Evidence of meeting #9 for Veterans Affairs in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was veteran.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:40 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Service Delivery, Department of Veterans Affairs
No, let's go back a second. I think the number you have is with regard to the case-managed.
12:40 p.m.
Director, Case Management and Support Services, Department of Veterans Affairs
Yes.
12:40 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Service Delivery, Department of Veterans Affairs
It is 6% of the 7,000 who are Second World War veterans.
12:40 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Service Delivery, Department of Veterans Affairs
Oh, I'm sorry; I thought you meant 420,000. I was afraid you were jumping ahead to a much bigger number. I didn't hear—
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Bradley Trost Conservative Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK
That's no problem.
This really drives it home to me. Probably about half of the Veterans Affairs cases that come through my office are for World War II and Korea. I wasn't totally understanding just how much this was driving to the newer members, the people who have been to Afghanistan.
I have one last really quick question. Prince George has been closed for about a year.
December 3rd, 2013 / 12:40 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Service Delivery, Department of Veterans Affairs
Yes.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Bradley Trost Conservative Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK
Is there any word on how that closure has gone and on how many case files are still being operated out of there, how many people, and what the feedback has been?
12:40 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Service Delivery, Department of Veterans Affairs
Prince George closed, I believe, in January 2013. I have not received one complaint with regard to service.
You have to bear in mind that the Prince George office was an office of two people; it was a very small office. In fact, it got to the point of being very challenging, because for health and safety reasons you can't have only one person in the office. If somebody were to go on vacation or somebody called in sick or had a family commitment, a veteran would drive x number of kilometres to the Prince George office only to see a sign there saying that no one was available that day. So offices of two people really aren't practical.
12:40 p.m.
NDP
The Vice-Chair NDP Peter Stoffer
Thank you very much.
Mr. Casey, we have time for one more question for you, sir, very quickly.
12:40 p.m.
Liberal
Sean Casey Liberal Charlottetown, PE
Mr. Hillier, I don't want to let this go. We have a responsibility here to make recommendations under the statute.
When I asked you whether the department had costed the recommendations of the ombudsman, you said not all of them. Would you share with the committee the ones you have costed?
12:40 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Service Delivery, Department of Veterans Affairs
I don't have that information, Mr. Chair, off the top of my head—
12:45 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Service Delivery, Department of Veterans Affairs
—but I will certainly take it back, Mr. Chair.
12:45 p.m.
NDP
The Vice-Chair NDP Peter Stoffer
Thank you very much.
That ends our session for today.
Nathalie, Keith, and Anne-Marie, thank you again for coming by today and helping us in our deliberations.
Again, Keith, I wish you the very best in your future endeavours.
We'll have a one-minute break and then go in camera very briefly.
[Proceedings continue in camera]