- Reaction score
- 4,333
- Points
- 1,260
From the new Minister's Mandate Letter just out - also attached if link doesn't work ...
... Veterans and their families have earned our respect and gratitude. Veterans should not have to fight their own government for the support and compensation they have earned. As Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, your overarching goal will be to ensure that our government lives up to our sacred obligation to Veterans and their families. I expect you to ensure that Veterans receive the respect, support, care, and economic opportunities they deserve. You will ensure that we honour the service of our Veterans and provide new career opportunities, make it easier for Veterans to access services – including mental health services – and do more to support the families of Canada’s Veterans. I ask you to work closely with your colleague the Minister of National Defence to ensure a seamless transition for Canadian Forces members to the programs and services of your department.
In particular, I will expect you to work with your colleagues and through established legislative, regulatory, and Cabinet processes, to deliver on your top priorities:
Work with the Minister of National Defence to reduce complexity and strengthen partnerships between Veterans Affairs and National Defence. As both Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, you will drive efforts to close the seam between these two departments and make public a roadmap with key milestones of action.
You will continue the successful implementation of already announced initiatives, including:
the increased value of the Disability Award;
expanded access to the Permanent Impairment Allowance;
providing injured Veterans with 90 percent of their pre-release salary, and indexing this benefit;
the new Veterans Education Benefit;
the nine re-opened Veterans Affairs service offices, the newly opened office in Surrey, British Columbia, expanded outreach activities to Veterans in the North, hiring of more service delivery staff, and full implementation of all of the Auditor General’s recommendations on enhancing mental health service delivery to Veterans;
greater education, counselling, and training for families who are providing care and support to Veterans living with physical and/or mental health issues as a result of their service, including the recently expanded Veterans Family Program at all Military Family Resource Centres;
the end of the time limit for surviving spouses to apply for vocational rehabilitation and assistance services;
doubled funding to the Last Post Fund;
improved career transition services to help Veterans gain skills to successfully transition to the civilian workforce;
the Caregiver Recognition Benefit, paid directly to Veterans’ caregivers; and
the new Veteran Emergency Fund and Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund.
Re-establish lifelong pensions as an option for our injured Veterans, while ensuring that every injured Veteran has access to financial advice and support so that they can determine the form of compensation that works best for them and their families.
Streamline the current suite of benefits with the goal of reducing overlap and administrative burden, and further improving Veterans Affairs Canada staff performance as well as the client experience for Veterans both as they transition to civilian life and as their needs change throughout their lives. You will also improve transparency and communications so that Veterans and their families have clarity and predictability of available benefits and services.
Improve career and vocational assistance for Veterans through ensuring that job opportunities for returning Veterans are included in Community Benefits Agreements for new federally-funded infrastructure projects.
Deliver a higher standard of service and care, and ensure that a “one Veteran, one standard” approach is upheld.
Implement the creation of a centre of excellence in mental health to enhance research and best practices and establish a second centre of excellence based on the area of greatest need.
Increase the Veteran survivor’s pension amount from 50 percent to 70 percent.
Eliminate the “marriage after 60” claw-back clause, so that surviving spouses of Veterans receive appropriate pension and health benefits.
Work with the Minister of National Defence to develop a suicide prevention strategy for Canadian Armed Forces personnel and Veterans.
These priorities draw heavily from our election platform commitments ...