Veterans Affairs Committee on March 25th, 2026

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Colleagues, thank you for the opportunity to appear today.

As you know, the mandate of Veterans Affairs Canada is to support the well-being of veterans and their families. It is also to promote the recognition and remembrance of the achievements and sacrifices of those who have served Canada in times of war, military conflict and peace. This obligation is fulfilled in part through a range of programs and services that the department manages and delivers.

These can include disability or financial benefits; pension, education and training assistance advocacy; and, of course, rehabilitation programs.

As veterans release from the military, rehabilitation is particularly important. For many, it is the bridge between service and the next stage of their lives. Through clinical treatment, psychosocial supports and vocational rehabilitation services, veterans can manage service-related injuries and illnesses, restore their independence and pursue new opportunities in their communities and the civilian labour market.

While my department undertakes broader efforts to modernize how programs and services are delivered, the rehabilitation program will also benefit from these efforts. Whether introducing new digital tools and technologies to help staff make decisions more effectively, simplifying processes or updating systems, each modernization is done to ensure that veterans receive care and support in the most timely, efficient and coordinated way possible. In this context of modernization, Partners in Canadian Veterans Rehabilitation Services, PCVRS, was awarded the contract to deliver the rehabilitation services and vocational assistance program, RSVP, in 2021.

Having one national contractor administer the comprehensive medical, psychosocial and vocational rehabilitation services provides opportunities for improved performance measurement and standardization across the entirety of the program. It has now been over two years since the PCVRS contract became fully operational. During this period, we have seen significant progress in standardizing care, expanding access and implementing new tools and technologies to support both veterans and staff.

At the same time, we recognize that a change of this scale requires ongoing assessment and feedback to ensure that the new model is meeting expectations. This study is therefore welcome and important.

From our data, we can see that, while many veterans are pleased with the program under PCVRS, others have raised concerns. We are listening. The service delivery model was designed with quality and performance as priorities. The new quality management and performance measurement framework offers daily reports on contractor and VAC performance while measuring the quality of services provided. Additionally, participant feedback is collected at three points throughout the participants' rehabilitation plan on various components of the service delivery experience.

With the contract approaching the end of its initial five-and-a-half-year term, I have instructed my department to conduct an independent review of the rehabilitation program and PCVRS. The goal of this review will be to enable data-driven decision-making and identify how we can best serve veterans in fulfilling their rehabilitation goals. We value any and all input we receive from veterans and will always strive to make sure that this issue is addressed. In doing so, we also recognize that veterans are not a monolith and that individual experiences vary. Responding to the diverse needs of veterans across the country is an iterative process and one we are committed to getting right.

I also want to make clear that, under the PCVRS model, the role of VAC case managers has not changed. They remain pivotal in the rehabilitation program and continue to be the final decision-makers for all case management services, including rehabilitation. Case managers are at the core of the department's support to veterans and their families, providing essential guidance and assistance. Their authority as decision-makers continues under the current service delivery model. Recommendations from PCVRS inform the process and do not override the decisions or expertise of the case managers.

The delivery and billing of rehabilitation services are managed by the external contractor, as was also the case prior to the PCVRS contract.

Madam Chair and members, Veterans Affairs Canada continues to work with PCVRS to refine service processes, improve the transition experience and tailor support to the unique needs of each veteran and family member.

Above all, frontline services remain accessible, personal and responsive to the individuals' needs.

Going forward, service modernization will continue to ensure that programs are sustainable, reliable and truly focused on veterans.

Canada's veterans and their families deserve a modern, effective and accessible support system. The rehabilitation program delivered by PCVRS is one important step in the continuum of care, but it is only one part of a broader effort to transform and improve every aspect of our service delivery and care.

I welcome your comments and recommendations as we continue this work together.

I'm happy to take your questions. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marie-France Lalonde]

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Minister.

I have to say that your French is getting much better. I personally thank you for speaking to us in the language of Molière today.

We will now begin the first round of questions.

For six minutes, we have Mr. Richards.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Airdrie—Cochrane, AB]

Minister, would you characterize the rehabilitation contract with PCVRS as a success?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

The results show that 74% of participants indicate there has been improvement, and I believe this shows there are 26% whom we can continue to work with and enhance service delivery for.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Airdrie—Cochrane, AB]

The number you cite is based on 732 participants out of almost 24,000 participants, or less than 3% of the total participants. It includes, I believe, only the veterans who have managed to complete the program. A lot of reasons have been enunciated quite clearly in this committee, and elsewhere, for why it doesn't happen in many cases. Would you say that's a sufficient number to call this a success?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

The number is driven by data and by responses from veterans who have participated in the rehabilitation program, and it is information that we did not have under the previous model.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Airdrie—Cochrane, AB]

In an article in the Toronto Star this week, they really summed this up very neatly in a sentence or two. They found that “some veterans facing severe mental-health issues are drowning in the program's bureaucracy, being pressured to change service providers, given inadequate care and facing threats to their benefits.” The veterans “said their health worsened as a result.”

Hearing that, based on the Toronto Star investigation, does it sound like a success?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Each veteran across Canada each has their own unique experiences. Every single one of them will have encountered different experiences and different conditions. There are many factors in this. As I mentioned, 74% of respondents have indicated there's been an improvement in their overall well-being. I also acknowledge that it means there are 26% whom we can continue to work with, to do better for and to enhance the program for.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Airdrie—Cochrane, AB]

It sounds to me as though you are saying they experienced it differently, which we recall a former prime minister of your party saying as well. Anyway, let's dig into some of the details of what's behind the article.

