Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Before I get going, Mr. Chair, I want to introduce my colleagues. At the table with me I have my deputy, Jack Stagg, to assist me; assistant deputy Verna Bruce; and our Veterans Appeal and Review Board chairman, Victor Marchand.
I might as well continue. We have Rick Hillier, Brian Ferguson, Bob Mercer, and others who I may not identify.
We just came back from a little road trip, so we're a bit weary. We were actually in Newfoundland this morning and came back, Mr. Chairman, for your meeting. I think we're none the worse for wear, but I want to begin, Mr. Chairman, by thanking you, and it's a pleasure to be with you.
I would also like to congratulate each of you around this table for being selected to serve on this new committee.
I've already had a chance to speak with several of you, and I know your first priority is the best interests of our veterans. Together I think we represent a new beginning in the way we treat the men and women in uniform who have served and continue to serve our country with such courage and distinction.
Our veterans have given this nation their very best, and we have a duty to match it with our own best efforts. Few ministers have a more noble or humbling mandate. That is why I am proud to be here as Minister of Veterans Affairs. Our new government has demonstrated from the start that we understand our duty to Canada's veterans. The creation of this committee is just one obvious example.
Our implementation of the new Veterans Charter and our pledge to appoint a veterans ombudsman and to adopt a veterans bill of rights are further evidence of our determination to do the right thing for our veterans. With your help we want to do even more to recognize and repay our veterans for their great sacrifice and achievements.
Before we look at the budgetary figures in front of us, I would like to speak a little more about the initiatives I've just mentioned and I would like to share with you some of the other work under way in the department.
As you know, the new Veterans Charter offers the most sweeping changes to veterans benefits and services in more than half a century, but this is not the end of our work. I'd like to refer to the new charter as an open book, a living document that will evolve with the changing needs of our veterans.
When the original charter was written 60 years ago it was designed to help veterans returning from the Second World War, and then Korea. It may surprise you to learn today that the average age of Canadian Forces members being released from the military is 36 years old. By almost any measurement, 36 years of age is the prime of life, and starting over in your prime is not always easy.
The new charter is meant to serve as a bridge to help veterans and their families make the transition from military life to civilian life. That's not all it does, however. In fact, let me be very clear: the new charter is designed as a fresh commitment to our veterans and their families that this country will stand by them for life.
This strategy includes a new dual award approach that is far more generous than the single award disability pension it replaces. Under the new charter there's both a disability award, which is a lump sum tax-free payment of up to $250,000, and an earnings loss benefit equalling 75% of a CF veteran's pre-release salary. As well, there are a number of other services, including expanded health care and rehabilitation programs, and vocational training and support.
No less important, however, is the simultaneous commitment we are making to our veterans' families. The fact is that we never know when a military career is going to be interrupted when we send our soldiers on high-risk missions. They need to know we're also going to be with them and there for their families if things go tragically wrong.
The new charter does that. It provides immediate financial support to our veterans' survivors and dependent children, and then delivers long-term help. The charter includes specific measures for spouses to go back to school or to obtain other job training, if or when they decide they are ready to join the workforce.
The new charter also ensures that we are there when any dependent children want to pursue a post-secondary education.
As well, the new charter recognizes that not all injuries are necessarily physical. More than ever, CF members are being deployed on longer and more dangerous missions, and they are being asked to serve on subsequent missions with less time to recuperate from the last one.
Members of the RCMP also face unprecedented stress with modern-day threats and conflicts, both at home and abroad. We witnessed some of those in Toronto last week with the 17 arrests in connection with the alleged home-grown terrorist cell.
All of this has led to a sharp rise in the number of mental-health-related cases. The number of VAC pensions for post-traumatic stress disorder has jumped more than 350% over the four-year period ending March 2005. In fact, Veterans Affairs Canada has nearly 9,000 clients pensioned for mental-health-related conditions.
We realize this is the new reality facing our troops, and we're working with the Department of National Defence to provide the kind of comprehensive mental health care and support our veterans need. Last month, for example, we opened a new operational stress injury social support facility, which is located off-site from CFB Gagetown. The location is almost as important as the treatment itself, because it recognizes the discreet and sensitive way mental health issues need to be handled.
