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Daniel O'Connor
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Daniel O'Connor
2014-04-03 17:05
Mr. Chairman, lady and gentleman, members of the committee, I'd like to thank you for this opportunity to speak to you briefly this afternoon concerning the new Veterans Charter, and in particular the Last Post Fund in relation to the new Veterans Charter.
I speak to you in my capacity as the national president of the Last Post Fund, of which I've been a member for the past 20 years, serving first as a director then as president as well of the Quebec branch. The last four years I've been on the national executive and am now completing two years as the national president.
My military career spans 30 years, both in the regular and the reserve forces. I hold a degree in electrical engineering from the Royal Military College in Kingston. I've been a member of the Quebec bar since 1990 and I have an M.B.A. from McGill University in Montreal. I've been privileged through my career and my life in all those ways. There are others who have suffered significantly, as we've heard some of this afternoon.
I'd like to give you a brief history of the Last Post Fund. That's one of our many challenges; most Canadians and indeed most military unfortunately are not aware of exactly what the Last Post Fund is and what we do.
Allow me to recall the origins of the Last Post Fund.
Our history started in December 1908 when an unconscious man was found and taken to the Montreal General Hospital. He was found on the street. Arthur Hair was the head orderly at the Montreal General Hospital and he found an envelope in the poor man's pocket. It was issued by Britain's war office. The envelope contained the honourable discharge certificate for trooper James Daly, who had served the Empire for 21 years. He was suffering from hypothermia and malnutrition. He died several days later at the age of 53. His remains were to be sent to the morgue for disposal but Mr. Hair raised money privately to give the soldier a dignified funeral. He was then buried in Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery on Mount Royal in Montreal. That started the work of the Last Post Fund and its mission, which is to provide a dignified funeral and burial to every military veteran who dies impoverished.
The early work of the fund was exclusively supported by private donations. However, in 1921 when the fund was federally incorporated, the Last Post Fund began to receive regular government financial support, as indeed we believe was entirely appropriate, but as I'll recount in a minute, has suffered somewhat in recent decades.
The organization then expanded its operations in 1921 to cover the entire country, and so it has done. In 1995 it was mandated to deliver the funeral and burial program, as we know it today, that's run by Veteran Affairs Canada. We have an agreement with Veterans Affairs Canada to run that funeral and burial program.
Since 1909 hundreds of dedicated men and women have ensured that deceased veterans receive the respectful recognition they have earned through their service and sacrifices. Consequently, impoverished veterans are guaranteed a dignified burial, as they fully deserve.
The mandate of the Last Post Fund is a non-profit organization, as mentioned, founded in Montreal in 1909. Throughout the course of its history the organization has arranged funerals, and where necessary, burial and grave markers for more than 150,000 veterans from Canada, Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Belgium, France, Poland, South Africa, and other allied nations.
In addition to delivering the funeral and burial program on behalf of Veteran Affairs, the Last Post Fund supports other initiatives aimed at keeping alive the memory of Canadian veterans. These include our own military cemetery; a beautiful place in Pointe-Claire, Quebec. I would encourage you to stop by there at some point if you've never been. The National Field of Honour in Pointe-Claire was named a National Historic Site about six years ago. I had the privilege of preparing that application and submitting it to Parks Canada, and we're delighted to be recognized as a National Historic Site, as indeed it is. That cemetery has been in operation since approximately 1930.
Our burials include at our own military cemetery in Pointe-Claire, as mentioned, where more than 21,000 burials of veterans have been performed since 1930. The fund also supports other local fields of honour and is present in more than 2,900 cemeteries throughout the country. The Last Post Fund recognizes the importance of honouring those who served our nation.
Every year, the first Sunday in June—June 1 this year—it holds commemorative ceremonies on the St. Lawrence River for those from the naval services who have perished in war. At the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges and Mount Royal cemeteries in Montreal, and in the afternoon on that Sunday, at the National Field of Honour in Pointe-Claire.
Other activities include the grave marking program, through which the Last Post Fund provides military markers for veterans who lie in unmarked graves. We also work in conjunction with the Department of National Defence to provide markers for members of the Canadian Forces.
I'd like to address the recent improvements to the funeral and burial program, which are very significant and have occurred only in the last year or so.
In recent years, Veterans Affairs asked that we reduce our administrative budget by nearly a million dollars. The rationale for this was the decline in “traditional” veterans of the Second World War and Korea; traditional veterans are what they're known as. The fact is that we have more than 600,000 of what are sometimes termed as “modern-day” veterans, who were not covered by this program at all.
We're losing about 10,000 to 15,000 of the traditional veterans every year. There only remain fewer than 100,000 in Canada today. Because of that decline, we were forced to reduce our budget for the funeral and burial program—which had some logic to it—and we closed many of our offices across the country; we have branches in every province.
