Veterans Affairs Committee on March 5th, 2013

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Peter Stoffer]

Order. I see quorum here this morning.

Welcome back, everyone.

A special hello to our minister, the Honourable Steven Blaney, and to the deputy minister, Mary Chaput.

Thank you both for coming today. We know that your schedules are very busy, so we appreciate your being here today for the estimates.

Minister, just to confirm, we believe we have an hour of your time. Is that correct?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

That's correct, Mr. Chair.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Peter Stoffer]

Well, sir, we look forward to your presentation.

I will let everyone know that unfortunately the chair of our committee, Mr. Greg Kerr, is still recovering. We hope he will have a speedy recovery and be back in his chair as soon as possible.

Minister, please proceed, if you wish.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

We send the chair our best wishes.

I am glad to be here this morning, accompanied by our deputy minister of Veterans Affairs Canada, Mary Chaput.

I'd like to take a moment to talk about what we're doing for veterans.

Before we implemented our initiative for cutting red tape, applications for our services or programs involved numerous forms and telephone calls. Thanks to this plan, most calls, forms and emails have been eliminated.

Before our cutting red tape efforts, veterans had to send in countless receipts for VIP services that they were already approved to receive. We have fundamentally changed this important program for veterans and their families.

With our cutting red tape efforts, veterans are now receiving decisions on their benefit applications weeks faster. Veterans receive over 85% of all benefit applications made to the federal government: that means a “yes”.

Our government, the Prime Minister and myself, as a minister, are determined to provide help and assistance to veterans and their families in order to give them the tools they need for a smooth and successful transition. We have plenty of work ahead of us, and we are devoted to the task at hand. That is why I am here this morning. I have two requests to submit to the members of the committee.

Those two initiatives are mentioned in supplementary estimates (C)—for the current fiscal year—and in the main estimates for the next fiscal year tabled by our government last Monday in the House.

Each member has been provided with a chart that outlines the total investments since 2005. This chart clearly shows how the Veterans Affairs budget has increased massively since 2006.

I always say that we are a needs-based organization and we are there to meet the needs of our veterans. In terms of numbers, this means that, on average, in 2005, the budget for Veterans Affairs was $2.8 billion. Today I am seeking authority to spend upwards of and to invest more than $3.6 billion.

That's an increase, as you can see, of $800 million for our veterans. Of this money, 90% is going directly into the pockets of our veterans.

Our work is not yet done this year. That's why I'm also seeking support to approve the supplementary estimates (C) and of course the main estimates for next year.

For the balance of this fiscal year, I am asking you this morning to approve $44 million, in supplementary estimates (C), of additional funding for mainly the veterans independence program, VIP; the earnings loss benefit, which is the core of the new Veterans Charter; and veterans' children's education.

I am confident this morning that, by the end of the meeting, I will have your support to ensure that the Canadian government will continue to provide our veterans and their families with the benefits and programs they are entitled to and deserve.

You are probably familiar with the Veterans Independence Program. That's a very practical program that has a direct impact on the lives of our veterans and enables them to pay for snow removal of driveways in the winter, lawn mowing in the summer, housekeeping, window washing and so on. That program is available to our injured veterans and their families.

With the initiative for cutting red tape we have implemented, veterans now receive up-front payments twice a year and no longer have to submit receipts for small amounts that used to be reimbursed several weeks after the service had been provided to them.

Since January 1, more than 17,000 veterans and widows have received an average first installment of $1,300 to go towards these much-needed services. Of course, I cannot speak to any individual veteran, but let's talk about a veteran who is living in Toronto. He's 86 and used to be under the old veterans independence program. He had to fill out a form each time, attach a receipt, mail it to Veterans Affairs, and wait a few weeks to get his money back. This system took much of his time. He would spend hours a month on the phone with Veterans Affairs trying to track down where his money was and do some administrative tasks.

Now he gets the money up front. He can arrange for payment with his service provider so he's no longer spending time going back and forth with Veterans Affairs. Of course, veterans should keep their receipts, but they no longer have to submit them each time to get their money back. This is cutting millions of transactions. This is happening for this 86-year-old veteran in Toronto. This is also happening in P.E.I., in Manitoba, in Saskatchewan. Everywhere in our communities, veterans are getting the money up front and can move forward with respect to the veterans independence program.

