Rethink of VAC

Advocates called for a rethink of the way Veterans Affairs Canada operates on Wednesday in testimony before a House of Commons committee, stating the department does not adequately meet the mental-health needs of veterans seeking support.

Veteran Sean Bruyea, who submitted a number of recommendations for departmental reform to the committee, including that it hire more case managers and veteran service agents, said not much has changed in 20 years in the way that VAC deals with those suffering from psychological injuries.

Mr. Bruyea said he struggles on a daily basis with psychological and physical adversity resulting from his military service.

“They [VAC] still cannot bend their head around the lifelong commitment of care that is necessary for veterans with psychological disabilities that inherently have complex needs,” Mr. Bruyea said. “We have to have a fundamental rethink about how this department works.”

The House of Commons veterans affairs committee heard the testimony as part of its study of mental-health care programs. VAC says it provides counselling and compensation for mental-health needs, including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

Conservative veterans affairs critic John Brassard said there has been a “generational problem” with the supports offered by VAC, adding it was a concern for the Tory government when it was in power.

During his testimony, Mr. Bruyea cited personal examples of challenges with the department, including cancelled financial coverage of his child’s care. He said it was cut off a day after Seamus O’Regan, the minister in charge of the department at the time, accused him of “stating mistruths” on the government’s Pension for Life system. Mr. O’Regan is now the Minister of Natural Resources.

In a 2018 piece published by The Hill Times, Mr. Bruyea wrote that changes to the pension system for disabled Canadian Armed Forces staff would pay some veterans applying for benefits after March, 2019, less than the previous system.

In a column in the same Ottawa-based publication, Mr. O’Regan suggested the veteran made numerous errors. Mr. Bruyea later sued for defamation, which resulted in an undisclosed settlement in June, 2020.

Last January, the Conservatives also submitted a written request in the House of Commons to determine how much the government spent on the case involving Mr. Bruyea and Mr. O’Regan. At the time, Justice Minister David Lametti said $183,551 in legal costs had been incurred as of Dec. 9, 2019, adding the government could not provide additional information because of solicitor-client privilege.

Mr. Bruyea told MPs that care for his six-year-old son was cancelled without “warning, consultation, client notes, or justification” after Mr. O’Regan published his article. The minister and the department also ignored an ombudsman investigation and recommendations into the child’s care, he added.

”When will they [VAC] stop hiding behind secretive government practices, showing scorn for oversight agencies, while targeting a six-year-old child?”

In response to queries about Mr. Bruyea’s case, the department said it was unable to comment on specifics of an individual case owing to the Privacy Act.

Tina Fitzpatrick, who said her veteran husband struggled severely with his mental health, also told the committee on Wednesday that VAC’s system is flawed.

Ms. Fitzpatrick said she called “thousands of times” to a department toll-free line that is designed to offer access to support. She said, however, that she has never been assigned a case manager, resulting in her having to repeat her family’s experience several times to different VAC representatives.

Allan Hunter, the director of the Veterans Association Food Bank, said department employees have personally helped him to save lives of veterans. He said, however, that they come up against a complex system.

“We are losing veterans all the time to suicide because they give up,” he said. “We are not a nation that should be giving up on our soldiers and our veterans.”