More Information: https://www.familyforce.ca/…/VeteranF…/EN/Pages/default.aspx
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The The Canadian Veterans Advocacy - One Veteran, One Standard Team.
Published on April 28, 2016
© Guardian file photo
Department of Veterans Affairs
A few weeks ago, The Guardian published an editorial asking why many senior level management jobs at Veterans Affairs headquarters in Charlottetown are apparently being filled by people in Ottawa. It's curious the department hasn't responded, nor has an inquiry with VAC communications been answered. We can only conclude that senior level jobs are in fact moving to Ottawa.
Kent Hehr, the new minister of Veterans Affairs, and all of his senior level team recently assembled in Charlottetown for meetings. Neither the minister nor any of his senior staff made any public appearances while on P.E.I.
Why the secrecy? Why was there no public comment by Mr. Hehr about the future of Veterans Affairs? Why was there no effort to allay fears being raised about downsizing? Was there a meeting with our premier, city mayor or MPs to reinforce that all is well at VAC? Why did the minister avoid media questions?
Maybe there is a reason. It appears that Mr. Hehr and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould recently entered into an agreement to dismantle the VAC stand-alone, legal services unit - in existence since the department was formed. It appears they agreed to transfer responsibility for providing VAC legal services to a federal department in Ottawa - Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
A Guardian inquiry on this transfer has gone unanswered. New lawyers from Ottawa are taking calls and attending meetings that used to be handled by lawyers working in Charlottetown. Two senior lawyer positions at VAC are now held by lawyers who live and work in Ottawa.
The trend seems clear. First, senior management jobs quietly migrate to Ottawa; then IT Services and the entire HR division are relocated to Miramichi, N.B.; and now legal services is dismantled. The era of blaming the former Conservative government of Stephen Harper is over. The deserving finger is being pointed at the new Liberal government and Mr. Hehr.
The type of law that lawyers at ESDC practice is quite different from what Veterans Affairs lawyers would practice. Does this change in dealing with veterans and VAC legal issues mean they will be handled like EI claims - very litigious and aggressive?
Why would Mr. Hehr agree to surrender in-house legal services to ESDC, that serves more than a dozen other federal departments and has an unknown skill set for the needs of veterans. Did the two ministers inform fellow cabinet minister Lawrence MacAulay? Or the justice minister's own parliamentary secretary Sean Casey, the MP for Charlottetown?
Three major VAC units have been taken over by ESDC, which is responsible for paying benefits, Employment Insurance, Age Security, CPP and more. While VAC still pays disability pensions and benefits, doesn't it seem reasonable that its entire benefit payment component is the next to go?
What would be left here - a small department that could easily be absorbed by national defence? ESDC has no commitment to veterans or loyalty to Islanders. The federal government appears to be shirking its obligations to P.E.I. and to veterans. And no one seems to care.
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I have no idea what the criteria the new government has set reference Stake holder "summit" invitations or involvement on the six advisory groups struck. The CVA were invited by the Conservative government 5 years ago, to date., there has been no change to the status quo other than increased involvement in advisory group activity.
I do not know about many of the "newbies", there are over thirty organizations now, charities, for profit, some that are obscure. I know that we fought for inclusion, held a D Day "vigil" to remind them of their promises and the consequences of failure.
We held frank, yet always respectful discussions with the minister during budget week, the Sacred Obligation principles were once again clearly refined, particularly in reference to the promised return to the Pension Act and equality between ELB and SISIP. Hehr told me that the CVA was being invited to hold HIM to account, to ensure the promises made to veterans were fulfilled with in the mandate, which he promised to do.
I have accepted.
I fully plan on holding them to account.
I do not what the new government's criteria is in reference to the others or their motives. As you know, the Liberal promises closely resemble the CVA Harmonization plan, this is not random. We are non partisan, and after securing the NDP's support, worked the liberals damn hard, pre-Trudeau and after, seeking a harmonized return to the pension act with a plan that respects the needs of those who served in war and the older generation, many who would prefer an LSA.
Promises have been made. The CVA has been invited to some of these advisory groups and "summit" to ensure these promises are kept and provide assistance at the group level to create proposals that are truly reflective of the mandate letter and the opportunity to collectively redress the major issues.
