Veterans Affairs Committee on Dec. 2nd, 2024

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

You're welcome.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Thank you for being here.

I appreciated hearing about the improvement in the backlog. I want to make sure I heard correctly that 60% of applications are now being processed within that 16-week time frame so that at the end of those 16 weeks, there is some form of care.

When does that 16-week time frame start? Is it when every piece of information VAC needs is in your hands? I hear from veterans a lot about how they struggle with providing everything in a timely way. I have veterans who thought they were ready, but then you say, “Oh, no; we need a new report from your specialist.” Of course, that takes weeks or months.

Are we counting that time from when you have every document you need to process it?

[Steven Harris]

I think we need to be fair about it. If we get an application that has no information, rather than just.... There's a balance to be found. Most applications come in well filled out. Some are missing some information.

The Auditor General has been quite clear about how they view those 16 weeks: You get an application and you have to pay them within 16 weeks—not just a decision rendered, but actually paid out. We've implemented that. That's the service standard we're referring to now. Somebody actually gets paid within 16 weeks.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Do you have anyone in your department focused on assisting with getting what isn't there so that you can do that within 16 weeks?

[Steven Harris]

We absolutely do. We have staff members who reach out all the time with respect to an application that may be missing something. They go back to the veteran and say to them, “There's this piece that might be missing.” As you know, it might be medical information, but it could be other things as well.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Is that the only role of that particular staff?

[Steven Harris]

No. It would be one of their roles.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Thank you.

Now, for the last intervention before we adopt—or not—the supplementary estimates (B), we have Mr. Randeep Sarai for five minutes.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Thank you, Chair.

Ms. Meunier, I don't think you were here to answer it, but Mr. Desilets raised a question about the Highway of Heroes project.

I'm wondering if you could add to that. Perhaps it will answer Mr. Desilets' question as well.

[Amy Meunier]

Sure.

I want to assure members of the committee that we did not provide funding to the memorial the member was discussing. While we provided funding for Trees for Life, a specific project to plant many trees, we didn't contribute any funds to the memorial.

That said, as soon as we were made aware of the issue by a veteran, we contacted the organization. We continue to work with that organization to ensure material is taken down, addressed or revised to the adequacy of the veteran in question.

I just want to assure the committee that we did not contribute funds to that specific project and that we are working with the organizers to make sure the problems are addressed.

Thank you.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Thank you.

I'll continue by asking you another question, Ms. Meunier.

[Amy Meunier]

Sure.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

The current study is focusing on Black and indigenous veterans. I imagine you've followed the meetings that we've had since the appearance by the department. I'm wondering if there's anything else you can add or want to add to the conversation to help inform the work that we've done and that we will continue to do with Black and indigenous veterans.

[Amy Meunier]

With regard to Black veterans, we're learning a lot through the program related to recognizing the No. 2 Construction Battalion. While that's a specific effort, it certainly has brought us much closer to a number of Black communities to hear much more clearly about some of the obstacles that they may face and discrimination that they may have experienced.

As my colleague Mr. Harris said, we working within the department to ensure that our employees are very well aware of what may have been experienced in service and elsewhere in society, that we are very informed, and that we process claims and work with individuals in the most sensitive way possible.

I'd also like to flag or highlight that.... We talked about the Invictus Games earlier. With regard to indigenous veterans, we're really pleased to see the strong reconciliation connection between the Invictus Games 2025 and the indigenous communities, the four host first nations, who have completely been in partnership with the organizing committee from the bid all the way to right now. We're really excited to showcase, profile and recognize the service of indigenous veterans; to learn a little more about how we can continue to evolve our work with the AFN on the letter of understanding with Métis veterans; and to strengthen our relationship with Inuit veterans across the country.

Thank you for the opportunity to share a bit more about that.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Thank you.

Mr. Adams, Veterans Affairs continues to work to reduce the backlogs while at the same time the department continues to see a rise in interest in its applications. Could you give us a sense of the growth of applications that VAC has seen over the past few years, and maybe some statistics that you have at this point for 2024?

[Jonathan Adams]

Absolutely. I'm happy to provide a little bit of information on this.

As Mr. Harris and the minister mentioned earlier at the committee, what we've been seeing is a very consistent increase of approximately 10% growth in the number of veterans coming forward seeking support with disability adjudication and disability compensation. This year alone we've seen an increase of 15,000, and we are on pace to receive 94,000 applications from veterans for disability compensation.

These supplementary estimates are the funding that we require to support that increase in disability compensation. Then, once those veterans are approved, it's supporting them with rehabilitation support and income support as well. It's been a very steady trend of increased demand and need from veterans that we're positioned to support.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Sarai.

Colleagues and committee members, before calling the vote, I would like to tell you that for the purposes of the vote, I am going to group the motions dealing with the votes under Supplementary Estimates (B), 2024‑25 that were referred to the committee.

Do I have unanimous consent?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

VETERANS AFFAIRS Vote 1b—Operating expenditures..........$33,723,667 Vote 5b—Grants and contributions..........$908,783,000

(Votes 1b and 5b agreed to on division)

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Shall I report the votes to the House?

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

On division.

I'm still on division.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Excuse me.

Ms. Blaney....

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

I just try to make Blake happy.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

You try to make Blake happy. Wow, Ms. Blaney.

On behalf of the members of the committee, I'd like to congratulate one of our members, the new father, Blake Richards, and the mother of the new baby, and say welcome to your new baby. We don't know if it's a boy or a girl, but welcome.

I want to thank the representatives of the Department of Veterans Affairs who participated in the second part of this meeting: Steven Harris, senior assistant deputy minister, service delivery branch, and Mitch Freeman, acting assistant deputy minister, strategic policy, planning and performance branch, who were with us in person, and Jonathan Adams, director general, finance, Pierre Tessier, assistant deputy minister, chief financial officer and corporate services branch, and Amy Meunier, assistant deputy minister, commemoration and public affairs branch.

The meeting is adjourned.