Brian Forbes, Chair of the National Council of Veteran Associations and Chair of The War Amps Executive Committee
In the Esprit de Corps article of November 2023, the National Council of Veteran Associations in Canada (NCVA) set out a roadmap for Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) for 2024 with regard to reforming veterans legislation. At its annual meeting held in Toronto later that month, the member-organizations of NCVA fully endorsed the following recommendations as a substantive means for implementing this roadmap for VAC.
“One Veteran – One Standard”
NCVA takes the position that VAC, working together with relevant ministerial advisory groups and veteran stakeholders, should think “outside the box” by jointly striving over time to create a comprehensive program model that would essentially treat all veterans with parallel disabilities in the same manner as to the application of benefits and wellness policies – thereby resulting in the elimination of artificial cut‑off dates that arbitrarily distinguish veterans based on whether they were injured before or after 2006.
NCVA adopts the position that much more is required to improve the New Veterans Charter/Veterans Well‑being Act (NVC/VWA) and that the Government needs to fully implement the Ministerial Policy Advisory Group (MPAG) recommendations initially presented to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and the Veterans Summit in October 2016 (and enhanced in subsequent annual reports to various ministers) with particular emphasis on:
(i) Resolving the significant disparity between the financial compensation available under the Pension Act and the NVC/VWA;
(ii) Ensuring that no veteran under the NVC/VWA would receive less compensation than a veteran under the Pension Act with the same disability or incapacity in accordance with the “one veteran – one standard” principle;
(iii) Utilizing a combination of the best provisions from the Pension Act and the best provisions from the NVC/VWA, producing a form of lifetime pension in a much more realistic manner in order to secure the financial security for those veterans who need this form of monetary support through their lifetime; and
(iv) Addressing the ongoing layering of legislation and incremental changes over the years, ostensibly without consistent objectives and clearly defined outcomes, which has created a complex grid of eligibility criteria, differences in eligibility for benefits depending on when and where served, and inconsistency between policy intent and outcomes and expectations.
In addition to the aforementioned fundamental proposals as to the overriding guiding principles for legislative reform, the following recommendations represent specific statutory and policy amendments in furtherance of this objective:
(i) Liberalize the eligibility criteria in the legislation and regulatory amendments for the new Additional Pain and Suffering Compensation (APSC) benefit so that more disabled veterans actually qualify for this benefit. Currently, only veterans suffering from a severe and permanent impairment will be eligible. It bears repeating that the greater majority of disabled veterans simply do not qualify for this new component of the proposed lifelong pension.
(ii) The veterans disability award (Pain and Suffering Compensation [PSC]) initially granted to the veteran should be a major determinant in evaluating APSC qualifications. In effect, it is the position of NCVA that this employment of the PSC percentage to individual APSC grade levels would produce a more straightforward and easier-understood solution to this ongoing issue of APSC eligibility.
(iii) Incorporate the special allowances under the Pension Act, i.e., the Exceptional Incapacity Allowance and Attendance Allowance, into the NVC/VWA to help address the financial disparity between the two statutory regimes.
(iv) Improve the eligibility criteria for the Critical Injury Benefit to include mental health injuries and evolving injuries.
(v) Extend eligibility of the death benefit to the families of all deceased veterans.
NCVA continues to support the contention that the seriously disabled veteran should be given the highest priority in the implementation of the Government’s plan of action for legislative reform in regard to the NVC/VWA and other related legislative provisions.
NCVA also endorses the position that the federal government’s failure to fully implement a plan of action on reforming the New Veterans Charter to rectify the unacceptable financial disparity between the Pension Act and the NVC/VWA violates the social covenant owed to Canadian veterans and their families.
Benefits to Support Families/Veteran Caregivers
VAC should:
a) Replace the inadequate Caregiver Recognition Benefit by incorporating into the NVC/VWA the eligibility standards of the Attendance Allowance provisions under the Pension Act, together with the amount of allowance described in the Attendant Care Benefit from the Department of National Defence (DND) for caregivers of disabled veterans, as supported by the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs (ACVA) in its June 2021 report.
b) Establish distinctive grade levels for this newly created Attendance Allowance:
Grade 1 - $36,000
Grade 2 - $30,000
Grade 3 - $24,000
Grade 4 - $18,000
This will address the unique need for financial support of individual family caregivers of disabled veterans and, at the same time, help to rectify the financial disparity between the two statutory regimes.
c) Fine-tune the concept of Attendance Allowance payable to informal caregivers to recognize and compensate the significant effort and economic loss to support injured veterans and ensure access reflects consideration for the effects of mental health injuries.
d) Create a new family benefit for all veterans in receipt of PSC to parallel the Pension Act provisions in relation to spousal and child allowances to recognize the impact of the veteran’s disability on their family.
e) Adopt the Office of the Veterans Ombud (OVO)’s recommendation as endorsed by ACVA that family members and caregivers should have an independent right to benefits and well-being provisions rather than the restricted derivative rights that have existed in veterans legislation for many years.
f) Automatically reimburse professional mental health expenses for the spouse and dependent children of veterans eligible for a rehabilitation plan for mental health concerns.
