Veterans Affairs Committee on Oct. 28th, 2024

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

Again, I'm truly looking forward to the work and the recommendations of this committee. I'm going to do my due diligence and review all of the recommendations. I'm looking forward to responding to the committee reports with a government response.

[Fraser Tolmie, Conservative, Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, SK]

Thank you.

We didn't get a yes or no on that, which is disappointing, because I really appreciated your personal opinion that it's a war. I feel that you have influence in this department. I think you have influence on making this change. I really hope that, through the efforts this committee is putting forward, we will see results and a recommendation that is acted upon.

I'm going to ask you another question. What legislation had to be changed in order to allow for the Korean vets to be recognized for their wartime service? Is it the same legislation that you're going to be forwarding to us?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

I'm going to let one of my officials answer that question.

Before I turn it over to them, let's be frank. Whatever legislation that transpires will be done by Parliament. We all have a voice in Parliament. We're over 300 voices in Parliament—there are 338 of us there—and we will be able to debate that in the House. If that is the case and such are the wishes of the committee, there will be steps moving forward.

[Fraser Tolmie, Conservative, Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, SK]

Through you, Chair, and thank you, Minister.

Nothing comes forward unless you bring it forward. We feel like we're spinning in circles here. The answer is right here. The opportunity is right here. You agree with us. It just seems to be that....

All it takes is action. All it takes is one phone call to the Minister of National Defence to say, “Let's call this a war. Let's get this sorted out,” and we can start acting on other things that this committee could be tackling.

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

I don't think that anyone is going in circles. I think this study has been very important, very informative, in enabling us to understand the intricacies of benefits, of supports that are offered to veterans. I dare say that many members of this committee have learned an awful lot about this important issue.

[Fraser Tolmie, Conservative, Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, SK]

Yes, but, again, you agree with us. You agree with what the committee is hearing. This is within your purview.

Thank you, Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Now I'd like to invite Ms. Lisa Hepfner for five minutes, please.

[Lisa Hepfner, Liberal, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to the minister and officials for being here to answer our questions today.

MP Blaney brought up the testimony from the honourable Senator Rebecca Patterson, who was here recently talking about her experiences. She was also talking about her experiences helping to set up the women veterans council, something that I'm very excited about as PS to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth.

I'm hoping you can give us an update on what's happening with that committee, but also tell us about how that committee can better help us communicate and commemorate the service of modern-day veterans, in particular those who served in the Persian Gulf, because that's what we're studying today.

Perhaps the members of the Conservative Party could keep their voices down a bit, because it's getting distracting.

Thank you.

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

Thank you so much, Ms. Hepfner, for that question.

Like you and many members of the committee, I'm extremely excited and looking forward to the formation of this committee. Senator Patterson and a few others have worked hard and continue to work hard, and I look forward to being able to make the official announcement of the committee members in the very near future.

First of all, to take a step back, with respect to the application process for the committee, we were quite pleasantly surprised with the number of applicants who put their names forward to be members of the council. Again, we are really pleased with the number of people who have applied and are looking forward to working with this incredible group of individuals. They will be able to provide me with advice and assistance when it comes to working with women veterans, modern-day veterans and so on. Again, I'm looking forward to making the actual announcement very soon.

I think I'll leave it at that.

[Lisa Hepfner, Liberal, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

I was incredibly honoured to join you and the Canadian delegation when we went to France for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. It was an incredible experience.

In particular, we had a Hamilton veteran with us, Major-General Richard Rohmer. It was incredible to have him there and to listen to his reflections while he was back in France.

You've been in this role for a year or so. You must have spoken to hundreds, if not thousands, of veterans. What are the overlying themes? What are you hearing most from veterans when they speak to you one-on-one?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

Thank you so much for that question.

Many of us attended the 80th anniversary of D-Day. You and also Mr. Richards were present. Meeting with individuals like General Rohmer, some of the greatest, the best of the best Canadians, was an absolute honour and a privilege for all of us who attended those services. Also, we had many Canadians who were there as well and who attended those events.

With respect to your specific question, yes, over the past 14 months I've had the opportunity of meeting with thousands of veterans from coast to coast to coast. Being an eager minister, I wanted to make sure that I was able to establish those relationships with veterans, to learn from veterans and also to learn from stakeholders who work with veterans day in and day out.

Just this past Friday, I was in Prince Edward Island, at the Kingston Legion Branch 30, I believe. When I dropped in, there was a coffee meet and greet. On the last Friday of every month, they have this event. I was not the guest speaker. I was just there to really have a visit and a call out with our veterans, and just to hear from them. The themes that were brought up at that meeting were very similar to the engagement that I have and to the feedback that I receive from veterans. They mentioned the issue of service delivery for some individuals. They wanted to speak to me about that. I also heard about My VAC Account and heard that some of the veterans were having difficulties navigating that system.

