Veterans Affairs Committee on Feb. 15th, 2018

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

I understand what you are doing right now. I want to know how many people are in need of services and how many are waiting. These people have needs, are alone and don't have help. How many of these people are there? What is the number?

If it's 30,000 people, it's terrible. These wait times are unacceptable. There should be an emergency measure on the part of the government, and right away, in the next budget. Something has to be done. All cases that have fallen behind and need updating must be resolved first. It won't be enough to take a few steps to make up for some small problems. If there are 30,000 people waiting, I don't think that, given the needs that you have right now, you will be able to catch up on those delays. Am I wrong?

[Elizabeth Douglas]

We recognize that there is a significant backlog, and we are just as frustrated about that backlog. We have placed a priority on this backlog. As I've explained, we are looking at all kinds of ways and means to reduce that backlog. We take it very seriously and we do take it as a priority.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

So you mention to the government that it makes no sense, that it is appalling, that something needs to be done as soon as possible and that you are very frustrated with this situation.

[Elizabeth Douglas]

Yes.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Right, I understand your point of view.

How many of the veterans accessing services are homeless or find themselves in precarious housing situations? What steps is Veterans Affairs Canada taking to accurately measure this growing sector of the veterans population?

[Elizabeth Douglas]

I would have to get you the actual number of homeless in our most recent stats on homelessness, but, as you know, that's a fluctuating number.

However, we currently are doing several things. We partner with non-profit organizations. They can go out and help us find these veterans. In addition to all of that, as of April 1 of this year, we are releasing veterans and introducing a veterans homeless funding program in which we will give up to $2,500 for emergencies. Those emergencies could be emergencies around food or around clothing—perhaps there was a fire—or perhaps an abusive situation of a spouse or a common-law partner of a veteran having to leave the home and get emergency services. That is going to be implemented as of April 1, 2018.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Is it possible that, for the 30,000 members who want to transition from National Defence to Veterans Affairs Canada, all of these delays can have serious consequences, such as leaving them in precarious housing situations? Can these two elements be linked?

[Elizabeth Douglas]

I'm going to pass this over to Ms. Pham.

[The Chair, Liberal, Neil Ellis]

I apologize. We have about 30 seconds.

[Nathalie Pham, Acting Area Director , Montreal Office, Field Operations , Department of Veterans Affairs]

Let me reassure you: when veterans come to our operations office, they get the service and support they need.

In terms of homelessness, we have a lot of partnerships with the agencies on the ground, and we use resources in the community to make sure homeless people who are veterans are directed to our offices quickly. These agencies are our eyes in the community.

Our employees on the ground, our veterans service agents and our case managers provide immediate service; they go to the location and meet our homeless veterans. Similarly, veterans who come to our offices for direct service delivery receive the services they need. There is no waiting to meet with a Veterans Affairs Canada employee and start taking steps to be supported in their requests and needs.

[The Chair, Liberal, Neil Ellis]

Thank you.

Mr. Fraser, you have six minutes.

[Colin Fraser, Liberal, West Nova, NS]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to thank everyone for being here today and taking part in our study.

I'd like to pick up on something my colleague was talking about, the delays right now, the backlog at Veterans Affairs. I think we all share the concern about that backlog, the delay, and how it actually has real impacts on veterans and their families.

Would you agree, though, Ms. Douglas, that one of the reasons there is a backlog is that there are significantly more applications coming forward now because there's more awareness of programs and benefits and of the enhancement of the benefits and services available for veterans?

Would you also agree that hiring 460 new staff over the last couple of years is helping to at least curb some of the backlog and delay that would otherwise exist?

[Elizabeth Douglas]

Yes. I agree with those points, and thank you for raising them.

First, we know that in the last two years, each year there has been an up to 20% increase in the number of applications. That could be because of the new programs that we have around disability. There was the increase to the disability award last year.

As well, we are having success with our outreach and success with our communications, and success with our My VAC Account around explaining and communicating what benefits and services we have.