The reason I am here this morning is to talk about the Veterans Independence Program.

That's the reason I'm taking time to describe this program to you this morning. That's why I'm here for the supplementary estimates (C). I'm seeking your support. I hope I'll have your support, because it's for our veterans. That's for supplementary estimates (C).

The main business, the main core for the next fiscal year is the main estimates. This is the money that will allow this department, our government, to provide the services to our veterans.

This morning, I am seeking authority to invest $3.637 billion for our veterans over the next fiscal year. That is $69 million more than this year. Those figures may seem high, but allow me to provide you with a breakdown.

To support veterans and their families, we expect to provide more than 38,000 disability benefits and continue to make payments directly to veterans for disabilities sustained in their military service.

We will also provide support to nearly 700 veterans for career transition services.

In addition, we support our deceased veterans' widowed spouses. Almost 38,000 people are also eligible for the Veterans Independence Program. We will process 5,000 applications for rehabilitation, and over 9,000 veterans will benefit from long-term care thanks to the partnership with the provinces. Of course, modifications sometimes need to be made to accommodate disabilities and allow our veterans to stay at home.

I think we all have a nice opportunity this morning to confirm our commitment to veterans. That's why I am confident I will receive your support regarding supplementary estimates (C) and close out the current fiscal year—especially when it comes to the Veterans Independence Program—and that I will also receive your support concerning the 2013-2014 main estimates.

I look forward to your questions.

Thank you.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Peter Stoffer]

Thank you, Minister.

Before we go to questioning, I want to thank, on behalf of all of us here, the Government of Canada and Veterans Affairs for making this the Year of the Korean War Veteran. On a personal level, I thought this was a wonderful distinction. So congratulations to the department for doing that.

Because of the time the minister has, after he leaves, Mary Chaput and Charlotte Stewart will be here for the second hour for any further questions that you may have. I have to be strict with the time; I hope I'm not rude.

We'll start off with Mr. Sylvain Chicoine, from the NDP.

[Sylvain Chicoine, NDP, Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, thank you very much for joining us today to answer our questions.

You are appearing early this year—on March 5. Usually, we hear from ministers a bit later in the year, in April. Was there a reason or urgency behind your early appearance?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

There are two reasons behind my early appearance. On the one hand, we have submitted the amounts required to close out this fiscal year. As you know, it ends on March 31. We need that money to provide services to veterans. On the other hand, as you know, the Minister of Finance announced that he would table the budget very soon.

[Sylvain Chicoine, NDP, Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC]

Thank you.

Minister, I would like to know what is planned for the next fiscal year when it comes to the Last Post Fund. An amount of $1 million was cut from that fund. However, veterans and undertakers have asked for an increase to complement the funeral costs for veterans in need.

Given the demands that have been made over the past few months, we find those cuts to be contradictory. Could you explain the situation to us?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Thank you for the question, Mr. Chicoine.

I want to reassure you by saying that all the benefits and services provided to the families of deceased veterans are being maintained. In addition, as part of an effort to cut red tape and simplify procedures, the Last Post Fund is saving money internally, and that helps improve the effectiveness of its program.

Generally speaking, as you know, the Last Post Fund helps cover veterans' funeral and burial costs. The amount provided for funerals is $3,600. There is no cap for burial costs. That is why veterans' burial and funeral costs can total $7,000 on average. Since 2006, more than 10,000 families have used that program. That is one of the most beneficial veterans' programs around the world.

[Sylvain Chicoine, NDP, Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC]

If I have understood correctly, you will continue to provide $3,600 per veteran, but you will not cover all the costs, which are at least $7,000 or $8,000. I don't understand why undertakers often have to make up the difference. The amount provided for veterans whose family is unable cover funeral costs will remain at $3,600.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Actually, the amount provided to a family can be as much as $7,000. In some cases, the costs have come up to $10,000. We are always working on improving our programs, and it is clear that any money saved internally does not affect the amounts provided to deceased veterans' families.

[Sylvain Chicoine, NDP, Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC]

My next question is about the projections regarding the Department of Veterans Affairs' workforce.

