Veterans Affairs Committee on March 8th, 2017

[The Chair, Liberal, Neil Ellis]

We will break for a minute, and we'll bring the next—

[Kent Hehr, Liberal, Calgary Centre, AB]

I'd like to thank everyone on the committee for their hard work, their focus, and their efforts on behalf of Canadian veterans. It really means a lot.

[The Chair, Liberal, Neil Ellis]

We'll adjourn for a couple of minutes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Neil Ellis]

We'll come back to order.

We have votes at 5:30 p.m. and we need to have a couple of votes here at the end of the meeting for the main and supplementary estimates, so we're going to have to go with probably just one round of questioning.

Our witnesses are here. From the Department of Veterans Affairs, we have with us Elizabeth Stuart, assistant deputy minister, chief financial officer, corporate services branch; Michel Doiron, assistant deputy minister, service delivery; and Bernard Butler, assistant deputy minister, strategic policy and commemoration.

You guys aren't here to present formally, I guess, so we can start our first round.

Go ahead, Mr. Brassard.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I have a real treat for you, Mr. Doiron. Thanks to you for coming back, and thanks to Ms. Stuart and Mr. Butler.

I have some questions from some veterans. Specifically, I have four questions here, but if I may, Mr. Chair, I will share a bit of my time with Ms. Wagantall.

How much time do I have?

[The Chair, Liberal, Neil Ellis]

You have six minutes.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Okay. Can you give me notice at the four-minute mark?

Here's one of these questions that need to be asked. You can open nine offices and hire 400 staff, but what is the approval rate for the applications for benefits?

[Michel Doiron, Assistant Deputy Minister, Service Delivery, Department of Veterans Affairs]

We are running in the mid-80s right now in the approval rate on first applications.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

The mid-80s...?

[Michel Doiron]

If you're talking about mental health or PTSD, we're actually running at about 94%. It would depend on the exact...but the average for all is in the mid-80s.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

The next question is, what is the feedback cycle from veterans regarding services and benefits?

[Michel Doiron]

That's a loaded question, sir.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

It's from a veteran, Mr. Doiron.

[Michel Doiron]

Okay—

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

You can expect it to be loaded.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[Michel Doiron]

Yes, sir.

It would all depend on which services we're talking about. If you're talking about our adjudicative services, the comments we get back are that they're too long and we need too much information. As part of the service delivery review and some other things we're doing, we're trying to facilitate that, to de-medicalize the process and make it a bit easier. Notwithstanding the fact that we're doing it with an approval rate in the mid-80s, the forms are too complicated and the process is too complicated.

If you're talking about case management, we get very positive comments back, but those are mostly in terms of the ill and injured. That's more of a hand-holding, more of a partnership, with the veteran. It would depend on what services we're talking about.

That said, though, we don't hear a lot from the silent majority, so we are in the process of doing a survey with veterans to actually go out and solicit their views on Veterans Affairs. We're hoping to have the results of that at some point in April.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

The next question is about case managers sending the applications to Charlottetown, adding time and bureaucracy to the process. Is there any intent or thought being given to letting case managers approve benefit applications to save time?

[Michel Doiron]

Not for the case managers themselves, but we are looking at whether we can move some of that decision-making closer to the veteran at a different level. That's not with the case managers themselves, but with some of our veterans service agents, or by having some disability benefit agents in the offices across the country who could do that on site much faster.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

This is the last question.

How much time do I have, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Neil Ellis]

You have about three and a half minutes.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

In terms of the appeal board, why aren't the appeal board decisions communicated to VAC so that those decisions are followed at VAC?

[Michel Doiron]

You mean from VRAB, right?

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Yes, the Veterans Review and Appeal Board. I'm sorry. I tried to shorten my question due to the time.

[Michel Doiron]

That's fine.

We do receive some information from VRAB and we do work with them to see if there are trends, so that if they're reversing something that we're doing systematically, we can adjust. If it's going to go to VRAB and be overturned every time, we might as well look at what's happening at the front end. That we are doing, but we don't receive the individual rulings. They are sent to the veteran. It's personal information.