We realize that we've only given you a snapshot of what we've heard and what is happening across the country when it comes to how veterans' services are being provided, but we hope you will appreciate that from the perspective of the front-line workers, the case managers, this is a system in crisis, and it has been in crisis for far too long.
When we were talking to them, we also asked them to give their recommendations to help fix this problem. Here are their recommendations for change.
First and foremost, they want the caseloads to be lowered as quickly as possible to a manageable level. Twenty-five may not be possible in the short term, but that should be a goal over time, but there should not be another five years of waiting. They've already been waiting for five years since the initial promise to reduce caseloads to 25:1. There must be immediate change for the benefit of our veterans and the employees.
They also demanded that Veterans Affairs Canada immediately hire more front-line staff to clean up the backlog and start treating veterans in a timely manner with the respect they deserve. This too is a situation that has dragged on far too long, and we hope this committee will press the government and the department for swift action in this regard.
They also want better support systems for employees, more training and support for employees, and higher level training and support for managers and supervisors to help them do their jobs more effectively.
Finally, they would like the federal government to review their job descriptions and classification levels to ensure that they fully capture the important work they are engaged in.
Thank you for inviting us to meet with you to raise the issues, concerns and recommendations of our case managers. They have given us their voice to bring you these messages. Their hope and ours is that positive change can come for the benefit of veterans, their families and those who have the honour to serve them. Our veterans deserve better.