Veterans Affairs Committee on Nov. 17th, 2022

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

What types of services will be available? Will the same services be available to a veteran's family that are available to a veteran?

[Paulette Gardiner Millar]

That might be a better question, from an eligibility perspective, for our VAC colleagues.

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

Maybe I'll go to Ms. Bennett.

Ms. Bennett, it's a new company, but you also spoke about all the work and experience with veterans for over 20 years. Can you kind of lace that together? It might be a new company as an amalgamation, but there's a lot of great experience and expertise. Can you just quickly touch on that?

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Ms. Bennett, can you answer Mr. Samson in 10 seconds, please? Can you give us a quick answer?

[Tania Bennett]

Thank you. We are two organizations that have been delivering rehabilitation and vocational services in Canada for over 20 years, and we've come together to form a joint venture to deliver this contract.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Thank you, Mr. Samson.

Now I'd like to go to Mr. Desilets for six minutes.

Go ahead, please.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Harris, what is the primary purpose of this sub-contract, is it to save money or improve current services?

[Steven Harris]

The purpose is always to improve services. That means hiring rehabilitation experts to serve veterans effectively. Case managers work very closely with veterans to understand all their requests and needs.

Rehabilitation services are highly specialized. We work closely with the service provider to ensure that veterans receive the best rehabilitation services possible.

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

You feel that this company will provide improved or superior services to those offered by case managers.

[Steven Harris]

This is different. It has been a long time since a contractor has offered rehabilitation services. They will now include psychosocial and medical services that used to be provided by other partners. The idea is to group everything together to reduce the administrative burden. Veterans need various kinds of support. It is not just vocational rehabilitation, but also psychosocial support.

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

Is the department saving money?

[Steven Harris]

No, I do not think it is saving any money.

The objective is to offer better services, provided by experts.

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

Before the break, we heard that no psychosocial services would be available to veterans between October 25 and November 21.

Is that true?

[Steven Harris]

No, that is not true.

I will ask my colleague Ms. Pham to talk about the process briefly.

[Nathalie Pham, Senior Director, Operational and Strategic Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs]

For veterans who already use the rehabilitation program, medical and psychosocial rehabilitation services were extended during the migration and transition period. So no veterans who already had access to those services will be without them.

As to veterans who are newcomers to the program, I would point out that the role of the case manager has not disappeared. Case managers decide on eligibility and assess case management needs. If veterans have medical or psychosocial needs, they will have access to them, in accordance with their health care coverage. That will not change. It is only rehabilitation services that will be on hold for a few weeks while we start up the contract and conduct a rehabilitation assessment.

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

Wasn't a memo sent to the union or employees in that regard?

[Nathalie Pham]

Information was sent to case managers to reassure them that the existing resources had been extended. For those few weeks, they were asked not to focus on rehabilitation services, but to focus instead on other medical and psychosocial needs.

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

Mr. Harris, you said a number of times that the goal was to reduce the case managers' administrative duties.

If I understand correctly, the 9,000 individuals this company works with are not administrators but the people who will be offering psychosocial services.

Is that correct?

[Steven Harris]

They are both.

As Mr. Chabot said earlier, some of the employees will be health care professionals, such as physiotherapists and psychotherapists and so forth. Some of the other employees will be rehabilitation specialists who will ensure that the rehabilitation services meet all the veterans' needs.

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

I imagine this restructuring will inevitably impact case managers' jobs.

[Steven Harris]

Perhaps Ms. Hicks or Ms. Pham would like to add something, but the roles of rehabilitation expert and case manager are completely different.

[Nathalie Pham]

Precisely.

The purpose and primary role of case managers remains unchanged. They will work with veterans on the department's behalf, and continue to make assessments, and plan and coordinate needs. They are also the ones who make the decisions.

As to our partners, they will be specialists.

The case manager oversees everything. We will bring in specialists to help us support veterans, but it is still the case manager's responsibility.

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

What concerns me is the pool of 9,000 individuals who will be offering personalized services. In contrast to what I heard earlier, I have trouble believing that these individuals have expertise working with veterans.

Am I mistaken, Ms. Pham?

[Nathalie Pham]

We are expecting that the people have experience coordinating services and understanding the cases of veterans. As to the other providers, their expertise is in rehabilitation. We do not expect them to have experience with veterans, but rather to understand their needs.

[Steven Harris]

I would add that many of those 9,000 people already work with veterans.