Questions and responses 44th Parliament, 1st session November 22, 2021, to January 6, 2025

With regard to the Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund, broken down by fiscal year and by province or territory: (a) what are the details of all organizations that have received funding, including (i) the name of organization, (ii) the amount received, (iii) the type of organization, (iv) the number of veterans and equity-seeking Veterans on the board of the organization, (v) the number of veterans and equity-seeking Veterans as staff in the organization, including CEO and owners, (vi) the number of veterans and equity-seeking veterans as volunteers in their programs, (vii) the number of veterans and equity-seeking veterans who used the programs and/or services, (viii) whether the organization reported on how the funding was applied and lessons learned; (b) for organizations listed in (a), which organizations qualified for funding because their application provided curated and specialized programs or services to equity-seeking groups, including (i) women, (ii) 2SLGBTQ+, (iii) homeless, (iv) Indigenous veterans, and (v) racialized veterans; (c) what metrics and analytical tools, including Gender-based Analysis Plus, does the government use to assess applications, and does the government apply considerations based on the (i) impact on single veterans, (ii) impact on veterans and their families, (iii) innovation to address unmet needs, as defined by research and veterans themselves, (iv) financial risk and ability to administer and deliver services, and (v) ability to provide a safe and welcoming space for marginalized veterans and equity seeking groups; (d) what staff level, working groups, panels, or review bodies assess applications for funding, and are veterans represented in these decision making bodies; (e) what is the total number of applications that were received; and (f) of the applications in (c), reflected as a number and a percentage, what is the total number of applications that were denied funding?

With regard to the benefits received by Canadian Armed Forces veterans classified as wartime service veterans and benefits received by veterans who fought under the “special duty service” classification: (a) what are the benefits received by (i) wartime service veterans, (ii) special duty service veterans; (b) how many veterans are receiving “special duty service” benefits for the (i) Persian Gulf War, (ii) Bosnian War, (iii) Afghan War; (c) what is the cost of benefits provided to wartime service veterans in (a) for (i) 2013, (ii) 2014, (iii) 2015, (iv) 2016, (v) 2017, (vi) 2018, (vii) 2019, (viii) 2020, (ix) 2021, (x) 2022, (xi) 2023; (d) what is the cost of benefits provided to “special duty service” veterans in (a) for (i) 2013, (ii) 2014, (iii) 2015, (iv) 2016, (v) 2017, (vi) 2018, (vii) 2019, (viii) 2020, (ix) 2021, (x) 2022, (xi) 2023; (e) what would be the increased cost to provide “wartime service” benefits to Persian Gulf War veterans if benefits were applied for the year (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021, (v) 2022, (vi) 2023; (f) what would be the increased cost to provide “wartime service” benefits to Bosnian war veterans if benefits were applied for the year (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021, (v) 2022, (vi) 2023; and (g) what would be the increased cost to provide “wartime service” benefits to Afghan War veterans if benefits were applied for the year (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021, (v) 2022, (vi) 2023?

With regard to the conclusion pilot at Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC): (a) how is this pilot structured; (b) who is responsible for making decisions; (c) what are the criteria used in making determinations of whether or not to remove veterans from direct case management; (d) is the current or assigned case manager asked to provide input on the veteran’s file before a decision is made whether or not to remove the veteran from direct case management; (e) is there a review process and how does it work; (f) how are veterans informed of any decision regarding their file; (g) if the veteran disagrees with the decision is there a process to appeal; (h) what process is followed if a veteran services agent wants to challenge the movement of the veteran’s file from case management to guided support as part of this pilot; and (i) is there an option for the veteran to move back to case management if guided support through the conclusion pilot is not working for them?

With regard to the administration of benefits to veterans: (a) how does Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) distinguish between Wartime service (WS), Special Duty Area service (SDA), and Special Duty Operation service (SDO); (b) in what ways does VAC deliver to disability or pension benefits differently to veterans based on their classification in (a); and (c) what are the details of all consultations undertaken by the Minister of Veterans Affairs and the Minister of National Defence since January 1, 2023, regarding the reclassification of WS, SDA, or SDO, including the (i) date of consultation, (ii) group or organization consulted, (iii) geographic area of service?

