Evidence of meeting #103 for Veterans Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was year.
A video is available from Parliament.
3:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Phil McColeman
If it's not a yes or a no, we don't have time. His question was for a yes or a no. Do you want to answer that?
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
Seamus O'Regan Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
We will make sure that funding continues year over year to make sure that every veteran gets what they need and what they deserve.
3:55 p.m.
Karen Ludwig New Brunswick Southwest, Lib.
Thank you, and thank you, Minister and General, for being here today.
We heard from a number of witnesses who were before the committee about the challenge with regard to the transition from the Canadian Armed Forces to being a veteran. I'm wondering, Minister, if you could speak directly to that.
I know that we've talked about the career transition benefit—the education and the training benefit—but we heard specifically from veterans about the challenge of the training they receive within the Canadian Armed Forces not being recognized by external bodies. Is there any work being done in that area, again, to help with the transition? Thank you.
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
Seamus O'Regan Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
In fact, last evening I spent some time with a group called Seamless. They're doing very similar work, but their work is involved with making sure that even within Canada, and while they're still in service but moving from base to base, the qualifications of a spouse, for instance, are recognized from province to province, which, as you know, can get quite cumbersome. I know there are things we're trying to deal with in terms of internal economy, but these are really important matters, and again, not only for the veteran but also for the family that serves with them.
We have heard this time and again. My marching orders from the Prime Minister—and the same through my colleague, the Minister of National Defence—is to make sure that transition happens as smoothly as possible. Working with external bodies and with provinces to make sure qualifications are recognized is a top priority.
3:55 p.m.
New Brunswick Southwest, Lib.
Thank you.
We have also heard at committee about veterans who are homeless. In terms of housing, can you share with us how veterans are priorities in the national housing strategy?
3:55 p.m.
Liberal
Seamus O'Regan Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
As the national housing strategy is rolled out over the course of the next seven years, we're happy that veterans will be a priority group, which is as it should be, really. We're still fashioning this, but a lot of the groups that attended our round table on homelessness are the same groups that will be informing our decisions with the national housing strategy.
One item I wanted to mention that I think will also help in terms of homelessness is the ID card. For the first time, the flip side of the ID card will have numbers on it that will allow anybody who picks it up and reads it to see where help is being offered and how they can get direct help for the veteran—or how they themselves can receive help. More importantly, it allows for identification of a veteran. In most instances, when they self-identify that they are indeed a veteran when they go into a homeless shelter, etc., we are then able to tap into them as a department. There are instances where that hasn't happened, but it just allows things to be expedited.
3:55 p.m.
Gen (Ret'd) Walter Natynczyk
I might just add that a year and a bit ago, I did a foot patrol through Ottawa on a Sunday with a group called Soldiers Helping Soldiers, the Royal Canadian Legion and a number of Ottawa police officers who formerly had been in the Canadian Armed Forces. We visited the Mission. We visited the Shepherds of Good Hope. We visited the Salvation Army. I was taken not only by the fact that we were able to find some veterans, but when we sat down and counselled them, telling them about all the tools and the fact that we could help them do this or do that, none of them came forward. In addition to that, I know that, as we went in, a number of veterans left through the back door. They didn't want to be found yet.
This goes back to my earlier point about working with networks of veterans so that they feel safe to come forward, to get help and to get down that road of mental health healing and resilience, and at some point in the future go into some kind of vocational rehab that will give them a purpose.
The minister and I were out in Victoria, again partnered with the Royal Canadian Legion, at a great facility called Cockrell House, where graduates, if I can use that word, of what I've just described are there counselling veterans who are coming in from the bush. We've also found that a lot of veterans don't want to be in Ontario or the prairie provinces in winter if they're homeless. They migrate from our offices to the west coast, so it's about how we can get these veterans to come forward and to present so that we can help them as soon as possible—when they want.
4 p.m.
Liberal
Seamus O'Regan Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
Yes. I was going to say that in the case of these veterans, it's when they choose to.
4 p.m.
New Brunswick Southwest, Lib.
No, thank you very much. I'm very pleased. I have heard from veterans in my area of New Brunswick Southwest about the additional services and certainly the difficult times over the last decade.
Thank you.
4 p.m.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
Thank you.
Thank you both for being here, and thank you, Minister, for your presentation.