The documents state that Veterans Affairs Canada will still have about 3,400 employees over the 2013-2015 period. However, we know that Ste. Anne's Hospital employees—about 1,200 of them—are about to be transferred.

Does the department plan to adjust the workforce projections, since those employees will no longer be at Ste. Anne's Hospital?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

We won't be able to include the Ste. Anne's Hospital employees in our projections until the agreement has been concluded. As you know, the negotiations with the Government of Quebec regarding the hospital's transfer are going well. The objective is to maintain quality services for veterans, in both official languages, but also to eventually allow the Quebec community—especially those people living in Montreal's west island—to benefit from that infrastructure.

Once this agreement has been finalized and the transfer has been completed, those employees will be transferred to the Government of Quebec. From there on in, we will no longer include them in our projections. What is interesting about that transfer is that, on paper, it will reduce the number of employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The transfer helps maintain those long-term jobs, since we are ensuring that institution's sustainability by maintaining and securing quality care for veterans. In addition, Montreal's west island community will constitute a new client base.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Peter Stoffer]

Thank you, Mr. Minister.

Now we go to Ms. Adams, for five minutes, please.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Thanks very much, Minister, for appearing before us today.

Our Conservative government has put a strong priority on reducing red tape, eliminating those wasteful processes, and then reinvesting dollars into front-line services.

You spoke at length about the veterans independence program, probably the most popular program Veterans Affairs delivers.

Could you provide some additional examples of how the department is cutting red tape and inefficient bureaucracies?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Yes, sure. I would also like to thank you at this very moment for your hire a veteran initiative. We are getting pretty good comments from all across the country from companies that are willing to hire veterans.

More than 5,000 veterans are released from our Canadian armed forces every year. Some of them are willing to retire, but some of them still want to be active, whether they voluntarily leave the Canadian armed forces or have been medically released.

One good example of the cutting red tape initiative we have implemented is certainly the forms. Many veterans said they had to deal with a lot of forms when they had to deal with us. So far we have eliminated 250 forms from the department. Thanks to the people at the department, this is making life easier for our veterans.

Also, as I have already said, we have simplified our procedure in the veterans independence program, but we are also taking the same approach for health-related travel expenses. Whenever a veteran has to go to a medical facility to see a specialist for some services, he is entitled to have his travel expenses covered.

Once again it was the same thing. They had to fill out forms, send the bill, and wait for it to be processed. It was lengthy, but it was a routine administrative task. So we are moving forward with upfront payments since we have a clear idea of the needs of every veteran. That's another example.

So VIP, health-related, and the elimination of forms are three clear examples of our cutting red tape initiative.

Also the first step we took was to communicate more clearly with veterans. You can ask me in what way it is diminishing red tape. We realized by communicating more efficiently with veterans, and this has been requested by the Veterans Ombudsman, veterans get a better understanding of the decision and of the process. This reduces their requests and their demands because it is clearer. This also has an impact on reducing red tape.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Absolutely. At least the veteran is not frustrated in not understanding perhaps what's being communicated, but it's obvious you would want to have clear communication so the veteran doesn't need to pick up the phone, contact the department, and ask for further clarification and explanation. It's very well received.

When I'm visiting Legions I have to say the upfront payment for health expenses and for the VIP is very positively received. Whether the veteran is a younger veteran or an older veteran, it was quite the hassle and quite the paperwork burden for them to have to complete the forms and submit the receipts. That's all daunting, so this is very positively received.

Minister, the face of veterans in Canada is changing. We now have far more younger veterans, obviously, with thousands of younger individuals discharging from the Canadian armed forces each year.

Could you perhaps provide us with an overview of what the department is doing to ensure we're keeping pace with the changing face of our veteran?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Thank you. This is a pretty good question considering that, since November 2011, the department has been providing more service to those who we used to call our modern veterans. That means they are not from the Second World War or the Korean War. So we have accrued younger veterans; some can be returning from Afghanistan. This means we have to shift toward new technology. That's why over the last year we have moved toward e-services, in that we can provide services online to veterans.

