Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good afternoon, honourable committee members.
I am pleased to be here today to talk to you about the board's main estimates for 2012-13 and about how we are serving Canada's veterans.
With me is Karen Rowell, our director of corporate operations, who has been with the board since its creation in 1995.
The board fulfills the government's commitment to providing veterans, and members of the Canadian Forces and the RCMP, with a generous and independent appeal process for disability benefits decisions made by Veterans Affairs Canada. I can assure you that the board is dedicated to serving veterans and their families respectfully, efficiently, and effectively.
The vast majority of our budget is spent on conducting hearings for veterans in almost 30 locations across the country. These hearings deal with the most complex and challenging cases, since the straightforward ones are approved by the department. The reality is that many veterans are satisfied at the departmental level and never bring their decisions forward to the board.
Let me turn, for a moment, to how our hearing process works.
The board's hearings are non-adversarial, which means that no one is arguing against the veterans. Veterans are represented at no cost by lawyers from the Bureau of Pensions Advocates or service officers from the Royal Canadian Legion.
The review hearing is the first level of redress at the board. It is the veteran's first and only opportunity to appear before decision-makers, with witnesses, and to testify about his or her disability and its relationship to service. He or she can also bring forward new information and present arguments in support of his or her case. By the end of this fiscal year, 3,600 applicants will have had review hearings.
If the veteran remains dissatisfied, he or she can request an appeal hearing. Through a representative, he or she, again, can submit new information and make further arguments in support of the case.
By the end of this fiscal year, 1,000 veterans will have had appeal hearings. Thanks to the opportunity these hearings provide, many applicants are successful in obtaining a better outcome at the board. In 2010-11, half received increased benefits due to a review decision, while a further one-third received increased benefits on appeal.
Mr. Chair, the board plays a vital role in ensuring that Canada's veterans receive the benefits they so rightly deserve, and we are committed to making ongoing program improvements to better serve them. Today the board processes review applications 20% faster than it did five years ago. Our progress is even more significant at appeal, with a 50% reduction in processing times. We have a manageable workload and are getting decisions to veterans sooner.
The board's priority is to make decisions that are fair and well reasoned in a timely fashion. In order to do so, we make sure that the veterans' applications are heard by professional and independent mediators. We have an excellent group of members who bring a wide range of professional experience to their work.
Board members qualify through a selection process that is based on merit and recognizes the value of military, medical, policing, and legal experience. In fact, our two most recently appointed members are Canadian Forces and RCMP veterans.
All new members undergo a rigorous 12-week training program before hearing cases. They also receive ongoing professional development and support from knowledgeable staff. As chairman, I have established performance assessments for members to give them regular feedback and opportunities to enhance their skills. I am committed to finding more ways to strengthen our program in the next fiscal year. We will remain dedicated to managing our costs effectively and providing a fair and effective appeal program for veterans and their families.
We are conducting a process redesign to find ways to cut red tape and make the appeal process faster and easier. We are continuing to make the protection of veterans' personal information a priority, and will look for opportunities to further strengthen our privacy practices.
We are focusing on plain language in our decisions and our communications. We are improving our website, and will publish noteworthy decisions to increase transparency and help veterans who may come before us in the future.
We are continuing to educate our members and staff about military and RCMP culture, and the challenges faced by disabled veterans and their families. We continue to expand our outreach to build stronger relationships with stakeholders and act on their feedback.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity today to talk about the board's commitment to serve Canada's veterans.
Mr. Chairman, I'm prepared to answer any questions the members may have.