Too often, troops suffer mental illness in silence. As some experts have pointed out, there is still a social stigma attached to mental illness that leaves some soldiers hesitant to seek help in the full view of their fellow troops. We're trying to address this full range of issues and needs.
l've distributed among you some examples to help compare the differences between the benefits and services available under the new charter and the old system. If you like, I would be more than pleased, with my officials, to walk you through the examples when we move into the question-and-answer portion of our meeting.
l'd like to emphasize, however, that these improved measures for modern-day veterans take nothing away from the care and support our war service veterans have come to expect from us. Just the opposite is true. This is an important point. Of the 837,000 veterans in Canada, 258,000 are war service veterans, and sadly, about 25,000 of our war service veterans are passing away every year.
We owe it to them to make sure their final years are as rewarding and comfortable as possible. That includes helping them to live independently for as long as they can, in their own homes. And when our elderly war service veterans do need to enter a long-term care facility, we want them to be confident they will get the specialized health care they need and deserve. That's no small consideration when we currently have almost 10,600 veterans living in long-term care facilities.
We are bringing this same level of commitment to the other issues our department is tackling. The Agent Orange issue at CFB Gagetown is a case in point. Our new government is determined to address concerns raised by CF members, veterans, civilians, and area residents about herbicide use at the New Brunswick training base.
In fact, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is the first national leader to deal with the problem head-on. He wants a resolution; it is a commitment our new government has made. As a result, my department, which has taken the lead role on the compensation side of this issue, is studying a variety of options and models. And I feel very good about the support l've been getting from my colleagues and individual MPs, many in this room and many in opposition, Mr. Chair.
We are making progress, and we will see the results either this year or early next year. l'm sure if you asked any veterans, they would tell you that all they want from their dealings with the government is fair, equal, and effective treatment. This is a major reason why we have embraced, for example, a more open process for inviting applications for appointment to the Veterans Review and Appeal Board. Veterans deserve to have their cases reviewed by an independent, fair, and professional tribunal. They also deserve to have their cases heard in a timely manner, which is why I'm looking for ways to clear up a backlog of about 7,500 cases. Such delays are simply unacceptable.
I wish I had more time, because I'd like to elaborate at some length on our work fulfilling the Prime Minister's promise to appoint a veterans ombudsman and adopt a veterans bill of rights. Let me just say we are consulting extensively with our veterans organizations, individuals, and other clients to make sure we get both initiatives right the first time. If we do, we will properly demonstrate this government's commitment to openness, transparency, and accountability.
We will also be getting to the heart of what defines this department. At the end of the day, our sole interest is the care, well-being, and health of our veterans, and to keep the memory of their achievements and sacrifices alive for all Canadians. It's no more complicated than that.
In carrying out this simple and honourable mission in the coming year, the Veterans Affairs portfolio is seeking approval for a total of just over $3.2 billion in the 2006-07 main estimates.
At this point, I need to stress that these main estimates tabled on April 25 are based on the previous government's budget in 2005, and do not provide a completely accurate reflection of the current government's spending priorities. Briefly stated, the main estimates amount to a $350 million increase over last year's budget, and $250 million of this is directly attributable to the more generous new charter. It is a price worth paying, however, to make sure our veterans are treated with the respect and dignity they've earned.
I'll just highlight some of the big numbers now, and if you have any questions about the details, I'll be happy to answer them at the end of my remarks.
By far the majority of these funds, some $2.1 billion, or almost two-thirds of the total, will be paid directly to veterans and their families as pensions, disability awards, allowances for disability and death, and other economic support. Of this amount, $250 million will go to disability awards and allowances, earnings lost in supplemental retirement benefits under the new charter. I'm pleased to say only 7% of this departmental spending is for corporate services and program delivery costs. Health care benefits for our veterans and their families account for most of the remaining one-third of the department's budget.
The largest single expenditure on this side of the ledger is the approximately $368 million spent on long-term and nursing-home care for veterans, including the operation of Ste. Anne's Hospital near Montreal. I was at that hospital last week, and I can tell you our money is being well spent. Ste. Anne's is one of those government success stories we hear too little about. I had a chance to meet many veterans there, and they are as fine and distinguished a group as you could ever hope to be with. I did the same thing last week at Ridgewood in Saint John, New Brunswick.
In fact the several hours I spent there made for one of the most rewarding, emotional days in my first four months as the Minister of Veterans Affairs. When the veterans are shaking your hand and not wanting to let go, they're really saying thank you for the exceptional care they're getting. It's their expression of gratitude to a grateful nation. In turn, they filled me with even more determination to make sure we honour and serve our veterans with the respect, the dignity, and generosity of spirit they deserve.
St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.” I look forward to working with you in the months and years ahead to make sure our actions on behalf of this country's veterans match our words.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.