The bump to the LSA has concerned many veterans who wish to return to the pension Act, I have been asked a hundred times if not more why would the government bump up the LSA if they are planning on returning to the Pension Act?
Of course, I do not know but were I to speculate I could think of some reasons off hand. The legion and those composing the stakeholders group rallied behind a similar number and were actively promoting during the past couple of years. They would use the tort law as justification, which bring up a second likely reason, the Equitas lawsuit and the legal reference to subparity to average tort law (negligence at the work site). Perhaps it was to provide inclusion for all who were affected by the NVC LSA; the Critical Injury Benefit was very selective, while it might have applied and satisfied the Equitas litigants injuries, restrictive criteria ensured it did not apply equally to all veterans as will the increase once it passes through legislation.
I would also note, for what it is worth to you -Im not going to argue with the anti-liberal quotient- , the mandate is clear on providing a choice between the Pension act and the LSA, with an increase to the LSA. I do not know if the 360 threshold is far as they are prepared to go, whether we can get it higher during the ongoing discussions, but I do know that the Pension Act is in the mandate letter, their is unity with every stakeholder i have spoken to re pension act return and if the government is sincere, proposals will be presented prior to the next budget that will continue to address the issues many of us have been fighting for, or suffering through, these past many years.
FYI. There were over thirty organizations present at the summit last December, I read something the other day that might indicate the "summit" number will be expanded significantly.
I would encourage you to get engaged. While things are progressing according to my expectations (it has been six months- six of the fifteen mandate letter promises are already going through parliament) there is still the need to apply pressure through the base.
Stay focused on the mandate letter and the choice of returning to the Pension Act. This is new territory for some orgs, the mandate letter has circumvented their galvanization agenda. If you want your voice heard, do something about it!
Reach out.
Start speaking out not on facebook or these never ending email chains but where it will make a difference. If nothing else, write some emails to the PM, Ministers, parl secretary, use your membership with any organization to your advantage, send an email to their national presidents encouraging them to rally formally in favour of the Pension Act promises and other important issues identified in the mandate letter.
New Initiative to Consult with Veterans Stakeholders - Advisory groups to improve transparency and engage with Veterans
OTTAWA, April 15, 2016 /CNW/ - The Honourable Kent Hehr, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, today announced a new initiative to broaden engagement with stakeholders. Six ministerial advisory groups are being put in place as part of his commitment to improve transparency and support consultation to address important Veterans' issues.
The six advisory groups will focus on policy, service excellence, mental health, families, care and support and commemoration. Each group will be comprised of up to twelve members, and participants will appoint a chair from their membership. A senior departmental official will also be selected to co-chair each group and a representative of the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman will be invited to attend the meetings as an observer. Current members' names will be updated as the advisory groups are established and their membership confirmed.
The overall goal is to engage with stakeholders, work toward common goals and seek advice and input on new and existing initiatives to support Veterans. The six advisory groups will help inform policy and program development as well as service delivery at Veterans Affairs Canada. This will ensure all areas reflect the changing needs of Veterans and their families. Records of discussion of these meetings will also be posted as they become available.
A Ministerial stakeholder summit with broader representation is planned for May 9-10, 2016, in Ottawa. The summit will provide an opportunity to collaborate, share views and gather information on topics that are important to Veterans and their families. This is a follow-up to the December 2015 Stakeholder Summit whose record of discussion is posted online.
Quick Facts
Advisory groups provide an opportunity for early and ongoing dialogue with stakeholders and serve as a sounding board for the development of Veterans Affairs Canada's policies, programs and services.
Advisory group members are selected in consultation with stakeholder groups and based on their interests and involvement within the Veteran community. Membership of these groups is still being finalized and will be made public once confirmed.
Veterans Affairs Canada will continue to listen to all interested and engaged stakeholders regardless of their involvement in any of these groups.
Stakeholder Summits are large, in-person events to discuss stakeholder priorities. Representatives from nearly 30 stakeholder groups attended the last Stakeholder Summit on December 2, 2015.
Quotes
"Through our new initiative, I want to create a space and forum for stakeholders to give me their advice and suggestions. It is not our position to tell Veterans and their families what they need—we want to hear from them. Our new strategy, including the six advisory groups, will help us build stronger relationships with Veterans and the organizations that represent them."