With regard to the Pain and Suffering Compensation benefit and the Additional Pain and Suffering Compensation benefit awarded by Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC): (a) on what criteria does VAC determine the grade-level assigned to veterans with a barrier that affects their life after service; (b) what is the (i) maximum amount, (ii) minimum amount, of this benefit at each grade-level assigned in (a); and (c) what other criteria does the department use to determine benefit amounts in (b)?

With regard to the New Veterans Charter enacted in 2006: (a) how many veterans lost the right to a pension; and (b) how much money did injured and disabled veterans lose in entitlement as a result of this legislative change across all eligible veterans (i) on average, (ii) in total?

With regard to the Pain and Suffering Compensation (PSC) administered by Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), broken down by year since January 1, 2016, and by branch of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), for each part of the question: (a) how many CAF members who became eligible for PSC requested (i) monthly payment for life, (ii) to accept a lump sum cash out; (b) of the CAF members who requested a lump sum, how many were (i) retiring, (ii) medically discharged; and (c) what was the total paid out by VAC in PSC lump sum cash outs?

With regard to expenditures by the government on cannabis intended for veterans: (a) what were the total expenditures on cannabis intended for veterans, broken down by year for the past five years; and (b) what are the details of all contracts that the government has for cannabis intended for veterans since 2018, including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) vendor, (iii) value, (iv) amount of cannabis provided?

With regard to applications to the Veterans Independence Program, broken down by province or territory, by official language, and by fiscal year since 2015: (a) how many applications received were from (i) male, (ii) female, (iii) Indigenous, (iv) black, (v) 2SLGBTQIA+, veterans; and (b) for each demographic in (a)(i) through (a)(v), how many applications were (i) received, (ii) denied, (iii) approved, (iv) withdrawn, suspended, or rejected, (v) connected to a disability benefit for a physical injury, (vi) connected to a disability benefit for a mental health injury, (vii) connected to a disability benefit for both a physical and mental health injury?

With regard to the Veterans Bill of Rights: (a) is it covered in employee training at Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC); (b) are violations tracked by VAC and, if so, if there is a violation, are VAC employees required or authorized to (i) inform the client, (ii) direct the client to the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman, (iii) conduct a follow-up with the client to ensure the issue has been resolved; and (c) if the response in (a) or (b) is negative, what is the rationale for leaving it out?

With regard to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) and the Critical Injury Benefit (CIB): (a) how many times and to how many individuals has the CIB been granted; (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by type of injury; (c) how many times has the CIB been granted solely for post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental health conditions; (d) are file numbers attached to each instance where the CIB has been granted for mental health conditions, and, if not, why not; (e) on what date did veterans with mental health conditions become eligible to apply for the CIB; (f) what is the web address for the CIB application that is available for the public to download; (g) where is the CIB application available on the My VAC Account portal for veterans; (h) does VAC plan to update the CIB application form for veterans applying solely for injuries to mental health, and, if so, when will such changes be implemented; and (i) are the Veterans Review and Appeal Board decisions related to the CIB available for the public to review, and, if so, how does the public access them?

With regard to disability benefit payments provided by Veterans Affairs Canada, and broken down by province or territory and by fiscal year since 2019-20: (a) how many individuals receiving disability benefit payments have had their payments clawed back because they received compensation under the Merlo Davidson class action lawsuit; (b) how many notifications of the claw back were sent, including by (i) letter, (ii) email, (iii) phone call; (c) what is the total amount of disability benefit payments that have been clawed back, including the (i) total dollar value, (ii) percentage of benefits distributed to individuals in (a); (d) how many appeals have been made to restore or reverse claw backs by individuals in (a); (e) for each appeal in (d), how many appeals (i) were successful, (ii) were denied, (iii) are still under consideration; and (f) what is the total amount of costs incurred by Veterans Affairs Canada to (i) issue notices of claw backs to veterans, (ii) perform audits of benefits received by individuals in the Merlo Davidson class action lawsuit, (iii) challenge appeals made by individuals having their compensation clawed back?

