and resources that are going to ensure that human decision-makers are supported in their roles.

By modernizing the systems and improving efficiency, we're making sure that the VAC team is well positioned to deliver services in P.E.I. and across the region for years to come. Strong public service capacity and modern tools together ensure that veterans and their families receive high-quality support and that the dedicated public servants delivering those services have what they need to succeed.

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Minister, you visited P.E.I. shortly after you were appointed Minister of Veterans Affairs. Now I'm going to call on your memory. We toured a wellness centre in Stratford, P.E.I. It's a walk-in mental health services centre, the Trilogy Wellness Centre. We met with a retired member of the CAF—

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

I apologize, Mr. MacDonald, but your time is up. I'm sorry. It sounded like it was going be a good story.

Now I continue with you, Mr. Tolmie, for five minutes, please.

[Fraser Tolmie, Conservative, Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, SK]

Thank you, Chair.

Minister, I've heard—I don't know how many times today—“stabilizing and modernizing”. That's the slogan you've been using. Are you telling me that, presently, things are unstable and antiquated?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

No. What I'm saying is that we are investing in making the system enhanced and better, so that we can ensure that veterans have timely access to supports and services.

[Fraser Tolmie, Conservative, Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, SK]

Okay. I ask because many of the veterans I'm speaking to don't get timely service. They get denied, delayed and then, the term is, they die, because they've been dealing with VAC for so long. Prior to this meeting, I had a conversation...and I'm a vet who's been denied services, so I understand.

When I hear my colleagues from across the aisle talk about the transition and how nice it is for veterans.... A lot of veterans, when they walk out of the military, don't know what they're going into. They don't get service. They get a half-day, a cup of coffee, a cucumber sandwich, and they are told to go to a website and figure it out on their own. That's what happens, so let's put aside any pretense that everything's great, and let's look at the problems that we're dealing with for veterans. Veterans are being ignored. When they hear that cuts are coming, and they're not even getting the basic services that they require, what kinds of emails do you think I'm getting?

I'm absolutely furious right now, because I feel like I've been reading a glossy book or a brochure that's telling us how wonderful things are, but we're not recognizing the problem that this machine is broken, Minister, and you're not telling me how you're going to fix it. I've sat in a meeting with you before, and I've told you that you're my fifth minister. You're the ninth minister in this department over the 10 years that this government has been in power. I want to know what's going to happen. How are you going to fix it? Don't tell me you're going to stabilize and modernize. Tell me what you're going to do with these investments and with the reduction in the budget that you're putting toward Veterans Affairs.

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Again, Mr. Tolmie, I hear what you're saying. Again, I would like to clarify that this is not a reduction. This is an investment so that we can enhance, improve and stabilize the service delivery system. A key component of this is the acknowledgement of the ongoing funding of $40 million. This is about ensuring that veterans have access to the services and benefits they're eligible for. I—