Veterans’ Ombudsman Report: Disabled Veterans Tired of Waiting on Veterans Affairs Canada
Ottawa (November 8, 2004): In spite of their failing health, a small but determined group of disabled veterans and their families announce their plan to release a Veteran’s Ombudsman’s report on the treatment of veterans in Canada. Canada’s V.O.I.C.E., (Veterans’ Ombudsman: an Independent Client Evaluation) will monitor and report on the policies and programs affecting Canadian veterans, their families and survivors.
“It is a truly bizarre situation that although Veterans Affairs is a federal government department mandated to provide a critical service, Veterans Affairs does not have any accountable service standard nor does it have a centralized customer service section to track problems and concerns on a department-wide scale,” according to retired Captain Sean Bruyea, a contributor and co-author to the V.O.I.C.E. report.
The Minster of Veterans Affairs announced that 2005 will be the year of the veteran, “2005 will also be the year that the first ever independent ombudsman report on the care and treatment of veterans in Canada will be released” said Captain Bruyea. The main focus of the Veterans Ombudsman report will be Veterans Affairs Canada which presently has over 210,000 clients. The majority of these clients have suffered varying degrees of disability as a result of their service and sacrifice to Canada, Canadians and the world.
“The Department of National Defence has an Ombudsman to uphold the rights of approximately 80,000 healthy and, for the most part, employable, soldiers. Veterans’ Affairs is responsible for 150,000 disabled and mostly unemployable veterans. We fully believe in the need for an Ombudsman at DND. That makes the need for an Ombudsman for Veterans Affairs even more of a priority. If the Canadian government truly cares about veterans the way that Canadians do, then Veterans Affairs Canada will create an Ombudsman’s Office and a Service Charter of service guarantees without delay. We would like nothing better than for our reports to become redundant,” said Mr. Bruyea. “If the Canadian government creates an independent Ombudsman’s Office for Veterans Affairs and a Service Charter of Service Guarantees, then we will, with great relief, stop releasing our reports.”
Compared to other nations’ veterans, Canadian veterans are increasingly being left behind in the services the federal government provides. Australia is just one of a number of countries that has an Ombudsman and Service Charter guaranteeing processing times for pensions and treatment claims as well as responses to all letters, telephone calls and emails received from veterans. Australia’s success has provided a model for many countries in formulating and structuring services to veterans.
Speaking about their ombudsman initiative, Sean Bruyea said, “Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to be a true Ombudsman. Many veterans are too disabled or too afraid to stand up for their rights. These veterans do not have a voice. Our reports will be prepared by disabled veterans trying to bring awareness of how other disabled veterans are being treated by the government of Canada. Disabled veterans in Canada do not have any access to an independent, arms-length body which can advocate on their behalf.”
V.O.I.C.E. is presently preparing the first report on Veteran’s services and plans to release it in the coming months. The report shall focus on a number of key areas:
¨ pension application and decision process including turnaround times ¨ treatment and care provision for both physical and psychological illnesses and disabilities ¨ departmental sensitivity and programmes relating to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) ¨ civilian practitioner involvement in the treatment and care process ¨ Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB) and the Bureau of Pensions Advocates (BPA) ¨ memorial and commemoration of veterans ¨ pension stabilization for the modern veteran ¨ age and disability discrimination of Veterans by VAC: The three classes of veterans
“Most Canadians likely assume that once a soldier suffers a service-related disability then a disability pension is automatic. This is not the case at all. The pension application process is overwhelming and hope-destroying for many veterans. Veterans are often too disabled to negotiate the difficult process and frequently give up before receiving the care they require,” commented Sean Bruyea, a retired Captain and Intelligence Officer from the Air Force.
Processing times for reasonable and favourable decisions in the early 1990’s were approaching 18 months. This sparked a complete overhaul of Veterans Affairs in 1995. Although VAC has vastly improved the average processing time for single condition applications, clients with multiple conditions face dramatically longer processing times. V.O.I.C.E. in its initial investigations has encountered over a dozen clients who have process times of 36 to 60 months, or 3 to 5 years. A number of claims remain outstanding after 5 years.
Presently there are six different levels of bureaucracy in Veterans Affairs, a doubling of the number of levels in less than two years. Veterans are often left confused as to which level addresses their concerns. Wait times for processing treatment requests have escalated from approximately two weeks one year ago to almost four months. Meanwhile, disabled veterans on limited incomes are out of pocket the fees they have paid. A number of practitioners who bill directly have expressed their reluctance to take on new VAC clients due to the excessive wait times and complex billing procedures.
Another of the on-going criticisms of Veterans Affairs has been the adversarial and extremely complex process of pension application, review and appeal. Although the Canadian government is obligated to grant the “benefit of the doubt” to the disabled client, observers have noted that the practice is quite different. Disabled clients who are often limited in their ability to complete daily personal care needs are asked to prove beyond any and all doubt that their injury is service-related.