With regard to the Pain and Suffering Compensation benefit and the Additional Pain and Suffering Compensation benefit awarded by Veterans Affairs Canada, broken down by fiscal year since 2008-09: (a) how many applications were received; (b) how many applications were (i) approved, (ii) denied; (c) how many applications were from veterans suffering from cancer related to their service in the (i) Royal Canadian Navy, (ii) Canadian Army, (iii) Royal Canadian Air Force; and (d) how many of the applications in (a) were from veterans who identified as women?

With regard to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) and the government’s arrangement with the Royal Canadian Legion (RCL) pertaining to accessing VAC’s clients’ files and My VAC account: (a) what are the confidentiality policies currently in place within (i) VAC, (ii) the RCL, pertaining to the privacy of a client’s files and My VAC account; (b) which employees of (i) VAC, (ii) the RCL, are authorized to access a client’s files and My VAC account and under what conditions are employees authorized to access a client’s files and My VAC account; (c) what steps are taken by (i) VAC, (ii) the RCL, if confidentiality policies pertaining to a client’s files and My VAC account are violated; (d) what vetting procedures are (i) VAC, (ii) RCL, employees empowered with the ability to access a client’s files and My VAC account subjected to, such as security clearances and background checks; and (e) since January 1, 2016, broken down by year, how many instances is VAC aware of where an RCL employee improperly accessed a VAC client’s files or My VAC account, and what corrective action, if any, was taken by VAC in response?

With regard to statistics recorded by Health Canada pertaining to its Medical Assistance in Dying Program (MAID), since June 2016: (a) how many veterans have made a request for MAID, broken down by year; (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by province or territory; (c) what is the median age of veterans who have requested MAID, broken down by year; (d) of the requests in (a), how many were (i) granted, (ii) denied; and (e) what is the median age of veterans whose request for MAID were (i) granted, (ii) denied?

With regard to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC): (a) what is the process for a case manager or Veterans Service Agent (VSA) to approve a veteran or a veteran's family member to receive services from a service provider; (b) how are case managers and VSAs made aware of service providers; and (c) what is the process for evaluating service providers, and (i) by whom, and (ii) how often, are service providers evaluated?

With regard to the Table of Disabilities (Table) used by Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC): (a) what is the process to make changes to the Table; (b) what changes have been made to the Table since 2015, and when were the changes made; (c) is there a project underway to make changes to the Table to better reflect the needs of women veterans, and, if so, (i) how many staff members are involved in this project, (ii) what are the titles of those staff members, (iii) what are the timelines of the project; and (d) has the Minister of Veterans Affairs taken any meetings with department officials and stakeholders to discuss edits to the Table, and, if so, (i) on what dates, (ii) with whom?

With regard to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC): (a) is VAC aware of any veterans having died as a result of assisted suicide or euthanasia since the practice became legal, and, if so, how many; (b) if the answer to (a) is affirmative, what efforts were made by VAC to investigate whether any veterans who died as a result of assisted suicide or euthanasia did so after receiving end-of-life advice from VAC; and (c) of any investigation made in (b), what were the findings?

With regard to the backlog of cases at Veterans Affairs Canada: (a) what is the number of backlog applications for disability benefits as of December 8, 2021; (b) what is the current backlog in terms of time between when an application for benefits is made and the veteran finally receives the benefits; (c) what specific steps have been taken to address the backlog, and when was each step implemented; and (d) what are the government's precise targets for the amount of the backlog that will be reduced by (i) April 1, 2022, (ii) July 1, 2022, (iii) October 1, 2022, (iv) January 1, 2023?

With regard to the Veteran Homelessness Program: (a) how much funding was allocated to the program in federal budgets, in total and broken down by which federal budget the funding was allocated in; (b) how much funding (i) has been allocated to date, (ii) will be allocated to each of the two funding streams; (c) how much has the government spent to date on the program, in total and broken down by the type of expenditure; and (d) how much is the government projected to spend on the program in each of the next five years?