VAC Spending/Downsizing (merged)

[Colin Parkinson]

Here's the latest from the Minister:

oh goody according to that, the money we had to return goes right back into our program pockets......yea right.

 

[The Bread Guy]

The AG report will be made public on Tuesday, that's why the government announced today: 
to get ahead of the report.

:nod:

 

[Remius]

I'm guessing teh report will be painting VAC a rather unflattering light.  Not sure if trying to get ahead of the story was a good idea or not.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I'm guessing teh report will be painting VAC a rather unflattering light.  Not sure if trying to get ahead of the story was a good idea or not.

It only looks like there's no link to the report if you don't know that the department gets a draft to comment on before it's released into the "information wild".

 

[blackberet17]

CBC Radio (Ontario Morning) had an interview with Glen McGregor from the Ottawa Citizen who pointed out this is pretty well standard practice for all Federal departments/agencies who, at the end of the fiscal year return any unspent money back into the government coffers.

[...]

Those were the two main points that I remember from the interview, and while I tried to find the actual interview, so far I haven't had much luck.

Found it: http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/Ontario/Ottawa+Morning/ID/2609849694/?page=2

 

[Gimpy]

Looks like there's a bit of a catch on that $200 million: Fine print on Ottawa's $200-million veterans fund: It'll take 50 years to pay

Headline Quote:

But staff in Mr. Fantino’s office confirmed to The Globe this week that the “immediate” investment of $19.1-million in the OSI clinics would be spread over the next six years. And, they said, the remaining $140.1-million would be paid out as needed until the last veteran who is currently in an operational stress-injury program no longer needs funding. Because some veterans of Afghanistan are in their early 20s, they said the last of the $200-million may not be spent for 50 years.

 

[PuckChaser]

Costing borne of the ridiculousness over the F-35 "total" cost. No longer is the government allowed to say how much something is to buy, they have to say how much it is stretched over x-years. It's still a lot of money even if it's stretched over the timeframe, and if it helps just one member get back on track its well spent.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Maybe they should have given the money back over 50 years

 

[krustyrl]

Well said.!!

 

[Teager]

But staff in Mr. Fantino’s office confirmed to The Globe this week that the “immediate” investment of $19.1-million in the OSI clinics would be spread over the next six years. And, they said, the remaining $140.1-million would be paid out as needed until the last veteran who is currently in an operational stress-injury program no longer needs funding. Because some veterans of Afghanistan are in their early 20s, they said the last of the $200-million may not be spent for 50 years.

By that logic they assume no CAF member is going to have an OSI/PTSD from future missions as they only mention Afghansitan vets.

 

[RedcapCrusader]

100% maximum bullshite is all I have to say.

 

[McG]

It seems VAC has the same problem as DND and the CAF; both organizations cut teeth and muscle to meet government imposed cuts while the government publicly declares the cuts will be taken out of fat and tail.  In both cases, I suspect the bureaucracies are at least as culpable as their ministers when it comes to this.

Vets disability branch saw deep cuts from 2009-13, budget records show
Murray Brewster
CTV News
07 Dec 2014

OTTAWA -- Some of the biggest job cuts at Veterans Affairs in recent years have been in the disability awards branch -- the division targeted in a recent auditor general's report for taking too long to decide on the benefit claims of ex-soldiers.

Departmental performance reports stretching back to 2009 show that roughly 897 positions have been eliminated across Veterans Affairs, with 33 per cent coming out of the section that administers pensions and awards.

Those same records show the health and rehabilitation branches also took a sizable hit -- roughly 372 positions during the same time frame.

Commemorations, the division that celebrates past wars and maintains memorials, was reduced by 17.2 per cent, while internal services -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper described it last week as "backroom administration" -- lost 71 positions, just 10.1 per cent.

"We have taken resources out of backroom administration from bureaucracy. We have put it into services," Harper said Wednesday during question period.

"There are more benefits and more money for veterans than ever before, and more points of service. That is called good administration, good government, and it is good service for the veterans of this country."

As late as Friday, the Harper government was continuing to insist the reductions, part of an overall effort to eliminate the federal deficit, were not coming at the expense of ex-soldiers.

