A flurry of announcements

Hot on the heels of his January appointment as Minister of Veterans Affairs, Erin O’Toole, Member of Parliament for Durham, Ont., has made a series of announcements that appear to be aimed at fixing some of the more egregious gaps and controversies plaguing Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) and the New Veterans Charter. Just in time for a federal election call.

The announcements, pending parliamentary approval, expand support for seriously disabled veterans, reservists and veterans’ families. At press time, the announcements included:

• a new Retirement Income Security Benefit for moderately to severely disabled veterans and their families. This would provide a monthly payment to such veterans beginning at age 65, taking over from the Earnings Loss (EL) Benefit, which ends at age 65. It would ensure that an eligible veteran’s total annual income is at least 70 per cent of what he or she received from VAC before age 65. Support would continue in a monthly benefit to the veteran’s survivor.
• a new Family Caregiver Relief Benefit extends income support to informal caregivers—usually a spouse or other family member—through a tax-free annual grant to veterans up to $7,238. This is intended to provide relief or flexibility to care-givers, while ensuring veterans’ care needs are met.
• eased eligibility criteria for the Permanent Impairment Allowance (PIA), which provides monthly financial support to veterans facing limited employment potential or career opportunities due
  to service-related injury or illness.
• an increase in the EL Benefit for all eligible veterans of the Reserve Force to a minimum annual income of $42,426, which is the current EL Benefit of a basic corporal in the Regular Force. Previously, part-time Reserve Force veterans were eligible for an annual EL Benefit of $24,300.
• a new Critical Injury Benefit, retroactive to 2006, to provide a $70,000 tax-free award to the most severely injured and ill Canadian Armed Forces members and veterans. This is to address impacts of severe and traumatic service-related injuries or diseases in the weeks and months between when the injury or disease occurs and when the condition becomes medically stable.
• amputees and other ex-soldiers with obvious disabilities will no longer have to verify their injuries annually as part of a standard medical review. (Following this announcement, it was noted that this is not a VAC requirement, but part of a Department of National Defence long-term disability plan.)
• a B.C. Supreme Court class-action lawsuit by dissatisfied Afghan veterans has been put into abeyance and settlement talks are underway. The ex-soldiers are challenging the 20o6 New Veterans Charter, alleging it is discriminatory under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms because it does not provide the same level of support as the old pension system.

O’Toole has also directed his department to improve how it communicates with veterans and their families, and to find ways to combine new and existing supports into a single monthly pension for severely injured veterans. He terms this “veteran-centric care.”

The announcements reflect a welcome change in tone from VAC since O’Toole took over from Julian Fantino, whose tenor during his tenure is best described as fractious. They also echo frequent calls for change by many other voices, including The Royal Canadian Legion (RCL), other veteran advocacy groups, the public and, notably, Veterans Ombudsman Guy Parent.

“The Retirement Income Security Benefit meets the intent of my recommendation…on the most urgent New Veterans Charter shortcoming: after age 65 financial support.” said Parent. “I encourage all parliamentarians to pass this new pension benefit without delay.”

Despite the positive signals from O’Toole’s office, some of the measures could go further.

For example, the RCL has been advocating that the EL Benefit must provide 100 per cent of pre-release income, continue for life, and include increases based on projected career earnings for a Canadian Armed Forces member. The Retirement Income Security Benefit compensation of 70 per cent of the financial support the veteran was receiving before age 65 is not the same as 70 per cent of the probable earnings approach, as recommended by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs (ACVA) in its report on the New Veterans Charter, released last June.

The Family Caregiver Relief Benefit is a positive step for spouses and other family members who have had to put their careers on hold to help care for a disabled veteran, but some veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder may not be comfortable with a stranger in the home while the family caregiver goes away on a respite. Other forms of support, such as caregiver training, could be offered.

And the PIA eligibility could be further eased to include even more severely and permanently injured veterans, or to allow those at lower grades to move to higher grades (if eligible), where more assistance would be available.

Other major issues—including many of the ACVA’s 14 recommendations—remain unresolved. But it is still early in O’Toole’s incumbency, and change takes time. Sometimes, though, it accelerates, particularly in an election year.