Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, committee members.
As introduced, my name is Abe Townsend. I'm a member of the RCMP, but I'm not here representing the organization. I'm here representing the 24,000 regular and civilian members.
I've been an elected representative since 2004. The SRR program, staff relations representative program, is the official labour relations body for our members.
While our members perform their duties as safely as possible, injury, both physical and psychological, is an unfortunate consequence of service, and subsequently, our members are entitled to disability, and in the case of death, to survivor benefits as well.
At present, there are approximately 9,500 clients, of whom 3,100 are still serving, the remainder being either retired or survivors.
I make reference to the numbers reluctantly, because each and every number represents an individual, an individual with a family, likely, that has suffered loss through service.
I look at the Veterans Affairs stats, and 75% are approved in the first instance. Of those that go to appeal, 60% are approved on appeal. Now, you've jumped the first hurdle, you've jumped the second hurdle, and 25% at the appeal board are approved. You continually jump hurdles, and we're continually getting approval, albeit in a diminishing way.
Members whom I talk with who have gone through this express frustration that the further you go in this process—they use words like “discouraging” and “distant” and “disheartening”—the more it becomes very litigious and removed from the individual, albeit that it's their case going forward.
I'd like to believe, and I do believe, that those who designed the current process had the best of intentions to balance the individual's needs against the greater community's. Sometimes when I look at the bureaucracy that has grown from this, I wonder whether that balance needs to be reassessed and adjusted so that it truly does serve the disabled veterans, whether CF or RCMP veterans or serving members, in a little more balanced way.
Those are my opening remarks.