April 29, 2022

Mr. Emmanuel Dubourg, MP

Chair, Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs 131 Queen Street, 6^th Floor

Ottawa ON K1A 0A6 Dear Mr. Chair:

This is in response to your letter, sent on behalf of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, seeking clarification on the discrepancies between the data that was submitted to the Committee regarding wait times and that published in Veterans Affairs Canada’s “Disability Benefit Processing—Summary Report.” In particular, you requested itemized information for Francophone and Anglophone Veterans, and male and female Veterans.

The care and well-being of the diverse women and men who defend our freedom is our top priority, and we remain committed to providing Veterans and their families with all the benefits and services to which they are entitled in the timely manner they deserve.

I am pleased to enclose a detailed response to the Committee’s request for clarification, which provides an explanation of how we report processing time data, including context to explain data and the discrepancies therein, as well as the median and average turnaround time figures for fiscal years 2017–18 to 2021–22. Included also is an update on some of the changes the Department has made and our recent progress.

Again, thank you for writing, and I trust the information provided is helpful. In closing, please accept my best wishes and my sincere gratitude to you and your fellow committee members for your work to ensure that those who selflessly served Canada are treated with the respect they deserve.

Sincerely,

Lawrence MacAulay, PC, MP

Enclosure

VETERANS AFFAIRS CANADA RESPONSE TO THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS STUDY FAIRNESS IN THE SERVICES OFFERED TO VETERANS: FRANCOPHONES AND ANGLOPHONES, MEN AND WOMEN, AND THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY

Background and Context

Regarding the discrepancies between wait times data submitted to the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs (ACVA) on March 1, 2022, and the data in the “Disability Benefit Processing—Summary Report” published by Veterans Affairs Canada (www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/about-vac/news-media/media-kits/dis-ben- process-summary-report), there are several reasons for the differences in processing statistics referenced.

When the Department is invited to present at the ACVA, our officials are committed to providing the most current data available. However, the timing of these meetings often does not align with the quarterly publication of processing information in the Summary Report on our website, which is released within 90 days from the end of each quarter. As a result, there will always be some discrepancies between these figures.

Additionally, the types of applications referenced were different. The statistics provided to ACVA contained turnaround times based on all applications (first applications, departmental reviews and reassessments), but the website and the information provided within the Veterans Ombud’s 2018 report (this report provided statistics based on a file sample), provide turnaround times on first applications only.

We have consistently reported average wait times for a number of years and continue to use this as the standard approach for comparability and when referencing changes in processing times. With the additional staffing resources provided to Veterans Affairs Canada, we have significantly reduced, by almost 50 percent, the number of applications waiting beyond our service standard (the

backlog). We expect to continue to reduce wait times across all categories with the hiring and extension of our additional employees dedicated to processing applications, in July 2020 and February 2022, based on government funding commitments.

Wait times statistics are based on completed applications, where a decision has been rendered. As a result, when we are able to successfully render decisions on applications that have been in a queue for a long time, the statistical average and

median wait times may appear longer, when, at the same time, we are making progress to reduce applications that are pending and processing times.

French/English Applications: Current Results

The “Disability Benefit Processing—Summary Report” for Quarter 2 (July– September 2021) published the median processing time for first applications as

76.0 weeks for French applications and 20.4 weeks for English applications. The average processing time for the same period was 59.8 weeks for French applications and 42.4 weeks for English applications. The processing gap was much smaller between French and English applications in Quarter 3 (October–

December 2021). In that quarter, the median processing time was 41.4 weeks for French applications and 29.6 weeks for English applications, with an average of

49.1 weeks for French applications and 42.2 weeks for English applications.

When the results for fiscal year 2021–22 (as of December 31, 2021) are examined for first applications only, the average turnaround time was 40.4 weeks for English applications and 50.5 weeks for French applications. For comparison, in 2020–21, the average turnaround time was 42.8 weeks for English applications and 52.3 weeks for French applications.

Female/Male Applications: Current Results

With respect to the difference in processing times between female and male applicants, the median processing time in Quarter 2 (July–September 2021) was

28.1 weeks for female applicants and 24.1 weeks for male applicants. The average processing time for female and male applicants was 46.2 weeks and 44.9 weeks, respectively.

In Quarter 3 (October–December 2021), applications from females were processed faster than applications from males. The median processing time was 25.6 weeks for female applicants and 33.0 weeks for male applicants. The average processing time for female and male applicants was 41.3 and 43.8 weeks, respectively.

When the results for fiscal year 2021–22 (as of December 31, 2021) are examined for first applications only, the average turnaround time was 42.9 weeks for female applicants and 41.7 weeks for male applicants. For comparison, in 2020–21, the average turnaround time was 50.5 weeks for female applicants and 43.1 weeks for male applicants.

So far this year, 16 percent of our completed applications belong to female applicants, who may be current or former members of the Canadian Armed Forces or RCMP. This is equal to the percentage of applications received from female

applicants. Because of their smaller number, relative 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).

Moving Forward

The Department may experience an increase in the average processing times for a certain type of application in a given quarter. While this would appear to be a setback, the reality is the average time increased because we processed a large number of older applications, thus raising the average time for that quarter.

Following such a situation, we would expect to see the average times reduce in future quarters.

The “Disability Benefit Processing—Summary Report” will be updated with statistics from Quarter 4 of fiscal year 2021–22 (ending March 31, 2022) within 90 days of the end of the quarter.