"We make no apologies for reducing bureaucratic expenses at Veterans Affairs Canada," said Conservative MP Parm Gill, the parliamentary secretary to the minister, Julian Fantino.

"The opposition wants to increase government bureaucracy. We are increasing front line support for Canada's veterans. We recently announced eight new front line mental health clinics for Canadian veterans. While the NDP defends the unions, along with the Liberals, we are defending Canada's veterans."

The majority of the staff cuts in the disability and death compensation branch took place between 2010 and 2013. That section also underspent its budget allotment by $121 million, according to a 2013-14 departmental performance report.

There's a direct connection between the job cuts, the auditor general's complaints about benefit application wait times and the $1.13 billion in budget allocations that have gone unspent since 2006, said Liberal MP Frank Valeriote.

You can't spend the money or process the applications if you don't have the staff, said Valeriote, who accuses Harper of misleading Canadians by saying the cuts were administrative in nature.

"It is indefensible," he said.  "Internal services, the backroom position of which the prime minister spoke on Wednesday when he said they're in the backroom, the cuts were minor in nature. So, let's make no mistake and let's be very clear: He lied."

The Union of Veterans Affairs Employees confirmed the job loss numbers, but noted that there is a knock-on effect when disability claims are delayed, which can also contribute to lapsed funding. Other benefits, such as health care and re-establishment to civilian life, don't kick in until a disability is approved.

There was $33 million in underspending on that area in the last budget year.

In 2013-14, the department did over-spend on financial benefits for the mostly seriously wounded, including $7.9 million in the permanent impairment allowance, which has been the subject of criticism from the veterans ombudsman.

Despite blowing that portion of their allocation, Veterans Affairs underspent its budget by $133 million in 2013-14, the performance reports show.

A spokeswoman for Fantino said that the number of clients served by the department declined to 205,213 in 2013, which is about a 13 per cent drop from where it was in 1994. Some of the reduction can be attributed to the passing away of Second World War and Korean War veterans, a trend that's expected to accerlate in the coming years.

The veterans' employees union has revealed that it filed formal notice on Nov. 18, demanding the government suspend further cuts until an independent third party can analyze the impact the staff reductions have had on services.

"We want an independent body to determine whether Veterans Affairs is capable of carrying out its mandate," said Carl Gannon, the union's president.

The union, a division of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, is currently in the midst of contract talks with the federal Treasury Board.

Fantino faced multiple calls to step down last week, but Valeriote said he expects the Conservative strategy is to run out the clock on Parliament's latest sitting and hope the anger blows over during the Christmas holidays.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/vets-disability-branch-saw-deep-cuts-from-2009-13-budget-records-show-1.2136703

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Pretty much what happened to my program, legislative changes were supposed to create a 40% drop in application, so they cut staff by 40% the applications did not drop as much as they thought and poor legal writing caused other interesting twists that were not expected. Now we are looking to fill some of the surplused positions as industry is complaining about the regulatory lagtime. Of curse the "champion" and his team have long vanished undoubtedly to wreck havoc in some other program and insulated from the consequences of their decisions.

 

[blackberet17]

And in other news, two internal job postings have come out, one for Client Service Agents, and the second for Case Managers.

Publiservice msgs went out yesterday, far as I can tell.

I haven't found anything on the public jobs bank, just internal.

Psns are open to VAC, VRAB and CAF, at the WP-2 and WP-4 lvls, respectively.

 

[blackberet17]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/internal-costs-at-veterans-affairs-jump-while-death-disability-funding-unspent/article22018073/

Veterans Affairs allowed tens of millions of dollars in approved funding on veterans programs – such as death and disability benefits – to go unspent last year while exceeding its budget for internal services like communications.

A closer look by The Globe and Mail at the department’s line-by-line public accounts shows the biggest source of the gap – or lapse – comes from the department’s two biggest categories: the health-care program and disability and death compensation.

Last year, the department spent 6.9-per-cent less than its approved budget of $1.2-billion on its health-care program and re-establishment services, a savings worth $82.3-million. It also spent 3-per-cent less than its approved budget for disability and death compensation – a lapse worth $67.6-million. Since 2006, more than $1.1-billion in authorized spending at Veterans Affairs has gone unused.

