Veterans Affairs Committee on Nov. 21st, 2013

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Peter Stoffer]

Good morning, everyone.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and pursuant to our study of the new Veterans Charter, the committee is extremely pleased to have Lieutenant General Walter Semianiw, assistant deputy minister of policy, communications and commemoration, from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Janice Burke, the senior director of strategic policy integration. I love those titles.

I also want to recognize Andrea Siew of the Royal Canadian Legion, who I believe, if I'm saying it right, is their policy person for service officers across the country.

[Andrea Siew, Director, Service Bureau, Royal Canadian Legion]

Absolutely.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Peter Stoffer]

May I say, on behalf of the committee, you do a great job.

Also I'd like to let the witnesses know that our regular chairperson, Mr. Royal Galipeau, unfortunately can't be with us today. I'm sure he would send his thanks to you for coming and helping us in pursuit of our study.

At this time, if you'd like to proceed, Mr. Semianiw, go ahead, please.

[LGen Walter Semianiw, Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy, Communications and Commemoration, Department of Veterans Affairs]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

First, Mr. Chair, on behalf of the deputy minister and the department, we'd like to congratulate you on being named parliamentarian of the year. Clearly, we know that your support, your interest in veterans, is first and foremost and in large part has to do with that designation and that honour. We congratulate you from the deputy minister and the department for that.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Peter Stoffer]

Thank you very much.

[LGen Walter Semianiw]

Chers collègues, my name is Walter Semianiw. I am the assistant deputy minister of policy, communications and commemoration with Veterans Affairs, and I'm here today with my colleague Janice Burke, the director of strategic policy integration in the policy division, to give you an overview of the original design and principles of the new Veterans Charter.

As Minister Fantino noted just two days ago, he clearly asked this committee to look into this. The new Veterans Charter is a very important issue for our veterans, and we're hoping today that the information we'll provide you will perhaps be those first steps toward having an even better understanding of what we call the new Veterans Charter, and that you can all use your collective wisdom at the end of all of this to come up with some very strong ideas and recommendations about the way ahead.

More than half a century ago, one million Canadian servicemen and women came home from the Second World War. A grateful nation and a responsive government provided a wide range of programs to ease their adjustment to civilian life.

As a result, prior to the implementation of the new Veterans Charter, when modern-day members of the Canadian Armed Forces returned home from overseas missions with physiological or psychological injuries, there clearly was little for them beyond the disability pension program and related health care. This was a serious issue that the government of the day had to address, particularly with our involvement in the war on terror and our troops deployed to Afghanistan.

[Janice Burke, Senior Director, Strategic Policy Integration, Department of Veterans Affairs]

In looking back at the military context then, there were several factors at play that sharpened the need for change. The Canadian Armed Forces were experiencing an increased operational tempo, and deployed Canadian Armed Forces members were facing traumatic war-like peacekeeping or peacemaking conditions, resulting in significant physical and mental health impacts, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. More of these released Canadian Armed Forces personnel than ever before were looking to VAC for assistance.

Correspondingly, the VAC context required a shift. Research was showing that VAC programs were not achieving positive outcomes for meeting the needs of veterans of Bosnia, the Gulf War, Rwanda, or other deployments, and their families. As the minister mentioned in his remarks to you on Tuesday, these veterans were not successfully re-establishing into their communities, family lives, or civilian jobs, and for good reason. There simply were no transition or rehabilitation supports available to them.

Further, the disability pension income was insufficient to meet their financial needs. Eighty per cent of Canadian Armed Forces pensioners received pensions at 30% or less, which amounts to $800 per month for a single veteran, and there was increased pressure on the disability pension as a source of income without providing an incentive for wellness or work.

[LGen Walter Semianiw]

What was clear was that the previous system, the disability pension benefit as a gateway to accessing needed health care, represented an outdated approach, an approach that was not consistent with modern disability management principles and practice. Instead there was a demonstrated need for early intervention with the injured and ill based on their level of need, involvement of family members in planning for their transition to civilian life, and, most importantly, a comprehensive rehabilitation program.

[Janice Burke]

For VAC, this significant transformation in veterans programs and services began with a study of the needs of veterans and their families, starting with the review of veterans’ care needs, which profiled veterans in receipt of VAC benefits and identified any gaps in benefits and services to ensure they receive the care and support they need. The review concluded that the existing programs, designed for an aging veteran population, were inadequate for a younger population, particularly for those with disabilities. These findings are consistent with a number of other reports concerned with the well-being of Canadian Forces personnel.