In September 2021, the Department added a team dedicated exclusively to processing claims from female applicants, who may be current or former members of the Canadian Armed Forces or RCMP. 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. The Department also has a dedicated French unit and two bilingual teams, and, in the fall of 2020, five additional bilingual teams were established. These teams are focused on French applications and reducing turnaround time for these claims.

With our increased staffing capacity and streamlined processes, we have been able to make progress on the older applications. This, in turn, will lead to improvements in both French and female turnaround times in the coming months. We take these processing time discrepancies between groups very seriously and are committed to further improvements.

To ensure consistency with the “Disability Benefit Processing—Summary Report” and the information provided in the Veterans Ombud’s report, the information presented in the tables below is focused on disability benefit first applications only.

Table 1: Applications Received by Quarter, Filtered by Application Created Date (First Applications Only)

Application Count		First Application
		English		French
		Female	Male	Female	Male
2017–18	Q4 (Jan-Mar)	1,009	6,443	154	1,073
2018–19	Q1 (Apr-Jun)	1,250	7,880	204	1,417
	Q2 (Jul-Sep)	1,002	6,282	162	995
	Q3 (Oct-Dec)	1,102	6,919	182	1,048
	Q4 (Jan-Mar)	1,216	6,884	137	930
2019–20	Q1 (Apr-Jun)	1,364	7,603	270	1,586
	Q2 (Jul-Sep)	1,493	9,029	239	1,481
	Q3 (Oct-Dec)	1,322	7,269	225	1,332
	Q4 (Jan-Mar)	1,237	7,191	267	1,331
2020–21	Q1 (Apr-Jun)	814	3,994	142	737
	Q2 (Jul-Sep)	978	5,545	164	942
	Q3 (Oct-Dec)	1,098	5,864	196	1,097
	Q4 (Jan-Mar)	1,463	7,145	254	1,229
2021–22	Q1 (Apr-Jun)	1,602	7,692	262	1,244
	Q2 (Jul-Sep)	1,656	7,529	269	1,293
	Q3 (Oct-Dec)	2,243	9,750	408	1,884

Please note, the figures in the report above on first applications received will not match the media kit data (www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/about-vac/news-media/media-kits/dis-ben-process-summary-report) as there is a small number of clients in the system who are missing the language code and/or the sex code and are therefore excluded from this report.

Table 2: Median Turnaround Time by Language and Sex for Disability Benefit First Applications (January 2018 to December 2021)

Median TAT (weeks)		First Application
		English		French
		Female	Male	Female	Male
2017–18	Q4 (Jan-Mar)	27.1	23.9	48.3	50.3
2018–19	Q1 (Apr-Jun)	20.9	16.3	43.4	43.7
	Q2 (Jul-Sep)	24.0	18.1	33.6	34.6
	Q3 (Oct-Dec)	30.9	17.4	45.4	46.6
	Q4 (Jan-Mar)	33.9	24.0	54.2	45.2
2019–20	Q1 (Apr-Jun)	31.4	26.7	59.5	51.6
	Q2 (Jul-Sep)	35.0	31.3	72.4	48.1
	Q3 (Oct-Dec)	43.6	33.4	66.3	41.4
	Q4 (Jan-Mar)	38.6	29.0	61.1	52.4
2020–21	Q1 (Apr-Jun)	67.4	35.7	71.1	68.1
	Q2 (Jul-Sep)	40.7	29.1	68.3	37.8
	Q3 (Oct-Dec)	50.9	36.9	45.6	31.5
	Q4 (Jan-Mar)	42.9	38.9	41.6	35.9
2021–22	Q1 (Apr-Jun)	30.0	20.9	28.1	18.6
	Q2 (Jul-Sep)	23.4	20.0	70.6	77.1
	Q3 (Oct-Dec)	25.7	30.7	24.7	44.6

Source: Validated Disability Benefits Dataset (RDBCAL) accessed on March 29, 2022

Table 3: Average Turnaround Time by Language and Sex for Disability Benefit First Applications (January 2018 to December 2021)

Average (Mean) TAT (weeks)		First Application
		English		French
		Female	Male	Female	Male
2017–18	Q4 (Jan-Mar)	30.4	26.3	46.0	46.4
2018–19	Q1 (Apr-Jun)	27.0	22.0	40.2	42.9
	Q2 (Jul-Sep)	32.5	26.8	41.2	40.3
	Q3 (Oct-Dec)	34.0	27.8	44.1	44.9
	Q4 (Jan-Mar)	39.2	31.9	53.8	47.7
2019–20	Q1 (Apr-Jun)	39.3	32.9	56.9	52.9
	Q2 (Jul-Sep)	43.6	37.1	56.9	53.2
	Q3 (Oct-Dec)	48.0	41.6	56.7	49.2
	Q4 (Jan-Mar)	44.7	37.1	62.7	50.2
2020–21	Q1 (Apr-Jun)	52.2	43.1	69.6	56.6
	Q2 (Jul-Sep)	46.4	36.7	58.8	49.1
	Q3 (Oct-Dec)	50.2	43.3	55.2	45.0
	Q4 (Jan-Mar)	47.4	43.6	58.5	54.8
2021–22	Q1 (Apr-Jun)	41.0	35.5	46.9	42.1
	Q2 (Jul-Sep)	43.2	42.3	60.6	59.5
	Q3 (Oct-Dec)	41.2	42.5	42.2	50.8

Source: Validated Disability Benefits Dataset (RDBCAL) accessed on March 29, 2022