Veterans Affairs committee  We would certainly like to see them all implemented as soon as possible as well. I think what I should do, in recognizing this, is not assume why VAC has or has not implemented these recommendations. I think we need to do a better job of capturing that information so that, when we appear before you, we can address those questions.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I think the first thing to note is, with our mandate, we don't compel. We use moral suasion. We try to use evidence to suggest that these changes should occur. The practice that we've shared between our office and the department over time, over a number of ministers, in terms of communicating these recommendations and in capturing VAC's specific response, has been varied.

Veterans Affairs committee  I fully agree.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you.

Veterans Affairs committee  Those organizations have developed tremendous capacity in recent years. I would say that we should seek to leverage that, and if there are better ways to deliver programs to veterans in need, then we should consider those as options or alternatives. I think it's that question of outsourcing and in-sourcing and who's best positioned to deliver that program to achieve an outcome.

Veterans Affairs committee  The first thing I would do is just acknowledge the good work that VETS Canada and many other organizations out there do to support veterans at the coal face. I've had a chance to visit with them and see where they do their work and how they do it. They do accomplish great things.

Veterans Affairs committee  I think we should be. I have experience with that personally in the past in a disability support program where we offered the client the option of how to access services, case managing, inside government or outside government. For a variety of reasons, folks went one of those two ways.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, it's clearly a very big issue and one that nobody would accept. I would just highlight a recommendation that we have made to VAC, among a number of recommendations, around triage. It is that, when veterans apply, cases be triaged to determine who is most in need, so that veterans who need immediate access to care or might be in financial difficulty or might be aged or might be terminal, in some cases, get the support they need as quickly as possible.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I could give you an example. There is the income replacement benefit, which is a very good program, formerly the earnings loss benefit. The education and training benefit is another one. There are certain eligibility criteria for those programs. The time of service is calculated differently for regular force members and reserve force members.

Veterans Affairs committee  I suspect it's capacity to manage change and to tackle these recommendations. As I mentioned earlier, if you look at the recommendations that have been implemented, you see it tells a bit of a story. I think the focus has been on addressing financial security after the transition from the Pension Act to the Veterans Well-being Act.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, I don't have an opinion on that. I have heard anecdotally that sometimes it works really well. Certainly somebody who has walked a particular journey, you would think, would be helpful.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'll take the last one first, if I may. I have heard, in talking to some veterans—and these are some of the more complicated cases that are confronting veterans and their families—from those who have expressed some frustration regarding access to case managers. In some cases veterans have “graduated” from that program, if you will, and no longer have a case manager.

Veterans Affairs committee  Having veterans as the case managers...?

Veterans Affairs committee  I would first off commend you for the work on that important issue. It is an issue that we hear about from stakeholders, particularly those who are engaged at the coal face, if you will, in supporting homeless veterans. I would note that it was our office, a number of years ago, just after it was established, that largely started the conversation around the fact that there was homelessness amongst the veterans population and that it needed to be addressed.

Veterans Affairs committee  It's not an issue that's been raised with us since I've been here. I'm not sure if it's an issue that's been raised.... It doesn't appear to be an issue that has been raised with us, but I would encourage you, if you're speaking to veterans who have concerns in that area, to please refer them to us.