[LGen Walter Semianiw]

I’m moving away from the speaking notes in the spirit of providing a broader context. For greater understanding, the Department of Veterans Affairs was already looking at this issue between 1996 and 2000. In the end, you're going to hear me say that we looked at this issue for a decade—not a year, not five years, but a decade—and finally determined what the NVC should look like. From 1996 to 2000, that first step, which Janice just provided, was to look into this, within the department, because the signals were very strong that things had to change for a lot of reasons.

The Veterans Affairs Canada–Canadian Forces Advisory Council—you'll see this in a lot of the readings—the VAC-CFAC, was formally established in July 2000 to provide the minister and the department with advice on enhancing existing policies or developing new policies, programs, and services for still-serving Canadian Forces personnel, veterans, and their families. This 21-member council was chaired by Dr. Neary—an important name to note—former Dean of the Faculty of Social Science at the University of Western Ontario. He was joined by other academics, researchers, and practitioners, as well as representatives from the still-serving and retired Canadian Armed Forces community and representatives from other government departments.

I'm moving away....

Mr. Chair, I apologize, but I want to make sure that we put this in context. When you look at the back of the report, which I hope members of this committee will read, it lists who those 21 individuals were. They included General Roméo Dallaire. He was part of the committee that looked at this important issue on the new Veterans Charter. It also included four other veterans—I confirmed this again last night. It included representatives from all the stakeholders that existed at the time. Remember, at that time, this committee didn't exist. It was the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs. At that time, there weren't all the stakeholders we see today. To hear some stakeholders today say that they didn't get a chance to write a comment is understandable because they weren't in existence at the time, or who knows if they were a veteran or part of that group.

There were the stakeholders. There were serving men and women in uniform, at the time, representing the reserve force, the regular force, as well as—very important—those from the military health care system. When you look at those 21, as you'll see if you dig down, it’s fair to say that it was a very broad, very inclusive group. It included stakeholders, veterans still serving, academics. We had the collective wisdom of those who knew this issue.

Janice is going to explain in a minute what they then did, which will open up a lot of eyes—it did for me—on how broad and extensive this collaboration was as that group went out.

[Janice Burke]

In March 2004, the Canadian Forces Advisory Council released a major discussion paper entitled Honouring Canada's Commitment: “Opportunity with Security” for Canadian Forces Veterans and Their Families in the 21st Century. In its report, the Canadian Forces Advisory Council called for immediate government action, referring to the current response to the needs of Canadian Forces veterans and their families as “inadequate”. This report formed the basis for the design of the modernized programs and services, otherwise known as the new Veterans Charter.

[LGen Walter Semianiw]

And in the process of responding to this challenge, we embarked on the most extensive consultations ever undertaken by the department.

That's a decade of review and consultation, not a year, and not two years. I'm very passionate about this, because when I read in the paper that people are saying there was very little consultation, if any, I find that hard to understand when I actually take a look at what's on the record, which is what we're going to lay out for you.

During the development of the new Veterans Charter, several rounds of consultation took place with men and women of the VAC-CFAC, as well as representatives, as I've stated, from the six major veterans organizations, including both traditional veterans and peacekeeping groups.

Feedback from the sessions was fed directly to the design team. Then those who were consulted received feedback on how these suggestions and comments were considered and/or factored into the design. This is an important point, because when you hear the presentation, it sounds like it was very linear. It wasn't. Actually, it was a loop-back mechanism, whereby ideas were worked on, developed, and brought back to men and women in uniform and to veterans to say, “Look at this: what do you think about this?”, before we moved ahead to say, “Here's where we landed.”

[Janice Burke]

During this period, focus groups were held with Canadian Armed Forces personnel and veterans and separately with the families of Canadian Armed Forces personnel and veterans to feed into program design. In addition, in advance of the legislation being tabled, information sessions were held at bases across the country with Canadian Armed Forces members, veterans, and their families, involving some 800 participants.

The men and women in uniform told us that they needed services and benefits that were tailored to their needs and to those of their family and that support, wellness, independence, and a successful transition to civilian life. So we did that. The Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Act and regulations, called the new Veterans Charter, was designed to build a future where there's opportunity with security. That's important, because the average age at military release is 37 years, an age at which they and their families need the assurance of a secure future. They needed programs that support them if they suffer from chronic pain, permanent disability, and/or operational stress injury. They needed programs that would support them should they be grappling with employment, income, and disability support issues as they moved from a very structured military environment to civilian life. Also, they needed programs that recognized that this transition is a major adjustment for their entire family.