VAC Backlog/Wait-Time Crisis
NCVA strongly recommends:
VAC recognize that fundamental systemic change is required and that the department needs to accelerate the adoption of fast-tracking protocols/automatic entitlement for outstanding veterans’ claims for common disabilities in order to alleviate the backlog and wait times that have only been compounded by the COVID-19 crisis.
VAC utilize presumptions in the departmental adjudicative system as outlined for many years in NCVA’s Legislative Program. The adoption of evidentiary presumptions to deal with common disabilities and consequential claims will create administrative efficiencies and have a significant impact on turnaround times for veterans’ claims currently in the backlog.
The adoption of the ACVA report dated December 11, 2020, titled “Clearing the Jam: Addressing the Backlog of Disability Benefit Claims at Veterans Affairs Canada,” which accepted the majority of NCVA’s recommendations in alleviating the backlog/wait-time crisis.
VAC fully recognize the substantive findings and criticisms of the Auditor General’s report of May 2022 and implement with the highest priority the statutory, regulatory and policy changes proposed in the report to realistically address the backlog/wait-time conundrum confronting Canada’s disabled veterans.
The Government expand the implementation of the proposals contained in Budget 2021, as enacted in the spring of 2022, insofar as the immediate granting of treatment benefits for mental health claims prior to the formal adjudication of the veteran’s disability claim so as to include all forms of disability suffered by the veterans of Canada.
VAC provide substantial financial funding to bolster the Veterans Emergency Fund to increase the maximum benefits per claim and to prioritize these applications during these challenging times. VAC should consider the utilization of the Veterans Emergency Fund as a stopgap measure for veterans awaiting disability pension claim decisions that have been inordinately held up by the current backlog crisis.
VAC simplify veterans legislation and regulations, including the Table of Disabilities, so as to provide a more “user friendly” process and, in so doing, eliminate the complexities and legalistic provisions currently confronting veterans in making disability/health-care claims.
That, to ease the transition from DND to VAC, disabled veterans should be fully apprised of benefits and entitlements, rehabilitation options and job alternatives well before their medical discharge from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).
Sexual Misconduct in the CAF
NCVA will continue to press the Government to fully implement without further delay all of the salient recommendations contained in the report of Madame Justice Arbour, the Independent External and Comprehensive Review (IECR).
NCVA recommends further:
That the Minister of National Defence extend the appointment of the external monitor to oversee the DND/CAF efforts to address sexual misconduct and harassment, and monitor the implementation of the IECR for at least three years.
That the Minister of National Defence take the necessary action to complete the external review of the two military colleges.
That the Minister of National Defence ensures remedial steps are taken to address any challenges being encountered by individual claimants in the transition of their cases to the civilian/criminal courts.
NCVA would indicate that, of our seven initial recommendations made in this area, only one remains outstanding
To effect and ensure meaningful change and oversight, the Government must establish a fully independent Office of the Inspector General of the DND and the CAF reporting to Parliament.
Marriage After Sixty
NCVA is recommending that the Minister of Veterans Affairs/Associate Minister of National Defence and/or the Minister of National Defence reconsider their position and adopt the proposals contained in the ACVA report of December 2022 titled “Survivor Retirement Pension Benefits (Marriage After 60),” and remove Section 31 of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act (CFSA). This will allow the spouse of a CAF retiree marrying after 60 to be eligible for Survivor’s Benefits without reducing the amount of superannuation in payment to the retiree in accordance with the Liberal Party’s election platform of 2015.
NCVA further recommends that, in addition to the elimination of the “gold digger’s clause” in the CFSA, VAC should establish a realistic and effective veterans survivors fund to address the inequities already created by the current legislation. The following principles should be applied:
1. In the event the veteran who has married after the age of 60 has exercised the option for a spousal benefit under the CFSA, the amount of reduction in the veteran’s current income in so doing should be reimbursed by VAC.
2. Should the veteran have not opted for the Survivor’s Benefit, the amount of pension that the surviving spouse would have received if the “gold digger’s clause” was removed should be paid to the surviving spouse by VAC under this new veterans survivors fund.
Veterans Legislation and Policies
A. Progressive Future Loss of Income
NCVA proposes the establishment of a newly structured Career Impact Allowance (CIA) that would reflect the following standard of compensation: “What would the veteran have earned in their military career had the veteran not been injured?” This form of progressive income model, which has been recommended by the MPAG and the OVO, and which has been utilized by the Canadian courts for many years for injured plaintiffs, would be unique to the NVC/VWA. Moreover, this approach would bolster the potential lifetime compensation of the disabled veteran as to their projected lost career earnings, as opposed to the nominal one per cent increase provided in the proposed legislation.
• NCVA encourages VAC to revisit the MPAG proposition of consolidating the Income Replacement Benefit and a newly structured CIA to provide a single stream of income for life that would include the “projected career earnings” approach.
• Access to the newly structured CIA benefit should be available throughout the lifetime of the veteran, providing a financial safety net that includes application to pre‑ and post‑release income scenarios.
