Just for clarification for committee members on the recommendations that are in from the two reports by the ombudsman, I'd like to read them.
There are four of them, from the two reports. The first three come from “Simplifying the Service Delivery Model for Medically Releasing Members of the Canadian Armed Forces”. The recommendations are:
1. It is recommended that the Canadian Armed Forces retain medically releasing members until such time as all the benefits and services from the Canadian Armed Forces, Veterans Affairs Canada, and Service Income Security Insurance Plan have been confirmed and are put in place.2. It is recommended that the Canadian Armed Forces establish a Concierge Service for all medically releasing members. This service would serve as a focal point to assist members and their families for all administrative matters regarding their transition.... 3. It is recommended that the Canadian Armed Forces leads, through a phased approach, the development of a secure web portal. The portal would contain information for all Canadian Armed Forces, Veterans Affairs Canada, and Service Income Security Insurance Plan programs and services. The portal would also enable members to input their information just once, and the portal would automatically apply for all services and benefits that would be consistent with the member’s needs.
The final recommendation comes from the Defence Ombudsman's report, “Determination of Attribution to Service: For medically releasing members”. That recommendation is:
We recommend that the CAF determine whether an illness or injury is caused or aggravated by that member’s military service and that the CAF’s determination be presumed by VAC to be sufficient evidence to support an application for benefits.