The Honourable Kent Hehr, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister for National Defence
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Following a military career of over thirty years, which includes deployments to Bosnia and Afghanistan, Colonel Pat Stogran becomes Canada's first Veterans Ombudsman. The new Office of the Veterans Ombudsman is intended to be a symbol of Canada's commitment to the members and veterans of the Canadian Forces, who accept unlimited liability in the service of our country and often make traumatic, life-altering sacrifices. Colonel Stogran is proud to take the assignment, seeing it as an opportunity to give back to all those who serve. But in the next three years, as he encounters nothing but intransigence and malfeasance in the hallowed halls of government, he undergoes a rude awakening to the cesspool of callousness, deceit, and neglect that is the Government of Canada's response to the needs of its veterans. Stogran's exposure to the real Government of Canada, which is hidden from the view of mainstream Canadians, reveals that it is nothing like the myth that has been built up around it as a caring and committed model for the rest of the world. It is an experience he describes as more traumatic than the years he spent in war zones, and it will cause him to question what it really means to be a Canadian. Part shocking exposé, part dire and urgent warning, Rude Awakening reveals a culture of government that victimizes our veterans and could also very well threaten the quality of life we all enjoy as Canadians.
http://www.amazon.ca/Rude-Awakening-Governments-Against-Veterans-ebook/dp/B019PIKNTK
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The Canadian Veterans Advocacy Team.
Check the link for videos: http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com%2F%2Ffull-comment%2Fmatthew-fisher-as-go-to-guy-in-kandahar-new-defence-minister-won-respect-of-senior-officers
Matthew Fisher
Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015
Brig.Gen. Jon Vance, right, speaks with Lt.-Col. Harjit Singh Sajjan in Kandahar City in 2008. Matthew Fisher/National Post
ROTA, Spain — Seven years ago, then Brig.-Gen. Jon Vance sought out Lt.-Col. Harjit Sajjan's crucial advice on whom to trust and whom to stay away from in the political and very real minefield that was Kandahar.
In a totally unexpected turn of events, it is now Gen. Vance, as Canada's top soldier, who will provide advice to Sajjan, who was named Wednesday as Canada's new minister of national defence.
They won't have to wait long to renew their relationship: The Canadian Forces are already spooling up to provide support for the new government's plan to quickly bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada, a mission that has tentatively been given the working name of Operation Provision.
I was with a group of senior officers and NCOs on a NATO exercise in Europe as they listened intently on an Internet
link as the names of the new cabinet ministers were being read out in Ottawa. When Sajjan and his portfolio were announced there were hoots of amazement followed by immediate congratulations for a soldier turned politician that many of them knew and held in high regard.
Operating in the background in Kandahar City and even more dangerous places such as Zahri and the Horn of Panjwaii, Sajjan created a complex, proprietary chart that soldiers with Task Force Kandahar likened to "a spider web" because it identified and provided links between enemies, neutrals and those that Canadian and U.S. forces could safely work with. In so doing he worked closely with some of the most malignant and corrupt political leaders in Kandahar.
Sajjan collated such vital information for Jon Vance during his first tour as commander in Kandahar in 2008, as he had for then Brig.-Gen David Fraser in 2006. Sajjan did so a third time for then Brig.-Gen. Dean Milner when Milner led Task Force Kandahar in 2010-2011 as well as for U.S. Army Maj.-Gen. James Terry of the 10th Mountain Division, who commanded RC South for ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) at the time.
"Harj was the key. He developed a detailed, sophisticated understanding of the tribal and political dynamics," said Milner, who is now a major-general running the 1st Canadian Division.
"He (Sajjan) was very much right. Because of that he was our 'go-to guy.' He was a serious soldier but one you could also shoot the breeze with."
I came to know Sajjan during his tours with both Vance and Milner. We rode together in the back of cramped, unmercifully hot armoured vehicles as we navigated mine-infested highways and dirt tracks to meet with Kandahar's leaders — including ruthless, unpredictable war lords whose tentacles of influence reached into everything.