First of all, on the homelessness piece, I want to thank you and the government for placing priority on veterans in terms of homelessness. There are also other vulnerable groups, of course, but veterans are a big piece. I think you said as well that the ID card will help identify some of those individuals, which is crucial. I'm looking at Irving Shipbuilding, and they've agreed now to hire 100 veterans through a program that they have.
Those are very big. We need to make sure we communicate all the benefits out there. There have been lots of benefits over the last two and half to three years. What are we doing to help with the awareness? I'm always afraid that people are not aware of all the benefits they have and deserve.
4 p.m.
Liberal
Seamus O'Regan Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
We work with organizations like the Legion. They have been outstanding in helping to get the word out on the ground, aside from our own efforts. We still have a lot of work to do. There is communication and there is also receiving that communication, making sure that people hear what you're putting out there.
When we talk about this issue, as I think everybody in this room can appreciate, emotions can run high sometimes. It is an emotional issue. Social media just kind of exacerbates that. One of the real reasons I wanted to continue, and will continue, with the town halls we do across the country is that it allows you the opportunity to speak directly to people. These are people who are showing up at town halls. They're motivated.
4 p.m.
Liberal
Seamus O'Regan Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
They're usually leaders in the community. Some of them are quiet and just dealing with their own things, but many of them are people who help get the word out. It just allows us a larger forum to help explain beyond one or two bullet points what it is that we're trying to do.
4 p.m.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
That's what I wanted to touch on. Forty-five is a lot since you've been appointed minister. Can you tell us some of the key things that you're hearing in those public meetings?
4 p.m.
Liberal
Seamus O'Regan Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
They hold our feet to the fire better than anybody. The first thing that comes to mind is something that I acknowledged earlier in the session: wait times. It is one thing to look at numbers, and it is quite another thing to be confronted with a veteran or a family member who has had to wait a long period of time. You hear that out, and you're more emboldened than you were before to make sure that you do something about it. That's the first thing that comes to mind. However, literally, a lot of what we are putting into place now are things that veterans have been talking about for quite some time, that they have brought up time and again in town halls. These are often opportunities for us to tweak new initiatives.
4 p.m.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
On that front, General, I'm leading to that question. You'll answer exactly where the minister is bringing us because that's exactly where I want to go. We have to keep in mind that there are 32% more applicants, and 60% are new applicants. There's an influx. The work that we're doing on the ground on awareness is helping; there's no question. You asked what we can do. When we spoke about going back because some of the materials are missing, or going back to CAF, is there something...?
I know that there's a joint committee between CAF and VAC. What can we do to improve that? It's so crucial for us to zero in on how we can make that more efficient. Maybe the ID card is going to give us some help. I know that the military veterans are telling me, as well, that not only the ID card, but some of the.... How can we make that process faster? What do we know now that we didn't know and that we can use to improve the time frame?
4:05 p.m.
Gen (Ret'd) Walter Natynczyk
I kind of put down four factors. We're hiring, as the minister indicated, as fast as we can, and we're hiring the very best from communities coast to coast. We're also trying to create additional capability out in the regions: a francophone adjudication team in Montreal and another one in Winnipeg. We created a little cell in Campbellton, New Brunswick. We're creating capability because we know that in Charlottetown we have great folks. We're trying to hire them as fast as we can, too, but we're doing a shotgun approach. We're training them. We are providing a lot of resources because training is so important, not only for the individual but for standardization across the country. We're fixing our processes.
Again, what the minister heard in our town halls.... We have to realize that when men and women get hurt in the Canadian Armed Forces, often they don't go to the medics because they're great troopers. They want show up for PT the next day. They don't get their injuries documented. That is often the case, and I speak from experience. Therefore, actually putting the case together so that we know what happens to an infantryman, an artilleryman or a ship's bosun allow us to come up with an evidence model based upon their trade and their experience. Then finally there is digitization. We are leveraging digitization to the degree that we can, recognizing that some folks like to go the digital route, some folks like walking in the front door of the office and some folks want a phone call.
Again, we are trying to get stronger in all of those areas. We have this portal called My VAC Account. We have thousands of people who are signing up monthly, perhaps triggered by all these town halls. We have over 80,000 on My VAC Account now. In terms of new programs, the education and training benefit and the—
4:05 p.m.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Phil McColeman
I'm going to have to cut you off there, General. We're about a minute over time on that one.
4:05 p.m.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Phil McColeman
I wanted to take the time to give you as much as we could there.
Mr. Brassard, you have five minutes.