When an applicant receives an unfavourable decision, the client is often quickly funneled into another process whereby Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB) rules on the department’s decision. VRAB and its apparent lack of accountability has been the focus of much criticism. VRAB relies upon the individual’s military records and medical reports in ruling upon pension eligibility. The board members are politically appointed and out of the 31 members, only two have prior military background and none are or have been medical practitioners.
The veteran is represented at the VRAB hearings by a lawyer working for VAC, defending the case to a board, whose members according to the Prime Minister’s Office are recommended by VAC. This seeming conflict of interest has long been a point of contention for many veterans and veterans’ organizations.
“The system at Veterans Affairs has failed us in many ways. An Ombudsman’s office would make the government and Veterans Affairs in particular more accountable to Canada and her veterans,” explained Louise Richard, a retired Naval Lieutenant and long-time advocate for Veteran’s rights.
A recently established Service & Program Modernization Task Force has been established within VAC to “research, develop and implement amendments to the current structure” of VAC programs and benefits. Ironically, Veterans Affairs is not consulting with its clients at large although it has consulted with a very select number of veterans groups.
Lt (N) Richard continues, “How can Veterans Affairs modernize with the intention to provide better services to the veteran when VAC does not consult the majority of veterans? Most of us are not active participants in veterans’ organizations. Does the experience and suffering of the disabled veteran not matter to the Canadian government?”
The Modernization Task force will focus primarily upon future veterans in creating a completely different package of benefits. The end result will be three different tiers or standards of veterans and their care: those of the two World Wars and Korea (know as War Veterans), the future veterans already mentioned and those who have long been marginalized: veterans released from service from 1953 to 2004. It is this last group representing almost 50,000 clients of Veterans Affairs which has been largely ignored by the federal government.
The experience of many veterans appears out of step with the claims of Veterans Affairs. Client surveys over the past few years show a customer satisfaction rating of 80 to 90%. “It is the 10 to 20% which the government ignores,” said Ms Richard.
Since VAC has 210,000 clients, this would indicate that there are 21,000 to 42,000 clients who are not satisfied with the services they receive. “Just imagine the number of Canadians directly affected once the families and significant others are taken into account,” says Ms. Richard, “This is a tragedy for Canada and Canadians.”
VAC apparently does not have any section or policy to track client dissatisfaction on a larger scale. If one client endures a particular obstacle or difficulty with VAC in addressing their concern, then subsequent clients who have similar concerns must endure the same laborious and difficult process. This situation is particularly problematic at the Veterans Review and Appeal Board as they do not appear accountable to any government official or department. Both the Prime Minister Office and the Minister of Veterans Affairs claim the other is responsible for VRAB.
“VRAB does whatever it pleases. VRAB and VAC never appear to give the “benefit of the doubt”. They seem to ignore whatever evidence we present,” said retired Captain Perry Gray. “The lawyers provided by VAC to supposedly represent us seem just as insensitive as the rest of the department. The bottom line is that Veterans with disabilities are incapable of dealing with a bureaucracy that is not sensitive to its needs.”
One of the more repeated claims by veterans is that a fundamental disconnect exists between the front line workers and veterans, and the decision-makers in VAC. These decision-makers such as directors and director generals appear unaware of the problems experienced by not just veterans but the VAC workers who have direct contact with veterans. Those who make decisions and policy in VAC do not have or have limited access to the information and problems necessary in effectively managing the department and formulating key policy directives.
Veterans have long stated that an ombudsman’s office at Veteran’s Affairs would ensure that this information would not be filtered by middle managers. Instead, key bureaucrats would be aware of concerns at all levels. A service Charter would ensure that departmental standards were followed for the benefit of the clients VAC is mandated to serve.
“We are disabled veterans. Our families are often overwhelmed taking care of us. Many veterans do not speak out because they are too ill or too frightened to lose what pension we do have. The government needs to write a service charter guaranteeing minimal processing and wait times. The formation of an ombudsman office for the Veterans Affairs portfolio would ensure that that every veteran has a voice and, ultimately, disabled veterans are cared for,” emphasized retired Captain Bruyea.
“Veterans are proud of their service to Canada and Canadians, and I truly believe Canadians are proud of their veterans. I know that Canada and Canadians would want the government to take better care all its disabled veterans, especially those that fall through the cracks.”
Quick Facts
Total Veterans Surviving in Canada 700,000 Veterans of WWI,II and Korea (War Veterans) 280,000 Veterans of post Korea (CF Veterans) 420,000 Clients of Veterans Affairs Canada 210,000 Disabled Clients of VAC 150,000 War Veterans who are Clients of VAC 95,000 CF Veterans who are Clients of VAC 45,000