We also realize that this is also helpful for our Second World War veterans, because sometimes their advocates, whether it's a sibling, a child, a parent , or a friend, are using the e-services to follow up on the file of those veterans who may have served in the Second World War. The e-services mean you can have access with a VAC account. You would have an access number. One very important principle is privacy. Privacy is secured through the Internet, so they can provide requests online. There is also a possibility for them to follow up the request through the Internet when the demand is going through the department.

We have also implemented what we call My VAC Book. It's very easy access for any veteran in the country to get a glimpse of this program and services that can be provided to them. Actually some veterans sometimes come with their own VAC book and seem quite pleased with it so far.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Peter Stoffer]

Mr. Minister, thank you very much.

We now go to Mr. Casey for five minutes, please.

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Good morning, Mr. Minister.

I want to ask you about your trip to Charlottetown last month. I asked you about it in question period, but I think the time restriction didn't allow you to give a complete answer.

Last month, you went to Charlottetown and you contacted the local media to tell them that you were going to do an interview with them on a Friday afternoon, which would be embargoed until five o'clock. Your employees were aware of this plan but had no idea why you were coming to town under a cloak of secrecy, where there was only going to be publicity at five o'clock. You would understand, given the cutbacks within your department and the disproportionate cutbacks in the civil service in my province, that people were clean terrified.

Sir, whoever gave you that advice, I presume, were from Ottawa because they clearly don't know the state of stress within the national headquarters over the cutbacks that have happened. Probably the worst thing you could say in Charlottetown is, “I'm from Ottawa and I'm here to help”.

So when you came to Charlottetown, sir, you made two announcements that were embargoed until five o'clock on a Friday afternoon. I have here the coverage from The Guardian. Of the two announcements you made, one was about the opening of an access office. What you didn't say and what I would invite you to clarify here today is that the access office is going to replace a district office and you will have two full-time equivalents in that access office. I would ask you to confirm that the staffing of the office will be two full-time equivalents.

The other thing you said, and I'm reading from The Guardian now, is that you announced Friday:

...three new director general positions within Veterans Affairs Canada will be posted to Charlottetown. The director general of communications, director general of finance and director general of Canada Remembers positions within the department will all be posted externally and those who are chosen for these positions will have to live and work in P.E.I.

I invite you today to clarify what you said in the local media, because you know and I know that these are not new positions. You know and I know that two of these positions have always been based in Charlottetown, and you announced back in May that the third one was coming and it hasn't happened yet.

You have a Mr. Schwenker who stalks me on Twitter, and every time I say something that he thinks is inaccurate, he corrects it. Apparently he doesn't know to contact The Guardian to correct these inaccuracies, so I'm asking you to do it.

These are my two questions. Will you confirm that the access office will have only two full-time equivalents? Will you now correct the record with respect to your announcement on these supposedly new director general positions?

Thank you, sir.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

I thank you for the question.

I hope I will be able to get a second question from you. I will try to make the answer as short as I can.

I have to specify that these are new competitions for three existing positions. As you know, when I was appointed to my position, the director of communications was based in Ottawa. As you can see, that position is now based in Charlottetown. The first competition has been held. Unfortunately, there were no candidates. That is why we are launching a second competition. It is open to all Canadians and anyone from Prince Edward Island. I would very much like to fill those three positions in Charlottetown, and I am confident I will be able to do so.

As you said—and this bears repeating—Charlottetown is the flagship of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Canadian government. This is the only department located in one of the country's regions. I think you can rightly be proud of that. I am very aware of the benefits to regional economies stemming from the Veterans Affairs office in Charlottetown.

I will now answer your second question about the access centre. I feel that, when more than 1,000 employees are dedicated to services for veterans, it is only natural for those Charlottetown veterans to have direct access to the headquarters, or the central agency.

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

I don't think I have received an answer to my question about the number of employees at the access centre. My understanding is that there are two employees, while there used to be many more at the office you will close.

Thank you for answering my second question.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Peter Stoffer]

Mr. Casey, I'm sorry. We need time for the minister to answer.

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Can you confirm that this office will have only two employees?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Allow me to reassure you by saying that the access centre will begin its operations once the office has been shut down.

If the chair approves, I will let the deputy minister give you an answer about staff management procedures.