Question Period Note: FEMALE AND FRANCOPHONE VETERANS

• Veterans Affairs Canada has made progress in addressing the turnaround times for applications from female and Francophone Veterans.

• It will, however, 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.

• We are focused on completing our oldest claims to ensure decisions are made as soon as possible for all Veterans.

• 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:
• Veterans Affairs Canada published a Strategic Direction document, Timely disability benefits decisions: Strategic direction for improving wait times, in June 2020. This document outlined the measures we would take to improve our services to Veterans and their families by changing the way we work to make faster disability benefits decisions. The Strategic Direction document is being updated for release in fall 2022, and will outline progress over the past two years and our priorities for the next two years. A Gender Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) mindset 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 claims from female applicants/Veterans. This team is developing expertise to ensure we can systematically address the current barriers and close the gap in processing times for female and male applicants.
• In 2021-2022, 16.4% of our completed applications belong to female Veterans/members. This is almost equal to the percentage of applications received from female applicants (16.7%).
• 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.
• Based on an updated calculation that includes when a payment is made (for favourable decisions), for the first half of 2022-2023 (April 1 to September 30), the average turnaround times for first applications were 28.4 weeks for female and 28.7 weeks for male. In the 2021-2022 fiscal year, the average turnaround times were 40.2 weeks for female and 39.6 weeks for male.

Veterans Affairs Canada Action – Francophone Veterans:
• Approximately 30% of the Department’s staff that make disability benefit decisions are either French or bilingual. In addition, the Department recently hired more bilingual and Francophone Disability Adjudicators to supplement our capacity to process French applications and bring the average processing times for English and French applications closer to parity. Most of these new resources have started training, with a focus on the oldest first application conditions. With the new resources processing old applications, we will not see an immediate closure of the gap between French and English processing times. However, although it will take time, with the additional resources, we expect to see further reductions in the processing times for French applications as we continue to reduce the backlog of disability benefits applications.
• We also hired a dedicated manager who is responsible for workload management and will monitor the French applications processing times.
• Based on an updated calculation that includes when a payment is made (for favourable decisions), for the first half of 2022-2023 (April 1 to September 30), the average turnaround times for first applications were 26.8 for anglophone and 37.5 weeks for francophone. In the 2021-2022 fiscal year, the average turnaround times were 38.4 weeks for anglophone and 47.1 weeks for francophone.
• In the 2019-2020 fiscal year, an average of 320 French first applications were completed per month. In comparison, in 2021-2022, the average increased to 540 per month.

When Pressed:

Q1 – What are recent statistics on male and female applications?

Based on a recommendation from the Office of the Auditor General, as of 1 April 2022, the Department updated how we define processing times for the purpose of our service standard. Therefore, all turnaround times and service standard results for disability benefits reported for the fiscal year 2022-2023 will represent the time between when we receive a complete application and when a payment is made (for favourable decisions). Previously, processing times showed the time between when we received a complete application and when a decision was made (decision date). The average turnaround times, even those prior to 1 April 2022, have been calculated using the new method to allow for accurate comparisons from one fiscal year to another.

Using the new calculation, for the first half of 2022-2023 (April 1 to September 30), the average turnaround times for first applications were 28.4 weeks for female and 28.7 weeks for male. In the 2021-2022 fiscal year, the average turnaround times were 40.2 weeks for female and 39.6 weeks for male.

In 2021-2022, 16.4% of our completed applications belong to female Veterans/members. This is almost equal to the percentage of applications received from female applicants (16.7%). Due to their relatively smaller number (compared to the number of applications from males), each one has a larger impact on the average turnaround time for female applications (i.e., a larger impact than one male application would have on the average turnaround time for male applications).

Q2 – What is data on Francophone applicants?

Based on a recommendation from the Office of the Auditor General, as of 1 April 2022, the Department updated how we define processing times for the purpose of our service standard. Therefore, all turnaround times and service standard results for disability benefits reported for the fiscal year 2022-2023 will represent the time between when we receive a complete application and when a payment is made (for favourable decisions). Previously, processing times showed the time between when we received a complete application and when a decision was made (decision date). The average turnaround times, even those prior to 1 April 2022, have been calculated using the new method to allow for accurate comparisons from one fiscal year to another.

