Question Period Note: OMBUDSMAN REPORTS

• Veterans Affairs thanks the Veterans Ombudsman, Craig Dalton, and his team for their hard work over the past year. (Craig Dalton was appointed as the Veterans Ombudsman on November 11, 2018).

• In past years, the Veterans Ombudsman published multiple reports with recommendations. Most recently, the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman published a report entitled “Meeting Expectations: Timely and Transparent Decisions for Canada’s Ill and Injured Veterans”; and the 2018 Report Card.

• The recommendations made by the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman are considered when the Department’s mandate and priorities are established.

• Through Budget 2017, Budget 2018, and Budget 2019, as well as through the introduction of the Pension for Life suite of benefits, several of the Ombudsman’s recommendations have been addressed, including:
- eliminating the time-limit for spouses and survivors to access vocational rehabilitation;
- expanding access to the Military Family Resource Centres and improved outreach to families;
- introduced the new Caregiver Recognition Benefit.
- recognizing the non-economic impacts of disabilities resulting from service through the Pain and Suffering Compensation and the Additional Pain and Suffering Compensation;
- addressing lost earning capacity through the introduction of the Income Replacement Benefit (IRB);
- increasing partnership opportunities to better help Veterans obtain good paying civilian jobs;
- extending the eligibility related to the Funeral and Burial Program to Veterans who suffer from multiple pensioned conditions;
- pursuing a strategy for the issuance of a National Veterans Identification Card to Veterans and releasing members of the Canadian Armed Forces, and the RCMP;
- providing compensation to Veterans and their survivors to recognize for the non-economic effects of exceptional incapacity;
- developing new eligibility criteria for the non-economic benefit that compensates for exceptional incapacity;
- providing additional financial support after age 65 to eligible totally and permanently incapacitated Veterans to ensure that their monthly benefits are no less than 70 percent of their indexed pre-release salary;
- putting forward the necessary legislative and regulatory amendments to allow Veterans to be compensated retroactively (for treatment benefits) to date of application under the Pension Act and the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-Establishment and Compensation Act

BACKGROUND – Ombudsman Reports

Mandate and responsibilities of the Veterans Ombudsman

Craig Dalton was appointed as the new Veterans Ombudsman on November 11, 2018. The Veterans Ombudsman was appointed as a “special advisor” to the Minister by the Governor in Council pursuant to section 127.1(1)(c) of the Public Service Employment Act. The Ombudsman is accountable to and reports directly to the Minister. The mandate of the Ombudsman is found in the Order in Council P.C. 2007-530.

The Ombudsman must submit an annual report on the activities of the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman to the Minister, and the Minister shall table the annual report in Parliament. The Ombudsman may issue other reports at any time, with or without recommendations, concerning any review or other matter that is within the Ombudsman's mandate. The Ombudsman's recommendations are not binding. The Ombudsman may publish any report, other than the annual report, 60 days after it has been submitted to the Minister.

Reports and Recommendations by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2017-2019

“Veterans Ombudsman’s Annual Report 2017-2018” is the last report provided by the former Veterans Ombudsman, Guy Parent. The report encompasses all activities that the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman undertook from April 1, 2017, to March 30, 2018. The tone of the report is positive and suggests an overall satisfaction with Veterans Affairs Canada initiatives and mandate commitments. The report describes the many initiatives and activities undertaken by the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman in the past year, including: an Actuarial Analysis Follow-up Report; Continuum of Care: A Journey from Home to Long Term Care; Transitioning Successfully: a Qualitative Study; and Research; Reviewing VAC’s Service Delivery.

“The Actuarial Analysis: Follow-up Report” was published in March 2017 and it outlined four recommendations which were accepted by the Minister. These were accomplished in the Pension for Life Announcement on December 20, 2017.
1. That the Minister of Veterans Affairs, by April 2019 consolidate financial benefits to reduce complexity and better address the financial needs of Veterans and survivors.
2. That Veterans Affairs Canada assess the level of financial support provided to Veterans who are not Totally and Permanently Impaired to ensure that their financial needs are being met and publish the results by April 1, 2018.
3. That Veterans Affairs Canada assess the level of financial support it provides to survivors to ensure that their lifelong financial needs are being met and publish the results by April 1, 2018.
4. That Veterans Affairs Canada review when financial benefits are being delivered to Veterans and their survivors to ensure that their financial needs are being met and publish by April 1, 2018 the benchmarks used to measure that financial support.