However, again I want to emphasize the point that we take the backlog very seriously. This is a priority, and it is something that a lot of folks are working on to try to correct. We're not leaving it there, letting it continue. We are trying to address it as we speak.

[Colin Fraser, Liberal, West Nova, NS]

It's important that the backlog come down, and come down quickly.

[Elizabeth Douglas]

Absolutely.

[Colin Fraser, Liberal, West Nova, NS]

We'll be following that closely.

I want to turn to another thing. You talked about supporting non-profit organizations and said that Veterans Affairs can do that. I have a constituent, Arlene Lively, who's actually here today. I know that she's done amazing work in an organization called the Comedy for Quality of Life Tour, which basically tries to get across the country in smaller communities, associating with Legions and other things, to bring comic relief and assist people who are struggling perhaps with PTSD. It's a wonderful organization, and I want to commend her for that work.

I also know of other organizations and groups—coffee groups, even—that get together with people who are perhaps suffering from PTSD or are struggling with their transition.

Can you comment on what Veterans Affairs is doing to assist those types of organizations and people in our communities? Is there more we can be doing?

[Elizabeth Douglas]

Thank you for the question. Again, as of April 1 of this year, the new veteran and family well-being fund is being launched. That's a $13.5 million fund over the next four years, and it is for innovation, research, and different types of organization to support those organizations in undertaking the types of work that you've just described.

There will be applications coming into VAC, and we welcome the applications being made by non-profits.

[Colin Fraser, Liberal, West Nova, NS]

Thank you.

Brigadier-General Misener, if I could turn to you, we heard from Professor Allan English a couple of weeks ago, or maybe a little longer ago, about the staffing priority levels dealing with JPSU, and the fact that they were at staffing priority level six.

That concerns to me. I know that now, as you mentioned, the transition group will be hiring 1,200 staff. I want to make sure that the priority level is correct for them to ensure that they're not understaffed. I want you to comment as well on the priority level six at JPSU, and if it's still the case that it's at the lowest-level priority.

[BGen Mark Misener]

Thank you for the question.

I'll confirm, first of all, that we are not at staffing level six. We are no longer at staffing level six. We are a second priority, priority two, right after operations. We actually receive great attention when it comes to staffing.

I also want to make a correction on your comment on the hiring of 1,200 staff. That's not actually what it's going to be. It's going to be that many people in the end, many of whom are already part of the joint personnel support unit. We will continue to augment that.

[Colin Fraser, Liberal, West Nova, NS]

What will the priority level be for staffing, for the staff to be hired?

[BGen Mark Misener]

It will remain at priority two, a high priority.

[Colin Fraser, Liberal, West Nova, NS]

Thank you, Chair. Those are my questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Neil Ellis]

Mr. Samson is next.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much for your presentations and the information you have provided.

We are trying to identify the specific transition elements. It's a major issue.

Mr. Roy, Ms. Douglas or Mr. Misener could answer my questions about accessibility and the knowledge of case managers.

First of all, I would like to know what training the case managers are getting on the new benefits, because people in the field tell me that they themselves are not aware of the new benefits. This is especially worrying as these people are an important communication channel.

[Nathalie Pham]

If I may, I will answer that question, because case managers or veterans services officers work in the field of operations in the regions.

For a few years now, and the positions posted attest to this, we have been recruiting case managers who have varied academic backgrounds, but who have experience in case management. This is one of the essential requirements for our case managers.

Of course, when they come to Veterans Affairs Canada, they have to develop department-specific knowledge, particularly with respect to programs and services. They must also be familiar with the department's culture so they can adequately assume their role as a case manager or other role in the delivery of services.

We have an orientation and training program for new employees. This program, which spans several months, ensures that new employees acquire the knowledge and skills required to perform their role properly. They can also be mentored by a case manager or other experienced colleague.

As Ms. Douglas mentioned, a new program will be launched in April 2018. All of our employees will then have to undergo prerequisite training, as is the case every time there is a new program.