But the logic was flawed because of the 600,000 modern-day veterans who were not covered, indeed, since beginning of the program. Of those 600,000 modern-day veterans, Veterans Affairs Canada has compiled the statistics and estimates that 400 per year die in impoverished circumstances. They were all ineligible for the funeral and burial program.
All through these tough times, we continued to advocate for changes to the program, namely, on the issue of increasing the maximum allowance payable to funeral homes, which hadn't changed in decades. The amount allowed was $3,600, whereas the average cost of a funeral in Canada was between $6,000 and $8,000. Fortunately, in the federal government's 2013 economic action plan, our advocacy paid off. Last year, the maximum allowance payable to funeral homes was increased to $7,376, which is much more in line with the realities of the cost of a funeral. This was one of the most significant efforts of the Last Post Fund, but not the most significant.
The big issue was the eligibility for the funeral and burial program, which we wanted to extend to all Canadian Forces veterans in financial need at the time of their death. In 1921, the Government of Canada first recognized its obligation, on behalf of all Canadians, to provide funding for the dignified funeral and burial of all Canadian veterans who pass away with limited or no financial resources. However, in recent decades, the regulations governing the funeral and burial program have stipulated that only Second World War and Korean War veterans, and those in receipt of a disability pension, would be eligible for the program.
In recent years, because of this, and because of the aging population of modern-day veterans, the Last Post Fund publicized the fact that our mission includes those ineligible members. In the last two years, we spent $98,000 of our approximately $120,000 in donated funds—that's all we have—to bury 31 veterans, because they were ineligible for the program. Our funds were virtually depleted, and donations are hard to come by. That's why we were so delighted that in the 2014 economic action plan the government of the day recognized this obligation of all Canadians and made the modern-day veterans eligible for the funeral and burial program. It was an enormous relief to the Last Post Fund. We will continue our mission indefinitely with those funds in support of Veterans Affairs Canada and the program.
There remains a little bit of work to be done—and I say “a little bit” in terms of the enormous benefit of this past budget—but it's not insignificant. In 1995, the estate exemption for eligibility for this program was $24,000. Because of the fiscal difficulties at that time and the attempt to reach a zero deficit in the federal government program review, that amount was reduced to $12,000.
Just briefly, the estate exemption means that if a veteran dies and if his estate has more than that amount, then that veteran and that veteran's family are not eligible for the program. I would point out, to be transparent on this, that the eligibility and that threshold exempts the house, the principal residence of the veteran, and the car. So other than the house and the car, if veterans had, in those days, $24,000 or more, they were not eligible. That's not very much money, particularly if one wants to leave a little bit for the children, etc., in one's will.
That amount was reduced to $12,000 in 1995 and has not changed since. Today, if a veteran dies with $12,000 or more, that veteran and that veteran's family are not eligible for the program. I find that a travesty. I find it illogical. If the right number in 1995 was $24,000, why is that not the right number today? And that number today, according to the inflation calculator of the Bank of Canada, is $37,000. There's been 42% inflation loss since 1995, so the right number today would be $37,000 rationally looking at this. That is the biggest problem we have today, and what it means is that many of our veterans who pass away with very limited financial resources are not caught. Their family must come up with the $7,000 to $10,000 for the funeral and burial out of the very limited means that remain in the veteran's estate. I don't think, and we don't think, that is right or fair.
The exemption for the estate must be increased to $37,000, which I think would be fair, and the second element of this is that it should be indexed because we got ourselves into this problem over many years, and $12,000 hasn't changed since 1995. What a travesty. How can that be supported? In any event, it has to be increased to $37,000 to be back to where it was in 1995, and indexed from here on so we don't get into that problem again.
To summarize, what the Last Post Fund would like to see is the inclusion of the funeral and burial program in the new Veterans Charter. In a certain sense, administratively or bureaucratically, it doesn't really matter whether it's in the new Veterans Charter of independently legislated, as long as the program gets delivered. That much I grant, but I'm thinking that it falls within the parameters of the new Veterans Charter for benefits to veterans and their families, and that's exactly what it is. For historical reasons that I don't fully understand, it was not exactly relegated but put into the commemorative side of Veterans Affairs, and that's where it is today. Really, it is a service to veterans and should probably be part of the new Veterans Charter and the benefit to families. That should be given good consideration by this committee.
Second, the estate exemption, as I mentioned, should be increased to $37,000 as of today, and finally, it should be indexed. The state exemption should be indexed from here on forward, but also the benefit that I mentioned of $7,600 for the funeral itself so that again we don't lose through the erosion of inflation over time.
Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. I commend the committee for its work and I look forward to responding as best I can to any questions you may have concerning the Last Post Fund or the administration of the funeral and burial program.
Thank you, sir.
Louis Cuppens
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LGen Louis Cuppens
2011-11-17 8:48
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I'm pleased to bring you greetings from our national president, Lieutenant-Colonel Evelyn Kelly, who is unable to be present today. I will do my utmost to represent her and the organization that we serve.