Using the new calculation, for the first half of 2022-2023 (April 1 to September 30), the average turnaround times for first applications were 26.8 weeks for anglophone applicants and 37.5 weeks for francophone applicants. In the 2021-2022 fiscal year, the average turnaround times were 38.4 weeks for anglophone applicants and 47.1 weeks for francophone applicants.

In the first quarter of 2019-2020 (April 1 to June 30), the average turnaround time (using the new calculation to completed date), for French first applications was 55.0 weeks. By the end of the fourth quarter of 2021-2022 (January 1 to March 31), the turnaround time reduced to 43.5 weeks, which is a difference of 11.5 weeks.

In the 2019-2020 fiscal year, an average of 320 French first applications were completed per month. In comparison, in 2021-2022, the average increased to 540 per month.

About 15% of the disability benefit applications received by the Department are French. Because of their relatively smaller number (compared to the number of English applications), each one has a larger impact on the average French turnaround time (i.e., a larger impact than one English application would have on the average English turnaround time).

Q3 – Regarding treatment of Female Veterans, any solution to decrease/eliminate the backlog?

• Veterans Affairs Canada published a Strategic Direction document, Timely disability benefits decisions: Strategic direction for improving wait times, in June 2020. This document outlined the measures we would take to improve our services to Veterans and their families by changing the way we work to make faster disability benefits decisions. The Strategic Direction document is being updated for release in fall 2022. It will outline progress over the past two years and our priorities for the next two years. A Gender Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) mindset 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 claims from female applicants/Veterans. This team is developing expertise to ensure we can systematically address the current barriers and close the gap in processing times for female and male applicants.
• In February 2022, the Government announced funding of $139.6 million over two years to extend the temporary positions as part of action to reduce processing times for disability benefit applications at Veterans Affairs Canada.
• In 2021-2022, 16.4% of our completed applications belong to female Veterans/members. This is almost equal to the percentage of applications received from female applicants (16.7%).
• 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.

Q4 - What is the difference today between francophone and anglophone applications? It used to be a 21 week discrepancy.
We have made improvements in the turnaround times for French applicants compared to English applicants. For the first half of 2022-2023 (April 1 to September 30), the difference between the average turnaround time for first applications is 10.7 weeks.
Based on a recommendation from the Office of the Auditor General, as of 1 April 2022, the Department updated how we define processing times for the purpose of our service standard. Therefore, all turnaround times and service standard results for disability benefits reported for the fiscal year 2022-2023 will represent the time between when we receive a complete application and when a payment is made (for favourable decisions). Previously, processing times showed the time between when we received a complete application and when a decision was made (decision date). The average turnaround times, even those prior to 1 April 2022, have been calculated using the new method to allow for accurate comparisons from one fiscal year to another.

Q5 - The Minister mentioned opening offices in Montreal to help with backlog; did that happen?

Yes, a French team was stood up in the Montreal office in 2018, and the staff is still dedicated to French applications. However, due to COVID-19, staff are now working from home in Quebec and other locations in Canada.

Q6 - Is it hard to recruit Francophone staff?

In the past, the Department did not have enough French or bilingual capacity. However, in recent years we have made progress, and currently approximately 30% of the Department’s staff that make disability benefit decisions are either French or bilingual. In addition, the Department recently hired more bilingual and Francophone Disability Adjudicators to supplement our capacity to process French applications and bring the average processing times for English and French applications closer to parity. Most of these new resources have started training, with a focus on the oldest first application conditions. With the new resources processing old applications, we will not see an immediate closure of the gap between French and English processing times. However, although it will take time, with the additional resources, we expect to see further reductions in the processing times for French applications as we continue to reduce the backlog of disability benefits applications.
It can be challenging to retain bilingual and Francophone decision-making staff given that many have been hired as temporary employees and they often leave for permanent employment opportunities elsewhere.

Q7 - What about women Veterans’ support?

In September 2021, the Department added a team dedicated to processing claims from female applicants/Veterans. This team is developing expertise to ensure we can systematically address the current barriers and close the gap in processing times for female and male 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.