Sajjan spoke at length during the many stops that were part of those long, perilous journeys about how being from India and speaking Punjabi helped him to understand the Afghan culture and to communicate with locals who had learned similar languages while in refugee camps in Pakistan. Being a cop on some of Vancouver's toughest beats had, he said, given him insights into the pervasive quasi-criminal mindset that dominated much of Kandahar's leadership.
A former commander of the British Columbia Regiment, Sajjan discussed how his Sikh faith was one of his anchors and how proud he was that the Canadian Forces allowed Sikhs, who come from a long warrior tradition, to wear turbans as part of their uniforms while many other western armies did not.
"Harj kept coming back to Kandahar because he was the one who could reach out for us there," said Howard Coombs, a professor at Royal Military College who was Milner's civilian adviser in Kandahar. "He was not loath to establish first hand contact because he understood that that was the way to understand the nuances of the culture.
"I really respect him because he is intellectually agile. He impressed me more than others because he could adapt to a changing environment, with dissimilar cultures, roll with it and figure out ways to solve problems. He was real value-added."
When I spoke with Sajjan after he announced his candidacy for the Liberals in Vancouver South earlier this year, he modestly scoffed at my suggestion that he might soon become defence minister. In an email to me after winning his riding two weeks ago, he wrote that he was looking forward to reviewing the files on ISIL and Syria, among others.
But he gave no hint that he was being considered as minister of national defence, let alone that he might be immediately thrown this week into intensive planning with his old boss.
"I believe that the positive relationships that people establish in hazardous place such as Afghanistan bode well later on," Coombs said. "In this case it signifies something positive for defence that the minister and the commander of the Canadian Forces deployed together, worked well together and are back together again."
National Post
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The Canadian Veterans Advocacy Team.
By SEAN BRUYEA |
Published: Monday, 10/12/2015 12:00 am EDT
Last Updated: Tuesday, 10/13/2015 1:01 pm EDT
OTTAWA—For the first time in eight decades, issues affecting Canada's military veterans issues are featured prominently in an election.
With so much at stake, why would government yet again mess up another issue with veterans: priority hiring into the federal public service? Veterans Affairs Minister Erin O'Toole, in another installment of government hype on the treatment of veterans, provided this statement during the July 2015 changes to priority hire veterans: "The Government of Canada is keeping its commitment to help military veterans thrive while making the transition to civilian life."
Prior to these changes, only medically-released members could have one chance to be priority hired. Serving members weren't allowed to access internal competitions, representing 88 per cent of public service job openings. Changes now allow Canadian Forces members to access internal competitions but with no priority placement. Non-medically released veterans can have priority accessing only external jobs, representing the remaining 12 per cent of competitions. After World War II, all overseas veterans received preference in all competitions, the injured having the highest preference, no time limits, and multiple attempts.
Time will tell if priority-hiring amendments are working, but are the minister, his department, and the rest of the civil service helping veterans "thrive"? In the first six months of 2015, which corresponded to O'Toole's inaugural tenure, the Public Service Commission reports that he oversaw the priority hiring of zero medically released veterans. Since 2010, Veterans Affairs (VAC) has priority hired only six veterans, two of whom were hired by the Veterans' Ombudsman.
O'Toole isn't the only veteran in the upper ranks of Veterans Affairs. Former top general, Walter Natynczyk was appointed deputy minister in November 2014. These two individuals are the two most powerful individuals in VAC and arguably the most influential veterans inside government. They aren't the only ones piling on endless platitudes but why the gaping chasm between media talking points and dawdling?
The current government has manifestly professed its commitment to veterans while demonstrating an iron grip on the public service. Yet, in the first six months of 2015, the entire 250,000 strong federal civil service could only priority hire 21 veterans.
In the past five years, 6,162 CF members have received medical releases out of a total of 24,000 releases. Troublingly, the public service has engaged only 446 veterans, or less than 7.2 per cent, of medical releases for those years, (veterans released other years would have also qualified further lowering the per cent).
Of the approximately 3,500 employees at VAC, only 97, or 2.7 per cent, are veterans, eleven of whom work in the Ombudsman's Office. Most of these were not priority hires. A cornerstone commitment accompanying the controversial veterans' benefits known as the New Veterans Charter was priority hiring. In the nine years since its enactment under the Conservative government, Veterans Affairs Canada has made just 25 veteran priority hires. Correctional Services, Public Works, Employment and Social Development, as well as Fisheries and Oceans, all priority-hired more veterans than the department legally mandated to "care" for and "re-establish" veterans.