The topic of commemoration in the 21st century is one that should appeal to all Canadians, especially to those who have had their lives influenced in some way by Canada's armed forces and veterans. I am one of those who were so influenced. As you can see from my biographical sketch, I was born in Nijmegen in the Netherlands during World War II. Canada so influenced my family that we became immigrants to Canada in 1950, and I chose to spend my adult life in the service of Canada in the Canadian armed forces.
I am a member of a number of veterans associations and willingly serve in various capacities for the Last Post Fund, the Royal Canadian Legion, ANAVETS, the Corps of Commissionaires, the Royal United Services Institute, and a number of Canadian military organizations.
It is my understanding that you wish me to speak to you today about the Last Post Fund and its activities and challenges, so I will not be addressing the other organizations in my testimony unless you ask.
We have just concluded Veterans’ Week, and I salute my comrades in the Royal Canadian Legion and Veterans Affairs Canada for the delivery of well-executed commemoration events across Canada and globally.
When I am reflecting, I am reminded often of the spoken statement of the mayor of Colorado Springs. That was the location where I last served in the military as deputy commander in chief of the NORAD. Mayor Makepeace would conclude most of her speeches with this quotation: “Colorado Springs is a place where every day is military and veterans’ appreciation day”. I wish this sentiment were the same right across Canada, but sadly I report that it is not.
I consider myself a champion of veterans’ issues, and I am proud to dedicate my free time to the cause of veterans. As a retired lieutenant-general, I am easily found in New Brunswick, where I reside, and I answer the calls for help willingly.
Now I will focus on the Last Post Fund. We have been supporting veterans since the act of charity of our founder, Arthur Hair, in 1909. He encountered a veteran named James Daly, who, after dying and being abandoned, would have had his remains consigned to medical research and thereafter been placed in a pauper's grave. Hair chose to honour Daly by soliciting funds to provide for a dignified funeral. Through that action, the Last Post Fund was born. Since that time we have facilitated the funeral and burial of nearly 150,000 veterans.
Over time, with legislative changes in 1921 and finally in 1995, the Last Post Fund has, with funds provided by the Canadian government, delivered the federal government’s veterans funeral and burial program. During this same period and up to the present time, the Last Post Fund continued to organize commemoration activities across Canada. Whether through the establishment of fields of honour or columbaria or the marking of previously unmarked veterans’ graves, the Last Post Fund has been there to commemorate veterans.
As a not-for-profit corporation with letters patent, we have partnered with Veterans Affairs Canada to deliver the veterans funeral and burial program. We have done so for some time, and we have a footprint across Canada through the presence of our provincial boards, our volunteers, and our salaried employees. Since our founding in 1909, we have remained independent of the Royal Canadian Legion and ANAVETS, but we have always ensured that they are well aware of the programs that we deliver to veterans.
Our website and the brochure that I have sent to you outline the programs that we deliver and the regulations that govern the same. In short, traditional veterans of World War II and Korea service who are qualified financially may be eligible for a funeral and burial benefit. Those few modern-day veterans in receipt of a disability pension may also be eligible for benefits, subject to the same means test.
To keep this simple and for illustrative purposes, if a married veteran’s estate has fewer assets than $12,015, excluding the house and car, this veteran would be eligible for benefits, depending on his military service. I should point out that as a result of program review in 1995, this amount is half of what was allowed prior to 1995.
The number of veterans of World War II and Korea has been decreasing dramatically in recent years. There are fewer than 130,000 remaining, and it's estimated that this group will cease to exist in only a few years. On the other hand, it's estimated that there are nearly 600,000 modern-day veterans, some of whom may need the benefits of the funeral and burial program. However, to estimate how many would need to do so is difficult to determine.
Suffice it to say there will likely be a need for access to the veterans funeral and burial program in the years to come. For more than a decade, the Last Post Fund has advocated that the program be extended to modern-day veterans in the same way it was offered to traditional veterans. Unfortunately, the governments of Canada during this period have declined to do so, despite the urging of all veterans organizations.
The question that comes to mind is how many modern-day veterans have been denied access to funeral and burial benefits? Unfortunately, our staff did not keep records on how many veterans have been told they were ineligible for such benefits. We are now keeping records of this. What we do know is that donation moneys have been used to provide dignified funerals for some modern-day veterans. I don't consider this to be appropriate. A veteran is a veteran, and all veterans deserve the final commemoration of a funeral.
For a number of reasons, the graves of some veterans were not marked with gravestones, whether upright or flat. As this became evident, the Last Post Fund sought the assistance of Veterans Affairs to resolve the marking of unmarked graves. Such is a Last Post Fund program, and it continues. In essence, where a grave remains unmarked for more than five years, the Last Post Fund will provide and install a military-type marker for such graves.
