ACVA Committee Report
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SUPPLEMENTARY OPINION OF THE OFFICIAL OPPOSITION The Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs on the Review of the Delivery of Front-Line Health and Well-Being Services for Canadian Veterans, April 2012 New Democrats would like to thank the many witnesses who appeared before the committee for this study on the “Review of the Delivery of Front-Line Health and Well-Being Services for Canadian Veterans.” We also want to thank the Chair and the entire committee for their efforts on this report. A special thanks is extended to the current Veterans Ombudsman, Guy Parent, and his staff for their contributions, as well as the former Veterans Ombudsman Colonel Pat Stogran. While we support the underlying objective of this report, the Official Opposition has some very serious concerns with its content. We remain concerned that the committee embarked on this study in the middle of the federal government’s strategic review exercise. Committee hearings were finished just as the federal government tabled the March 2012 budget. It was therefore impossible to determine in this report how cuts to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) staff and its operating budget, as outlined in the March 2012 budget, will impact on the delivery of front-line health and well-being services for military and RCMP veterans and their families. New Democrats are very concerned that the cuts to staff (approximately 804 VAC staff), the elimination of nine regional offices across the country, and proposals for private sector/alternate service for VIP reassessments, will seriously impact the quality of service to veterans and their families. The Official Opposition does not believe that the Department of Veterans Affairs can maintain the same standard of care or programs and services with fewer and fewer staff and resources. The Official Opposition tabled a motion in the House of Commons on March 5th, 2012: “That, in the opinion of this House, the government should: a) honour the service of Canadian military and RCMP veterans and their families by committing to not cut Veterans Affairs Canada in the upcoming budget; and b) provide programs and services to all military and RCMP veterans and their families in a timely and comprehensive manner.” New Democrats asked the federal government to commit that there would be no cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs in their upcoming budget considering that the United States, Australia, and Britain had exempted their Veterans Departments from budget cuts. Unfortunately, this motion was defeated by the Conservative government on March 6th, 2012. The Department maintains that “it expects to manage the cuts” because the number of veterans served is getting smaller (“Shrinking population, technology behind 800 cuts at Vetearns Affairs”, Canadian Press, 2012-04-12). Yet departmental information provided to this committee during this study confirmed that the client base of Veterans Affairs Canada has actually grown by 7,888 veteran clients and 5, 371 survivor clients since March 2001. (Written Responses to Questions asked in Committee / following the meeting of Tuesday, November 29, 2011). While it is true that World War II and Korean veterans are passing away quickly, there are many modern-day veterans with complex needs that require VAC services and programs. At the same time, Veterans Affairs Canada is only serving one-third of the estimated current veteran population. It is estimated that there are over 750,000 retired military and RCMP veterans but as of March 2011, VAC was serving 218,000 clients and of these, 140,302 were veterans. That means that over two thirds of the potential veteran client base is not being served by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The report provides an account of the key issues brought forward by a variety of witnesses but it does not adequately or clearly reflect the opinion of many veterans who were unable to appear and have identified deficiencies in programs and services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of National Defence. It would have been helpful to hear from these veterans and their organizations. The report states that, “the vast majority of veterans’ complaints, as well as similar comments heard from numerous witnesses, only very rarely concerned the appropriateness of the programs.” The report touched on the criticisms raised by veterans on the complex nature of eligibility criteria or accessibility to programs but it did not offer any concrete recommendations to resolve these concerns. In the opinion of the Official Opposition, this is not sufficient considering that many veterans and veterans’ organizations have called for program and service changes. New Democrats point out that many veterans have questioned the appropriateness of the programs available to veterans, specifically with regards to the New Veterans Charter. During the study, the Official Opposition pressed the committee to review elements of the New Veterans Charter specific to this study of front-line health and well-being services. Unfortunately, this request was ignored. While New Democrats agree with the rehabilitative approach of the New Veterans Charter, we insist that the federal government honour the commitment that the New Veterans Charter is a “living document” that is to be amended and adjusted as circumstances require. To date, the federal government has only made four enhancements to the New Veterans Charter through Bill C-55. Unfortunately, the hundreds of recommendations suggested by the New Veterans Charter Advisory Group (NVCAG), the Special Needs Advisory Group (SNAG) and other veterans’ organizations to improve the New Veterans Charter have not been implemented. Furthermore, the Official Opposition recommended that the committee include the privacy breach issue within the scope of this study and hear from relevant witnesses. Again, this request was ignored by several members of this committee. While the Department of Veterans Affairs insists that the problems with privacy violations have been fixed, new complaints surfaced during this report, suggesting that the Department has not fully dealt with the problem. Ensuring that veterans’ health records and privacy is protected must be a key element in providing successful front-line health care and well-being services. New Democrats maintain that the numerous and very serious privacy breaches of veterans’ health records and personal information was certainly relevant with respect to this report and its review of the delivery of front-line health care and well-being services. The report briefly looked at the special status of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police within the mandate of Veterans Affairs Canada but the recommendations did not adequately address the concerns of RCMP veterans with respect to the need for the development of an RCMP specific OSISS program and access to the VIP. Finally, this report reviews the health and transition services provided by private, community service and charitable organizations. While New Democrats are very grateful for the excellent work provided by these organizations and in many cases volunteers, we are concerned that they are “filling in the gap” for services and programs that should be provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. We feel that it is the responsibility of Veterans Affairs Canada to provide appropriate programs that address veterans’ homelessness, transition support, food bank use, and many other supports. New Democrats are very appreciative of the Royal Canadian Legion and all the veterans’ organizations who continue to provide support, information, and direct services to veterans. In conclusion, the NDP have concerns with this report and are releasing this supplementary opinion. Our men and women of the military and RCMP have served with unlimited liability and they deserve to have a government and opposition members that give the ultimate responsibility to their needs and their families’ needs all the way to, and including, their headstones. We have provided a list of recommendations that we believe would improve the delivery of front-line health and well-being services for all military and RCMP veterans. The recommendations are by no means exhaustive. Respectfully submitted, Peter Stoffer, MP, Sackville-Eastern Shore, Official Opposition Critic for Veterans Affairs Irene Matthysen, MP London-Fanshawe Annick Papillon, MP, Québec (ACVA committee member 2011/06/13 – 2012/04/23) Rejean Genest, MP, Shefford (ACVA committee member 2011/06/13 – 2012/04/23) Sylvain Chicoine, MP, Chateauguay-Saint-Constant Manon Perreault, MP, Montcalm April 2012
NDP Recommendations to Improve the Delivery of Front-Line Health and Well-Being Services for Canadian Veterans*:
*Note: These recommendations by the NDP are by no means exhaustive. They represent only some of the suggestions put forward by the NDP to improve the delivery of front-line health and well-being services for all military and RCMP veterans. |