Question Period Note: VETERAN GRAVE MAINTENANCE

• To honour and preserve the memory of those who served, Veteran graves provided and installed by the Government of Canada are maintained in perpetuity.

• The Government is investing $24.4 million over five years in Veteran grave maintenance, starting in 2018–2019.

• Veterans Affairs Canada is on track to address outstanding maintenance items in support of our commitment to the perpetual care of Veterans’ graves.

• In the first year of this five-year project, the Department exceeded the target for grave maintenance repairs.

• Of the total 57,179 backlog repairs originally identified, 12,141 were completed, with an additional 10,702 markers requiring repair being identified and completed.

• In 2019-2020, approximately 11,300 markers were repaired, along with an additional 10,000 repairs identified and completed.

BACKGROUND – VETERAN GRAVE MAINTENANCE

Authority

Under Section 5 of the Department of Veterans Affairs Act and the authority of P.C. Order 1965-688, the Minister of Veterans Affairs is responsible for “the maintenance of graves and grave markers of former members of the armed forces who because of their military service were buried at the expense of Canada or whose grave markers were erected at the expense of Canada.” This work is accomplished by the Commemoration Division’s Commemoration Operations Directorate.

Limited Resources

Until 2003, Veterans Affairs Canada’s annual Veteran grave and cemetery maintenance budget was $5 million. At that time, Veterans Affairs Canada did not have a tracking system to document the location of all the Veteran graves falling under its responsibility, nor had it established a standard to which graves should be maintained. Lacking these tools, Veterans Affairs Canada was not in a position to carry out considerable work in the area of Veteran grave and cemetery maintenance and was unable to fully utilize allocated resources. As a result, the annual budget was reduced to $1.25 million.

In 2004-2005, to be in a better position to effectively undertake Veteran grave and cemetery maintenance, Veterans Affairs Canada implemented the following two corrective measures:
• With the support of the Heritage Conservation Directorate of Public Services and Procurement Canada (Public Works and Government Services Canada at the time), Veterans Affairs Canada established a standard to which graves should be maintained.
• Veterans Affairs Canada developed a tracking system to capture data regarding Veteran graves, including data on which graves meet the established standard.

These two corrective measures allowed Veterans Affairs Canada to increase its Veteran grave and cemetery maintenance work and to fully utilize its annual allocation of $1.25 million.

Evaluation Findings and Follow-ups

In March 2017, Veterans Affairs Canada’s Audit and Evaluation Division completed an Evaluation of Commemorative Benefits and Services (covering the period from April 2012 to March 2016), including the maintenance of Veteran graves and the two departmental cemeteries (i.e. Fort Massey Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Veterans Cemetery in Esquimalt, British Columbia). The evaluation noted a backlog of 57,063 repair items and indicated that, based on the allocated budget, Veterans Affairs Canada would require more than 17 years to complete the current outstanding grave marker repairs. The evaluation stated that additional efforts are required to ensure Veteran graves are being properly maintained and that increased funding is required.

In its response to the evaluation, Veterans Affairs Canada management committed to exploring options for increased resource allocation. Options were developed in order to address the backlog.

Budget 2018 Announcement

On February 27, 2018, Budget 2018 announced that, “to eliminate the current backlog of repairs in the next 5 years, the Government proposes to provide funding $24.4 million over five years, starting in 2018–19.” The budget referred to the evaluation findings.

Implementation

The Commemoration Operations Directorate will use existing staff, in addition to extra temporary staff, to carry out the work. It will build on a business model already in place, with established tracking tools, standards, maintenance practices and annual maintenance plans. Over five years, the supplementary resources will cover a few full-time equivalents (Full Time Employees). Veteran grave maintenance will be accomplished through the implementation of service supplier contracts.

Progress

Of the total 57, 179 repairs over 5 years, 12,141 were completed in Year 1 (2018-19). Approximately 12,985 are planned for Year 2, with on-going annual inspections taking place for the remaining years.

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