by Tom MacGregor

Veterans Affairs Minister Rey Pagtakhan.

Veterans Affairs Canada will assist members of the Canadian Forces who are preparing to leave the military by establishing on-site offices at 17 major military locations, announced Veterans Affair Minister Rey Pagtakhan.

Speaking to the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs on April 30, Pagtakhan said, “Veterans Affairs Canada and the Department of National Defence are working closely together to simplify the transition from military to civilian life for all Canadian Forces members and their families.”

The intention is to create Veterans Affairs Client Service Teams based on a pilot project which began in 2001. “Members of these teams will deliver departmental services, act as a liaison between my department and the Department of National Defence and will themselves become centres of expertise on Canadian Forces clients issues,” he said.

These teams will feature counsellors who can advise Canadian Forces members on benefits that are available to them whether they need them now or later in life. They will have programs to deal with problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder or operational stress injuries. Access to marriage counsellors, substance abuse programs, medical doctors, physiotherapists, legal aid, credit counselling and clergy will also be available.

The minister said he had recently been in Washington, D.C., to meet with Secretary of Veterans Anthony J. Principi. They explored opportunities for sharing best practices in dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. “The Americans have shared their extensive PTSD expertise with officials at my department and I look forward to that continuing dialogue. Our American colleagues have also done a lot of work on peer family-counselling, on screening tools for health professionals and on education for social workers,” he said.

Another major development for members of both the Canadian Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is the introduction of a bill in the House of Commons which would change the insurance principle protecting those serving on operations with elevated risk. Currently those who have been injured while serving in designated special duty areas receive the same benefits as war veterans. However special duty areas are declared by an order in council after the tour of operation has been completed. Bill C-31 would change the Pension Act and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act to create a concept of a special duty operation. This would allow the minister of defence or the solicitor general to designate an area as being of elevated risk before the operation begins. This designation could also apply to situations in Canada unlike the current legislation governing special duty areas.

The main reason for Pagtakhan’s appearance was to review the Estimates published by the Treasury Board of Canada for the Veterans Affairs portfolio. The bulk of the just-under $2.5 billion allotted for 2003-04, more than 70 per cent, will be for the grant and contribution program. Disability pensions account for $1.5 billion while $193 million will be spent on the Veterans Independence Program designed to keep veterans living in their home for a longer period of time. About 18 per cent of that budget goes to providing health care while about 10 per cent covers operations for the department, the Veterans Review and Appeal Board and Ste-Anne’s Hospital.

“The budget increase of approximately $224 million over the last year can be attributed to increased payouts for disability pensions as a result of cost-of-living indexation, an increase in attendance allowance awards and an increase in the level and number of disabilities and clients’ age,” Pagtakhan said.

Late last year it was announced that veteran Al Trotter would receive a one-time ex gratia payment of up to $20,000 as a former prisoner of war. Trotter had been unaware of special compensation for PoWs at the time that applications ceased being accepted. Pagtakhan said that since the announcement the department has reviewed all PoW files to ensure that all of them receive the same benefits. As of April 11, 74 former PoWs or their surviving spouses had received payments.