Finance Committee on Feb. 5th, 2026

[Nishika Jardine]

Benefits and services for veterans are laid out by Parliament in legislation. Government has set out what those benefits are. Veterans Affairs Canada, in my view, from what I understand, is charged only with delivering those benefits that Parliament has put in place. Whether it meets the needs of veterans or not is something that Parliament may want to look at.

As I said before, there is a majority of veterans who come up to me and say they're happy with what they receive from Veterans Affairs Canada. There is a cohort who struggle. I'll leave it there.

[Will Greaves, Liberal, Victoria, BC]

How am I doing for time, Mr. Chair?

[The Vice-Chair (Jasraj Hallan), Conservative, Jasraj Singh Hallan]

You have about 40 seconds.

[Will Greaves, Liberal, Victoria, BC]

Is there any characteristic or feature that distinguishes that population of veterans you've referred to, those who struggle to access the services they're entitled to and come to your office with complaints, from the majority, who you've said are satisfied with the services they receive?

[Nishika Jardine]

Veterans who've seen combat, who've been deployed and whose mental health has been affected by their service are the ones I'm deeply concerned about. They will leave the Canadian Forces and then come to Veterans Affairs Canada.

Let's be clear: Veterans Affairs Canada is charged with safeguarding public funds. This is taxpayers' money. I would certainly disagree with its just being handed out. There have to be processes.

[The Vice-Chair (Jasraj Hallan), Conservative, Jasraj Singh Hallan]

Thank you, Ms. Jardine.

Colleagues, we have enough time for just one quick round. We'll go with two minutes to the Conservatives, two minutes to the Liberals and one minute for the Bloc. We'll do two minutes for each party, besides the Bloc.

You have two minutes, Mr. Tolmie.

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

Thank you, Chair.

How long ago did you send your letter?

[Nishika Jardine]

My letter was dated December 12, 2025.

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

You said the minister acknowledged your letter. When did you receive that acknowledgement?

[Nishika Jardine]

She and I met a few weeks ago, and she acknowledged that she had received it.

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

You have not received a response to your letter as of yet.

[Nishika Jardine]

That is correct.

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

Do you think the minister has had more than enough time to respond to your letter?

[Nishika Jardine]

I am happy to receive a response from the minister when she's ready to provide it.

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

What if that happens after a decision is made and this clause has not been adjusted?

[Nishika Jardine]

I will respond to that in the moment.

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

Okay.

I know I don't have much time. You were cut off when I asked if you had received a response to your letter. You said, “I can say to you”, and then you were cut off. What were you going to tell me?

[Nishika Jardine]

I honestly don't remember. I'm sorry.

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

See, there's a culture of honour, saying “I don't remember” or “I made a mistake.”

Veterans live in a culture of honour, and when they come into the civilian world, they expect the same. Unfortunately, this issue is skirting around that. I appreciate your perspective on saying, “We've made a mistake. Let's fix it. Let's get on with it.”

Thank you very much for your testimony.

[The Vice-Chair (Jasraj Hallan), Conservative, Jasraj Singh Hallan]

Thank you, Mr. Tolmie.

Next, we have Mr. MacDonald.

You have two minutes.

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Thank you.

Thank you, both, for your service to our country.

You talked in your comments about the adjudication process at VAC and how those timelines may be improved by our government's investment in budget 2025. Can you elaborate a little further on that? Where in particular is the backlog?

[Nishika Jardine]

In 2022, we did an update to our assessment. We did a review in 2018 of the wait times for these disability claims. We noted an improvement over those four years in 2022. I can only hope that continuing investment will continue to improve the department's ability to meet its service standard.

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

I was going to ask the minister.... I had an opportunity last summer, shortly after getting elected, to visit a mental health walk-in clinic in Stratford, P.E.I. We heard from a retired RCMP officer and a retired CAF member, who both spoke about post-traumatic stress syndrome and how this clinic was allowing them to function in life with simple things, like grocery shopping, that had become very troublesome for them.

Can you comment on whether we have enough of these walk-in clinics for our veterans today?

[Nishika Jardine]

Thank you for the question.

I'm not qualified to answer. I don't know. I do know there is a cohort of veterans who struggle to meet the administrative processes demanded by VAC for them to access the benefits and services they may be entitled to.

[The Vice-Chair (Jasraj Hallan), Conservative, Jasraj Singh Hallan]

We'll wrap up.

Thank you, colleagues. That's the end of this panel.

Thank you to both our witnesses, Ms. Jardine and Mr. Schippers.

Ms. Jardine, thank you for your service.

If it's the will of the committee, we'll adjourn.