In contrast, a separate category last year for “internal services” that covers management, communications, legal services and human resources exceeded its approved budget by 17.1 per cent, coming in at $85.8-million instead of the approved budget of $73.3-million.

The spending issue is another controversy for Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino who continues to face calls for his resignation. Last month, Mr. Fantino promised $200-million over six years for veterans toward mental-health initiatives – two days before the release of an Auditor-General’s report that said many vets are waiting months or years to access mental-health benefits. Later, the government acknowledged the funding would be spread over decades.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the House of Commons Tuesday that the government is boosting service for veterans while cutting useless bureaucracy.

“What the Liberal Party and the NDP – what they want to do – is make sure they protect those bureaucratic jobs at Veterans Affairs instead of giving the services to the veterans. That’s what we’re doing,” said Mr. Harper.

Measured in terms of year-over-year spending last year, Veterans Affairs actually spent 2-per-cent less on disability and death compensation, 2.1-per-cent more on health care and 6.8-per-cent more on internal services.

Opposition MPs say the Prime Minister’s claims are at odds with the department’s spending figures.

“It completely contradicts what the Prime Minister said,” said Liberal MP Frank Valeriote. The Liberal MP also noted that another department, Employment and Social Development, announced this week that it is hiring 400 additional staff in response to complaints by Employment Insurance applicants of poor service.

“Here we have 400 more staff being hired because of complaints of lack of service, delayed processing times and being left on hold on the phone. Is that not exactly what veterans have been experiencing and complaining about for several years? So my question really is why are veterans not entitled to the same service that EI claimants are entitled to?” he said.

At a high level, Conservative ministers portray large government-wide spending lapses as a sign of prudent financial management that helps Ottawa’s improving bottom line. However, ministers, including Mr. Fantino, have bristled when it comes to questions over the details of those spending lapses.

Veterans Affairs argues that it is impossible to know exactly how many veterans and their families will request assistance like death and disability benefits in any given year and so estimates are calculated to ensure there is enough money on hand. Unused funds in these areas are then returned to general revenue and produce an improvement to Ottawa’s bottom line.

The Parliamentary Budget Office has criticized large lapses in federal departments as a form of spending cut that is not explained in a clear and transparent way.

Veterans Affairs has shrunk from a peak of 4,137 full-time staff in 2009 to 3,188 this year.

NDP veterans affairs critic Peter Stoffer said the impact of poor service for veterans is that potential claimants get discouraged, allowing the department to save money.

“It is simply unconscionable,” he said. “We know the government has the ‘no go’ policy, which is you say no long enough and the veteran goes away. There’s also the ‘3D’ policy on older veterans: You delay, you deny and they unfortunately die.”

 

[Remius]

And in other news, two internal job postings have come out, one for Client Service Agents, and the second for Case Managers.

Publiservice msgs went out yesterday, far as I can tell.

I haven't found anything on the public jobs bank, just internal.

Psns are open to VAC, VRAB and CAF, at the WP-2 and WP-4 lvls, respectively.

Yep.  Looks like damage control to me.  Lots of positions it would seem.

 

[Danjanou]

And in other news, two internal job postings have come out, one for Client Service Agents, and the second for Case Managers.

Publiservice msgs went out yesterday, far as I can tell.

I haven't found anything on the public jobs bank, just internal.

Psns are open to VAC, VRAB and CAF, at the WP-2 and WP-4 lvls, respectively.

Someone was posting details about them on Facebook last night in one of the Veterans groups.

 

[Rifleman62]

Now many Public Servants does it take to repeatedly say NO on form letters?

 

[Rifleman62]

Gosh, the First World War Vets are gone, the Second World War Vets (1 million + served) as well as the Korean Vets (26,000 served) are near the end, VAC biggest "Clients" base, and 40,000 served in Afghanistan. Plus Peasekeeping.

I ask again: How many Public Servants does it take to repeatably say NO on a form letter?

 

[catalyst]

I just got an offer to work at vac (external, after a year of waiting)