Question Period Note: FEMALE AND FRANCOPHONE VETERANS

FEMALE AND FRANCOPHONE VETERANS

• Veterans Affairs Canada is examining the delays in processing applications for female and Francophone Veterans to determine how this can be improved, is developing new approaches to consider the unique service experiences of females.

• It will take time for our efforts to reduce the backlog of disability benefit applications to be reflected in our processing times, including those for both French and female applications, as we are currently focused on completing our oldest claims which, unfortunately, already have lengthy processing times.

• We take these processing time discrepancies very seriously, and I assure you we are committed to the well-being of all Veterans.

BACKGROUND - FEMALE AND FRANCOPHONE VETERANS

In September 2018, the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman released a report noting both female and Francophone Veterans experienced longer disability benefits processing times.

Veterans Affairs Canada Action – Female Veterans:
• In June 2020, the Department released a strategy to address the long-standing issue of processing times for disability benefits. The document outlines many initiatives to reduce processing times. A gender-based analysis lens will be applied to initiatives to ensure all applications are treated and processed equitably.
• We hired a dedicated manager who is responsible for workload management, and will monitor the completion times for applications from female Veterans.
• In September 2021, the Department added a team dedicated to processing the majority of female applications. This team will develop expertise to ensure we can systematically address barriers and close the gap in processing times for female and male applicants.
• The Department estimates the Veteran population in Canada is 618K, of which 137K are clients of Veterans Affairs Canada. So far this year, 16% of our completed applications belong to female Veterans/members. This is equal to the percentage of applications received from female applicants.
• Additionally, the Department has established an Office of Women and LGBTQ2 Veterans. This office will help the Department fulfill its responsibility to provide all Veterans the care and support they deserve.
• Year to date, the average turnaround time to complete a disability benefits application is 32.2 weeks for male applications and 36.7 weeks for female applications (this includes first applications, reassessments and departmental reviews).
Veterans Affairs Canada Action – Francophone Veterans:
• Between 2015-16 and 2019-20, the Department saw a 42% increase in the number of French applications.
• In addition to our dedicated French unit and two bilingual teams, in the fall of 2020, five additional bilingual teams were established and started their training as part of the Spike Teams. These teams, which became operational in January 2021, are focused predominantly on French claims and have steadily increased their production since then.
• We also hired a dedicated manager who is responsible for workload management and will monitor the completion times for French files.
• Year to date, the average turnaround time to complete a disability benefits application is 41 weeks for French language applications and 31.4 weeks for English language applications (this includes first applications, reassessments and departmental reviews).

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