Veterans Affairs Committee on Feb. 26th, 2015

[Michel D. Doiron]

Yes. I'm in just about constant dialogue with my colleagues over at Service Canada, ESDC, about how we can improve how we offer those services, to make them more accessible, to make them more appropriate, to make sure that when somebody walks in, they actually know that they are allowed to go there. That has happened. We are working very closely with our colleagues over at Service Canada to improve that, and to make sure that the tools are at the various sites, especially in the remote sites, and the veteran can get services.

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Have you, with Service Canada, established any milestones, goals, or concrete objectives to say you're going to get to this level by this time with this many people?

[Michel D. Doiron]

We have not as you're mentioning it, sir.

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Is it safe to say that's the general direction you're moving in?

[Michel D. Doiron]

Yes.

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

There's the whole point about forms, and that is an issue.

One of the things Service Canada folks do is to make sure the form is complete. With respect to providing services, how common is it that a screwed-up form delays things and you have to go back and get them to redo it, and sometimes they're remote and it's hard to get hold of them, and so on? Is that a pretty common occurrence?

[Michel D. Doiron]

It is a common occurrence. I wouldn't say it's a common occurrence when they come from Service Canada; I think they do that part very well. But it is a common occurrence that we receive forms not fully completed or properly completed.

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

My point is that as perhaps limited as the Service Canada training is, that's a pretty important part of it that they do fulfill.

We talked about there being no traffic in the offices. Just to be clear, I think what you said was that, for instance, in Sydney, the office now—I think it's one of the ones in exactly the same building—there is no traffic. People don't have to drive somewhere to get traffic. They can walk or take the bus to the same place they always did. It's just now an embedded Veterans Affairs person in that Service Canada office.

[Michel D. Doiron]

When I say “traffic”, I mean clients coming to see them.

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

I understand.

[Michel D. Doiron]

In Sydney, they are actually embedded in the eight offices. The embedded Veterans Affairs officer is in the Service Canada office.

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

And in some of those places, the traffic has been limited to—

[Michel D. Doiron]

Yes, but that's not the case in Sydney. Sydney does see—

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Maybe Sydney is a bad example.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Sydney does what?

[Michel D. Doiron]

It does see some clients.

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mélanie, you talked about numbers. You're at the front end of the transition screening and so on, and you have 180 clients. Do you personally have 180, or how many Mélanies are dealing with these 180?

[Mélanie Witty]

Over the last year I've seen 180. They were all medically releasing.

The IPSC is saying that if you have boots and you've worn them and you're coming down the hall, you're a client, whether you're a reservist class A, B, or C; whether you're a regular force member; or whether you twisted your ankle during basic training. That's it.

I know exactly how many members will release for the next year.

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Is there more than you at IPSC?

[Mélanie Witty]

We have three case managers, and we have three client service agents. We need more in terms of the volume, but we make it work. We disseminate the work at our district office, which is down the road.

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

You mentioned that it can take up to two weeks to understand the rehabilitation services, and so on. Is that mostly because they're so complex, or is it mostly because some of the people you're dealing with have, for various injury reasons, difficulty taking it all in?

[Mélanie Witty]

It takes that long to understand the program, the policies, and the business process. It's quite lengthy. Coming from the outside, we get the proper training. We have standard officers who will give us guidance. We will be sent off on training. As an employee of Veterans Affairs, as a case manager, when you've done that training, you do understand it.

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

The question I was left with was that it takes two weeks for the veteran to understand—

[Mélanie Witty]

No. I'm saying it's hard to recap the rehabilitation program in a deck of slides. When you yourself are a new employee, the training is offered to you so that you can understand it and deliver it appropriately.

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

I understand. It's a lot more simple for the veteran to get the message.