Mr. Speaker, in response to part (a), as of March 31, 2022, the total number of pending disability benefit applications, i.e., first applications, reassessments and departmental reviews, was 30,825. Of this total, 11,619 were beyond the 16-week service standard.
Of the overall total, 23,181 were first applications pending for disability benefits, of which 10,956 were beyond the 16-week service standard.
In response to part (b), on September 15, 1995, Veterans Affairs Canada assumed the administration of disability pensions from the Canadian Pension Commission. The inherited turnaround time from the commission was 36 months.
Within approximately one year of assuming responsibility, Veterans Affairs Canada was able to reduce the service standard to 24 months based on improved performance.
Over time, the service standard decreased to reflect operational improvements: first to 18 months, then 12 months, then nine months, and eventually to six months or 24 weeks.
On April 1, 2011, Veterans Affairs Canada reduced the service standard from 24 to 16 weeks. The rationale was that veterans’ applications were better prepared than in the past and the process had been streamlined as part of transformation upgrades. At this time, Veterans Affairs Canada began calculating the service standard from the date the applicant provided all of the required information, i.e., a complete application.
In 2014-15, Veterans Affairs Canada further reduced the service standard to 12 weeks. This was done prior to the increase in applications from those who served in peacekeeping missions and Afghanistan. The performance against the 12-week service standard was 64%.
As the department was unable to achieve the 12-week service standard and was seeing a continued rise in applications, it reinstated the 16-week service standard in 2015-16.
The 16-week service standard applies to first applications and reassessments, while departmental reviews have a service standard of 12 weeks.