When I got back to the office in Charlottetown that afternoon, of course, after I heard those issues directly from veterans, I spoke to my staff to find out what exactly was happening and what we were doing in order to effect change. They indicated to me that every time we do an overview or an update of My VAC Account, the department has a focus group of 10 or so veterans who actually try out the new system to make sure that it's user friendly. I asked them if we were taking perhaps younger veterans who are very savvy when it comes to the Internet or to programs, or if we were using folks who perhaps are less savvy. The test cases they do are with regard to people who perhaps may not find it as easy with respect to using computers.

We always want to improve the services that we provide to our veterans. Those are just some examples of the issues that have been brought forward. Again, I really appreciated meeting with the Kingston Legion Branch 30 members and receiving my first official poppy from them that day.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Thank you, Minister.

Mr. Desilets, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, will Gulf War veterans be officially introduced at Remembrance Day ceremonies in Ottawa?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

I assume that you're referring to the ceremony on November 11 in Ottawa.

Veterans Affairs Canada doesn't organize the ceremony. The Royal Canadian Legion is responsible for organizing the day.

The legion invites me, as Minister of Veterans Affairs, to lay a wreath. Members of Parliament are also invited to lay a wreath.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

You have no authority over this?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

Again, I take part in this moving ceremony as a guest. I was fortunate enough to take part in it for the first time last year, as a guest only.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

There will likely be hundreds of Gulf War veterans at the ceremony. It hurts them not to be identified and recognized. They did serve their country.

Do you agree with me on this?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

Mr. Desilets, the ceremony in Ottawa on November 11 will be attended by thousands of veterans who took part in various conflicts around the world.

Again, I would like to express my gratitude to the men and women who served in all the missions abroad.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Minister, I'll talk about another matter that I've advocated for vigorously and relentlessly. This matter concerns the monument to the war mission in Afghanistan.

You have often said that the voice of veterans matters to you. You said that you listened to them and responded to their requests following a survey. At the time, your focus was on veterans. All the witnesses who appeared before the committee and all the comments made in the extensive correspondence received by the committee all point in one direction. The needs are totally identical, as you can imagine.

Do you also intend to listen to Gulf War veterans and support their requests?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

The chair has just motioned to me. I'll give you a brief answer.

My mother always told me, Mr. Desilets, that I had two mouths and one ear. Active listening is truly one of my skills. I'll continue to listen to what veterans have to say.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Thank you, Mr. Desilets and Minister.

Now let's go to Ms. Blaney for two and a half minutes.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Thank you, Chair.

Through you to the minister, I understand VAC just announced that its Women Veterans Forum will be on March 6 and 7 of next year, which is very exciting. I understand it's been in P.E.I., Montreal and Ottawa, and that the location has not been announced.

May I recommend somewhere in the west? That's just a recommendation, and I'll leave it with you.

Madam Minister, I tabled motion 132. That is a motion based on having legislation on a duty to inform serving Canadian Armed Forces personnel, released members and their families, so they understand the various benefits and services to which they may be entitled, no matter how extreme their disabilities and loss. I've heard so many veterans, particularly from the Gulf War, talk about the fact that they will be turning 65 very soon. They don't know what retirement is going to look like for them under the programs they're in. They're very concerned, because of the impacts of Gulf War syndrome, about their capacity to deal with these issues, or with a worker from VAC. It's going to be incredibly difficult, painful and traumatizing again. I really believe in the motion I put forward. We need to have a more assertive process for letting veterans and service members know what benefits and resources they have.

I'm wondering if there is any work being done at the department around making sure there's a better, more trauma-informed system, because we've heard from so many veterans that it's not happening well right now.

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

Thank you again, Ms. Blaney, for that question.

I would say that, as a department, we are always looking at ways to better inform veterans about the services and benefits they are entitled to.

For example, as members of the Canadian Armed Forces exit and face retirement, many will go through transition interviews at transition centres and so on. It's very important to make sure Veterans Affairs staff are included in those transition centres so the sharing of information can take place.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

I'm sorry. I don't want to interrupt. I just want to clarify.

The veterans I was talking about are veterans who are working age and on many benefits because of their service. They're about to retire. It's from veteran to a retirement-age veteran. I just want to make sure we're clear.

Thank you.

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

Thank you for that.

We also, through the department, want to make sure we maximize the tools we have so that veterans, as indicated, are aware of the benefits they may be entitled to. Through our case managers, and also through our social media campaigns, you'll notice that, during the month of November.... It's not just in November, actually. All through the year, we have different social media campaigns to make sure veterans recognize they may qualify for services and benefits through Veterans Affairs Canada.

Those are the types of tools we put in place to make sure more veterans are aware of what they're entitled to.