National Defence has better fulfilled an obligation to veterans with 838 veteran priority hires, 71 per cent of the total. But the booby prize goes to the Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB). With more than 100 employees and a perennial insensitivity to veterans, this agency priority hired just one veteran in 11 years. This must be what the public service wants because the chief bureaucrat during this time, Dale Sharkey, was last month awarded the Public Service Award of Excellence. Her nominator: VRAB's director of communication. Back patting and rhetoric over substance.
Does all this mean the public service discriminates against veterans? Some veterans employed in the public service have made this allegation. Perhaps the greatest barrier is the public service culture. As the auditor general and DND have noted, hiring an individual can take 10 months while their application meanders through bureaucratic obstacles. When Canadian Forces members are ordered overseas at 48 hours' notice to potentially lose their lives, government's dull-witted response when the uniform comes off is a distant cry from the caring and dignity this government keeps telling veterans they deserve.
One astute committee member noted during hearings on the changes to the priority hiring bill: "why aren't we thinking outside of the box in which we tend to think right now?"
Enlightenment, compassion, and innovation appear anathema to the senior public service. There are time limits for the priority hiring window. Yet, for disabled veterans, the only expiry date on their disability is death. For spouses, if a veteran is too ill to work, she is barred from priority hiring.
More than 70 per cent of the priority placements are in clerical positions. For some, worthy jobs, but O'Toole tells us our veterans have a wide-ranging skill set. In fact, there is no unique veteran specific follow-up to ensure that veterans are not frustrated, bored, undervalued, under-performing or suffering discrimination in a public service culture, which is widely divergent from that of the military.
When Canadians join the military, they are constantly trained, taught, and transitioned into responsibility with some of the best mentoring management culture in the public or private sector. There is no gradual transition into a new public service job for the few accepted. All applicants must satisfy narrow criteria that either discourage or disqualify anyone outside the public service. Bureaucratic culture has a difficult time translating private sector skills to a public service context. No wonder almost all departments, except DND, have been unable to translate military skills sufficiently to substantively employ large numbers of veterans.
Neither are disabled veterans supported to take on partial workweeks to adapt their limitations to new employment. Anecdotally, veterans are too frequently unable to make the transition from disability to 100 per cent work schedule in an unfamiliar work environment.
But we really don't know because we don't care enough about our veterans to do any meaningful follow-up let alone provide urgently required coaching. And our veterans need a helping hand. Fully 60 per cent of recent releases have 20 years or less military service with 38 per cent having five years or less. They want a job and their skills are a must-have for a stagnant public service.
For veterans who are sloughed off onto civilian not-for-profits, we have no idea how they are doing because there is no accountable follow-up. Washing hands of veterans by the government to outside agencies has taken on a mean, hot-potato streak in the last decade.
Let's put this all in perspective. In the six years after World War II, Canada's federal civil service hired more than 130,000 veterans. By 1951, Veterans Affairs had 14,000 employees; almost 9,500, including more than 95 per cent of senior managers, were veterans. For all veterans in any employment, particularly the disabled, personalized follow-up was part of the package. Case managers met with veterans and employers on a regular basis to help 'translate' the military skill set and working limitations of veterans into civilian context.
"Walt" Natynczyk provided the following in a scripted news release: "Those who wear the uniform of the Canadian Armed Forces serve Canada with loyalty, pride, and a commitment to excellence." Each military member does this for each and every Canadian at the orders of the Government of Canada. Canadians have increasingly appreciated this reality of late.
Discouragingly, government is far too mired in political self-interest, advised by the parochial and initiative-paralyzed bureaucracy to tangibly return the commitment in kind to our veterans and their families. Are veterans 'thriving' O'Toole? The best many veterans have been able to achieve, if they aren't committing suicide, is to merely survive.
Sean Bruyea, vice-president of Canadians for Accountability, is a retired Air Force intelligence officer and a frequent commentator on government, military, and veterans' issues.
The Hill Times
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The Canadian Veterans Advocacy Team.