[LGen Walter Semianiw]

The New Veterans Charter shifted the focus from disability to wellness. The programs were designed as an integrated suite of benefits and services that work together to support the successful recovery, re-establishment and reintegration of veterans and their families in civilian society.

The monthly disability pension benefit was replaced with a package that includes a series of financial benefits to improve economic support, as well as the lump-sum disability award to compensate for, and recognize, the non-economic impacts of a service-related disability, such as pain and suffering.

[Janice Burke]

The new programs, which also included comprehensive rehabilitation, health care benefits, and career transition services, are based on the principles of modern disability management. They focus on early intervention and are tailored to the needs of the individual. They provide the most support to those with the greatest need.

[LGen Walter Semianiw]

Yes, and if I can note this for the members of the committee, when you look at the research, it's very, very clear. The key is not just for the veteran but for the veteran's family. The most important thing to do is to get people to gainful employment, back to work. It's not about sitting at home. The research is very clear. The longer you stay out of the workforce at home, the less likely it is that you are ever going to get back to work.

What we also know is that the skills our veterans bring to the table and to the nation are unbelievable in a lot of cases, which is again why we need to get those skills back into the workforce and back into the economy. When you took a look at the research, it was very clear why you needed to move towards a program focused on wellness, a program that focused on getting our men and women in uniform who were injured better, so that we can get them back into society.

However, to be fair, as you will hear, in some cases that may not be possible where veterans, given the injuries they've sustained, may not be able to get back to work. That was examined as part of the charter: that first step to opportunity is rehabilitation. Veterans who were medically released or have a service-related rehabilitation need now have access to comprehensive medical, psychosocial, and vocational rehabilitation services.

As well, they will have uninterrupted health benefits for themselves and their families. To ensure that they are financially secure during their rehabilitation, or if they are unable to work, a series of monthly financial benefits is available, including earnings loss and the permanent impairment allowance—

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Peter Stoffer]

General, I'm sorry, we have a point of order here.

Mr. Karygiannis.

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Chair, this is not the first time I'm bringing this up. I have brought it up before, and it has been mentioned by my office.

Although we have reassurance that we're being piped out right now, if we were piped out, my computer would be playing my voice. So I would say to you that the public is not able to hear us. I could be wrong. I would ask that we might want to check with our offices to know that this is being heard.

This is not the first time I have brought this up. My office has repeatedly tried to get in to listen to this, and they cannot.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Peter Stoffer]

Mr. Karygiannis, you bring up a very good point.

I have checked with the clerk, and they are checking with our folks right now to see where the problem is.

I have just been advised by the clerk that from the House of Commons' perspective, everything is fine. I don't know the technical concern of it, but there must be a glitch or something wrong on the receiving end somewhere.

What I can assure you, sir, is that the clerk and the—

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Chair, I appreciate the facts and what you're telling me. I'm telling you that I'm live at this very moment and am able to listen to the stream. If you and I, Chair, were on—

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Peter Stoffer]

Well, Mr. Karygiannis, I'm being advised by the clerk that from the House perspective—the committee's perspective—everything is going exactly as it should be going. As to the reason why it's not on the receiving end, we don't have the answer yet, but they're looking into it right now.

I'm being assured by the clerk and the woman behind that from this perspective the “out” part is fine—there's nothing wrong with it, they say—and it's, for whatever reason, on the receiving end that it's not working. But we will definitely look into it.

Mr. Semianiw, would you like to continue, please?

Thank you.

[LGen Walter Semianiw]

Mr. Chair, I'll turn it over to Ms. Burke.

[Janice Burke]

The next step to opportunity is a new career. The new Veterans Charter provides career transition services to all releasing Canadian Armed Forces personnel, not just those who are medically released.

[LGen Walter Semianiw]

But that's not all. It also provides a tax-free lump sum payment of up to $298,587 to compensate and recognize Canadian Armed Forces veterans for the non-economic impact of a service-related disability, such as pain and suffering. These lump sum payments help veterans kickstart new civilian lives, helping them invest in a new home, a new business, or just a new start.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Peter Stoffer]

I just want to note that we're back on track now, to address Mr. Karygiannis's point.

Thank you.