“Continuum of Care: A Journey from Home to Long Term Care” report was released on October 17, 2017 and addresses two Veterans Affairs Canada programs: the Veterans Independence Program and the Long-Term Care Program.

The Ombudsman identifies several gaps and recommends that Veterans Affairs Canada implement the following recommendations:
- Recommendation 1: Follow-up contact with Veterans Independence Program recipients should be made on at least an annual basis and more frequently for those at higher risk to ensure timely and accurate identification of changing needs as Veterans age.
- Recommendation 2: Eliminate the inconsistency in Veterans Independence Program eligibility for housekeeping and grounds maintenance for survivors and spouses so that they may all have access to the services they need, regardless of what the Veteran received or did not receive prior to their death or involuntary separation.
- Recommendation 3: Adjust the eligibility criteria of the Caregiver Recognition Benefit to provide easier access to compensation for informal live-in caregivers when service-related conditions inhibit a Veteran’s ability to perform Instrumental Activities of Daily Living and childcare.
- Recommendation 4: Introduce additional financial support to subsidize assisted living options for Veterans whose needs do not require Long-Term Care, but who cannot stay in their own homes.
- Recommendation 5: Merge the Veterans Independence Program and Long-Term Care program into one “Continuum of Care” program such that access is determined only once and criteria are transparent, understandable, and based on the physical and mental health needs of the Veteran.
- Recommendation 6: Reduce the complexity of 28 different eligibility groups, currently based on service type, such that access to continuum of care support is based on the physical and mental health needs of Veterans.
- Recommendation 7: Develop and communicate a strategy to ensure that the needs of all Veterans are being met within the current context of the Canadian Health Care system.

“Transitioning Successfully: A Qualitative Study” was released on November 2, 2017. This report examines the factors that contribute to a successful transition for medically- released Veterans in two phases – a literature review which was completed through a contract with the Canadian Institute of Military Veterans Health Research and a qualitative research study involving in-depth interviews with 15 medically-released Veterans who self-identified as having successfully transitioned.

The study highlights some of the factors that contribute to a successful transition as well as the challenges that Veterans and their families face during the transition to civilian life. The factors contributing to a successful transition included being proactive and “owning” their transition, having a supportive spouse and planning ahead for the transition. The challenging factors included: finding a new sense of purpose outside of the military, stress towards maintaining financial security and stigma towards injuries, particularly mental health. No recommendations were included in the report for Veterans Affairs Canada to accept.

“Meeting Expectations: Timely and Transparent Decisions for Canada’s Ill and Injured Veterans” was published in September, 2018. The report examines turnaround times for disability benefits first applications, which is the most frequent complaint heard by the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman. The findings of the review suggest that Veterans Affairs Canada quickly process applications submitted by Veterans with World War II or Korean War service, as well as applications prioritized due to medical risk or financial distress. The majority of all other disability first decision, however, took longer than the established 16-week standard. When files were reviewed for trends, the OVO identified three patterns, including inconsistencies in how certain groups of Veterans were treated; a lack of prioritization for those who may be at risk; and a lack of transparency and communication throughout the process. The report makes seven recommendations aimed at:

1. Providing timely decisions for all Veterans – regardless of gender, language, or other factors;
2. Standardizing Service Standard Start Dates so that turnaround times can be meaningfully reported;
3. Triaging applications based on need;
4. Eliminating the negative consequences of delays; and
5. Providing more information to applicants about expected turnaround times, reasons for delay, and incomplete applications.

The report concludes that turnaround times will continue to be a top complaint of Veterans and one of the biggest challenges faced by Veterans Affairs Canada until significant changes can be made more broadly to processes, systems, and approaches to service delivery.

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