Mr. Speaker, to be fully transparent and to ensure that Veterans Affairs Canada has exercised its legislative requirements properly, the following initiatives have been implemented.
During the week of March 27, 2023, Veterans Affairs Canada sent a letter to current or former Royal Canadian Mounted Police, RCMP, members who have had their disability pension offset due to having received a payment under the court-ordered Merlo Davidson class action settlement agreement, to invite them to provide further information about the settlement compensation. In addition to sending the letter, a Veterans Affairs Canada representative has been, or will be, in contact with these individuals to provide support and answer questions. Those veterans affected will also have the option of contacting the Office of the Veterans Ombud on the matter.
Veterans Affairs Canada will update information on its external website to clearly articulate how offsets to disability benefits are implemented. Veterans Affairs Canada implements offsets in accordance with its legislation and the legal requirements of court-ordered settlement agreements.
With regard to part (a), Veterans Affairs Canada conducted a manual review of its files to identify individuals who had reported to Veterans Affairs Canada that they had received compensation under the court-ordered Merlo Davidson settlement agreement. Fewer than 10 files were identified. For those that have been processed, Veterans Affairs Canada is deducting amounts from the monthly pension due to the compensation received, in accordance with the court-ordered Merlo Davidson settlement agreement and Veterans Affairs Canada’s legislative obligations.
With regard to part (b), when Veterans Affairs Canada completes a decision, an official notification is sent to the applicant explaining the decision and the impact relating to their file. The current or former RCMP members associated with the files where Veterans Affairs Canada has offset amounts from their monthly pension have received a letter explaining the decision.
With regard to part (c), disability pensions are reduced by court settlement compensation on a case-by-case basis. Each claimant receives a different level of compensation as set out in the court-ordered settlement agreement. Veterans Affairs Canada cannot comment on individual files due to privacy.
With regard to parts (d), (e) and (f), as of February 14, 2023, Veterans Affairs Canada has not been made aware of any appeals associated with the files where offsets were made. The Veterans Review and Appeal Board is unable to provide this information as the cases in their file system are not differentiated by reason of appeal.