Service providers are saying that they can't provide the services they used to provide or would like to provide to veterans. Veterans have been telling us the same thing: they can't get access to the providers they want. We were told over and over again by your officials and the PCVRS and affiliated officials the other day that veterans can apply and become part of the program.

Well, we have the following information from a fairly major service provider. They first submitted their application on February 15, 2023, and finally, on June 27, 2025, they were accepted into the program. That was 28 months later, after dozens of exchanges back and forth and all kinds of paperwork. Then they found out that because they're considered an out-of-network provider, there are not going to be any referrals coming to them.

This clearly tells us that what we were told is completely inaccurate. Does this sound like success to you?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Madam Chair, through you, I have not spoken with this particular provider. I don't have the information that has been referred to, but I have departmental officials here who can speak to the specifics of that, as they would have more details.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Airdrie—Cochrane, AB]

We had a chance to speak to them the other day, and we weren't given very accurate information, so we'll skip that. This provider is a very—

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

I'm sorry—

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Airdrie—Cochrane, AB]

Hold on. Let me finish.

It's a very significant provider that I'm referring to. They haven't given me the permission to share their name, but they're a very significant provider, so if they took 28 months, I can only imagine what a small service provider that wants to help a few veterans in their local area would experience.

It's not working. Veterans are not getting access to the providers they want to be able to access. You mentioned there's going to be some kind of a review before the contract is renewed, and I really hope this is going to be given a serious look, because there's a problem here.

We even heard the Lifemark folks themselves the other day acknowledge, after what they've heard from this committee, that there's clearly a problem in saying when the comment was made that it should be an “and” and not an “or” in there, clearly seeing that it's an “or” now.

Let me move to the communication. Regarding the recommendations that this committee put forward a couple of years ago, we were told, fairly inaccurately, that they had all been implemented. The union was one of the groups that was supposed to be better consulted with. There's a recent example that clearly shows this hasn't happened. When I asked the head of the Union of Veterans' Affairs Employees a couple of weeks ago at another parliamentary committee whether he was consulted before cuts to the Bureau of Pensions Advocates were made, “Absolutely not” was his answer.

I should say that we had a national management-union meeting on January 15, and no one told us that the Bureau of Pensions Advocates was going to be cut, even though they knew it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Marie-France Lalonde]

Thank you very much, Mr. Richards. I have to interrupt you.

I would like to go now to Mrs. Hirtle for six minutes.

[Alana Hirtle, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Good afternoon, Minister, to you and your team. It's lovely to see you here today.

Minister, you've just provided a significant update on the status of the rehabilitation program, and this proposed review will be very informative as you chart your next steps. Can you elaborate on this decision for us?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Yes. Thank you, MP Hirtle.

The commitment to ensuring that veterans receive the care, services and benefits for which they are eligible is the core. I've been consistent in this message. This is why I wake up every day.

We know there are opportunities for continual improvement. As I mentioned in my previous answers, many are having success, but not all, and we can continue to do that. Important independent review is going to be undertaken, which will allow us to look at the metrics we've been collecting, look for where those can continue to improve, look for tangible ways this can be done and then make decisions on how we can proceed.

[Alana Hirtle, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Thank you.

It bears asking this: Why are you taking this step? Does undertaking this review call into question the program, as the opposition has argued?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

No, it doesn't. It is in response to the opportunity for continued growth and improvement. There are veterans who are having success in the program, and there are those who are not, which means that there is an opportunity for us to continue to grow and to serve the community of veterans with their rehabilitation needs.

[Alana Hirtle, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

That's excellent. Thank you.

Minister, can you explain the purpose of the Veterans Affairs rehabilitation services and vocational assistance program and how it relates to today's topic of PCVRS?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

Certainly.

The RSVP, which is the veterans services rehabilitation program, is a comprehensive and holistic approach to supporting a veteran through their rehabilitative journey. This includes the medical, the psychosocial and the vocational needs. As it relates to PCVRS, the provider of the rehabilitation program, it is the service delivery organization that delivers the program as part of a three-tier approach, including the veteran, the VAC case manager and the RSS from PCVRS.

[Alana Hirtle, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Thank you.

From your perspective, do the commitment and range of supports to the veteran who is transitioning to civilian life start and stop at PCVRS?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

No, they do not start and stop at PCVRS. They are part of a continuum of the journey that a veteran goes on.

As each individual's veteran experiences are unique and different to their service, so too is the rehabilitation they will go through based on their unique experiences. This is not a one-size-fits-all program. This program gets customized to the needs of the individual veteran.

[Alana Hirtle, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Yes, of course. Thank you.

Minister, you've spoken before about things being “veteran-centred” and “veteran-focused”. Can you clarify how this is relevant to your assessment of the rehabilitation services and vocational assistance program?

[Jill McKnight, Liberal, Delta, BC]

When something is veteran-centric, the veteran is at the core of it. It is about taking their individual experiences and personalizing the rehabilitation services to support them. The goals are based on their health and their capacity at the time. It is very much about tailoring to the veterans' needs and their readiness. To me, this is the core of being veteran-centric: The veteran is at the foundation of it all.

[Alana Hirtle, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Extrapolating from that, in your conversations with veterans across Canada on the topic of veterans, is it, in your experience, fair to say that all veterans are united in their priorities and their perspectives?