B. Veterans Education and Training Benefit
NCVA proposes that:
a) VAC eliminate the limitations as to the applicability of the new Veterans Education and Training Benefit so as to make this particular benefit available to all veterans and not just those who have served since April 1, 2006.
b) Family members (spouses and dependent children) should not only have an independent right to VAC VOC-REHAB and employment policies, but also to the Education and Training Benefit without the current restrictions that curtail their opportunity to access these programs.
C. Partial Disabilities
NCVA strongly recommends that VAC, in further of the department’s reasonably new policy in this context, grant automatic entitlement to those veterans currently in receipt of consequential or partial entitlement rulings at one-fifth/two-fifths/three-fifths to a four-fifths level of assessment. In so doing, the department will address a significant amount of the backlog in relation to the numerous appeals that are currently in the department system re: fractional awards.
D. SISIP LTD/VOC-REHAB Programs
NCVA continues to take the long-held position that SISIP LTD/VOC‑REHAB should be eliminated, placing all SISIP LTD and VOC‑REHAB under VAC for all service attributable and non‑service attributable medical releases with no premiums – one program/one service delivery model.
E. Partners in Canadian Veterans Rehabilitation Services Program/Rehabilitation Services and Vocational Assistance Project (RSVP)
NCVA will continue to monitor the implementation of the new Partners in Canadian Veterans Rehabilitation Services Program/Rehabilitation Services and Vocational Assistance Project (RSVP) to ensure that the objective of VAC to provide improved medical, psycho-social and vocational rehabilitation services to our veterans and their families is achieved.
F. Post-65 Benefits
NCVA proposes that VAC should establish that the current Income Replacement Benefit (former Earnings Loss Benefit) be continued for life without deduction, and that the post-65 diminishment (from 90 per cent to 70 per cent) be eliminated as the financial plight of the eligible seriously disabled veteran at age 65 remains essentially unchanged.
Long-Term Care/Intermediary Care
NCVA recommends that VAC adopts a flexible policy to provide veterans with a freedom of choice between a community bed and a priority access bed for purposes of admission to long‑term care facilities without distinction between traditional and modern-day veterans in accord with the “one veteran – one standard” principle.
NCVA urges VAC to increase the number of preferred admission beds in order to address the demands of modern-day veterans and, in so doing, eliminate the current wait list for these beds across the country.
NCVA strongly proposes that VAC immediately implement the necessary statutory and policy changes so that the adult residential care needs of the veteran are addressed through the expansion of the Veterans Independence Program (VIP) and long‑term care policy of the department so as to provide financial assistance in this area of institutionalized care. This fundamental gap in VAC’s continuum of care for veterans should be given the highest priority – particularly in recognition of the fact that this assisted living program should never have been eliminated from departmental policy in the 1990s as part and parcel of the then-Liberal Government’s deficit reduction strategy.
In conjunction with the settlement arrived at between the residents of Ste-Anne’s Hospital, the federal government and the provincial government, NCVA calls on VAC, in accordance with the terms and provisions of the settlement documentation, to protect the interests of veterans affected by the transfer. The governments must also ensure that the provisions found in the transfer agreement established to support the commitments made in relation to priority beds for veterans, language rights and the standard of care are strictly enforced, and that enhanced funding is put in place by the federal government to satisfy this class-action settlement.
VIP for Life for Surviving Spouses
NCVA recommends that the Minister of Veterans Affairs alter the Government’s current position so that the needs of the surviving spouse should determine the benefit required (housekeeping or groundskeeping) instead of the present practice of basing the decisions on the specific VIP benefit the veteran was receiving prior to their death.
NCVA will continue to pressure the minister and departmental officials to review the present policy on the continuation of VIP for Life for surviving spouses with a view to providing this benefit to, at a minimum, all surviving spouses of seriously disabled veterans who are not eligible because the veteran never applied for the benefits.
Further, Section 16 and Section 16.1 of regulations should be amended so as to eliminate the absurd anomaly whereby a surviving spouse who fails to qualify for VIP based on their spouse’s VIP status cannot utilize their Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) or Disability Tax Credit (DTC) eligibility for the purposes of their own VIP entitlement.
Last Post Fund/Veterans Burial Regulations
NCVA proposes that a departmental policy change be implemented to recognize that seriously disabled veterans entitled to a disability pension at 78 per cent or more qualify, as a matter of right, under the Veterans Burial Regulations/Last Post Fund and should be granted automatic entitlement for funeral and burial grants. This would obviate the need to draft lengthy submissions that place VAC adjudicators in the position of having to consider extremely complex and comprehensive evidence supporting our contention that the interrelationship of the pensioned and non-pensioned conditions of such veterans has contributed to their passing.
NCVA has presented our recommendations for legislative reform to Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor for priority adoption. We have been impressed by the new minister’s efforts to reach out to and engage with the veterans’ community, and we look forward to working with the minister to create the impetus required to achieve our essential objectives for the betterment of veterans and their families.
(For a detailed analysis of the NCVA Legislative Program 2023-24, see https://ncva-cnaac.ca/en/legislative-program/.)