Prior to 2010 we had a national office and branch offices in each province except Prince Edward Island, since it was affiliated with New Brunswick. Each branch had an office, a charter, and a volunteer board of directors.
Shortly after becoming the national president, along with my team I began to exercise cost-saving measures to minimize our operating expenses. This was done without any urging or demand from Veterans Affairs Canada, but it came from our experience as prudent managers of public moneys.
We implemented a 10% across-the-board reduction in operating expenses; diminished the numbers of publicly funded board meetings; froze hirings; joined the branches of Manitoba and Saskatchewan; and eventually restructured the organization, with a resultant reduction in eight salaried personnel positions from our 36-person salary base. In so doing, we now have a salaried regional structure of four regions that are accountable to the national office.
There is the western region, where the regional office is in Edmonton, with offices and counsellors in British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The Ontario regional office is in Toronto. The Quebec regional office is in Montreal. And the Atlantic region has its regional office in Halifax, with offices and counsellors in New Brunswick, P.E.I., Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia.
We also explored with Veterans Affairs Canada the feasibility of co-locating some of our district offices with them. However, the needs of Veterans Affairs Canada for office space made this a non-starter. Perhaps this might be achievable in the future.
We have an information technology system that allows for rapid settlement of claims from any of our offices anywhere in the country. As an example, a counsellor in Newfoundland-Labrador can actually process a claim for an individual in New Brunswick, and this can be performed from any of our offices.
Having shaved our operating expenses as much as possible, we find that our operating expenses are still too high compared with program costs. Our operating costs are about 28% of the program, so further reductions in salaried staff will be necessary. Our executive committee is examining further restructuring and staff reductions; therefore, it's likely that a phased reduction in salaried personnel, leading to the establishment of a call centre, will occur in the future. Such a restructure would also lead to the closure of a number of offices across Canada, thereby realizing further savings in operating expenses. Unfortunately, with office closures our footprint across Canada will decrease.
I should point out, however, that the drop-in client numbers at our offices have significantly diminished. Most, if not all, of our client applications occur telephonically and not by in-person visits. Given this situation, the migration to a call-centre method of staffing is quite practical.
The present veterans burial regulations were finally approved in 2005. While the regulations did not cater for certain expenses, Veterans Affairs staff decided not to seek amendments to the regulations until such time as the current regulations were approved. Since approval of the VBRs, as we call them, several attempts have been made to amend these regulations; however, these have so far been unsuccessful. Had these amendments been approved and the means testing baseline amended, our operating costs percentage would have diminished slightly.
Members of the Canadian Forces and RCMP have had the allowable expenses for funerals increased significantly, but not so for veterans. The veterans burial regulations allowable expenses have remained static. It is our contention that the family of a veteran approved for a funeral benefit should be able to spend the allowable amount within the funding envelope defined by the government.
Further, when the veterans burial regulations were written and approved, the approved items and excluded items were listed within the regulations. These allowances and restrictions, promulgated in regulations, restrict the speedy resolution of needed changes.
You may wonder what some of these present restrictions for veterans include. Again, I wish to stress that the funeral programs for Canadian Forces and RCMP members do not have these restrictions. What is not allowed or budgeted for are obituary notices, death notices, clergy, flowers, and even the Canadian flag. Further, within the regulations some items are capped. Let me cite just a few: last illness expenses are capped at $75; funeral services are capped at $3,600; however, if the funeral requires the services of two funeral directors at different locations, the transportation costs are capped at $500; preparation of the remains, grave liners, etc., are also capped.
I am aware that total cost allowed for the funeral of a serving Canadian Forces member exceeds $13,000, and basically, as stated by the Chief of the Defence Staff some time ago, funerals cost whatever it takes, within reason. Changes to the veterans burial regulations have been and continue to be advocated by the Last Post Fund, by veterans associations, and by the Canadian funeral directors association; however, success has eluded us so far.
I mentioned earlier in my briefing that we commemorate the service of veterans. We do so by facilitating the burials of World War II and Korean War veterans who are financially challenged and eligible modern-day veterans. We do so in conducting remembrance-type ceremonies across Canada. We do so in operating a number of fields of honour and columbaria in various places across Canada. We do so in operating the Last Post Fund's National Field of Honour in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, which is now a national historic site that began operations in the 1930s. At that site more than 20,000 persons are interred. Finally, we do so in delivering the Last Post Fund's unmarked grave program. Since the inception of this program in 1996, we have identified and marked more than 3,000 graves across Canada.
In closing, the Last Post Fund began in 1909, and this not-for-profit entity has continued to serve and commemorate veterans since then. We have advocated changes to programs and regulations in a non-adversarial manner.After all, we deliver a federal government program in partnership with Veterans Affairs Canada.
I thank you for your attention. I am prepared to answer any of your questions.
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