Staffing cuts at Veterans Affairs hit frontline service

Thanks for posting that article Riddick. Lively thread. Week 22 of a pia review Johnny? I'm still waiting for my vip approval which will then support my pia re-app. Same old waiting shyte... Here is a thought/ solution. Why couldn't vac and/or GoC be as pro-active as we are towards them? Call us, see us, kinda like an annual safety check. Something, anything if any of us were receptive to i.t

Perhaps my simplistic timeline is correct on vac?
1. Cutbacks, lots of vac personnal eliminated.
2. 1.1 Billion back to GoC (regurgitated for a better word:)
3. A flimsy attempt (new hires) to recoup their boo-boo.

Am I losing it? Whatever happened to foresight or the competence of our elected officials?
Does gravy train pomposity make some of them complacent or just plain stupid?

Don't know much about psac folks but it strikes me an administrative convoluted abortion, jmo.
I once had a good union job for quite some time... and can say unions are a double edged sword.
Good and bad sides to them.

Your post at 16:06 Teen. Yup, we should all put candidates to the fire. Probably more so before an pre-election facade. But ANY time at all,
A higher accountable standard? LOL...They fail.

Stay well all. Cheers. pinger.

Teen......... you are a good devils advocate.........and that is a good thing. You have your ear to the ground, you bring out the pros and the cons....good and the bad and it makes ignorant people like myself think.

If a person or couple take 20 years to get in debt over their head, they cannot (without winning money or inheritance) get out of debt in 2 months. I understand that whatever changes the government or VAC/MVA are making it will take time. To expedite things and do a half-assed job is counterproductive. I am guessing that the waits times are for a reason (no only because of low staffing levels).....and I am being optimistic when I say for a good reason and "no news is good news". I want VAC, VRAB and whomever to take the necessary time with my claims and do them right THIS TIME. To make change starts at the top and things take time to filter down.

They need to discuss with their staff what needs to be done, what forms need to be changed, all the publications and online information will need to be changed and or updated. I get it, this takes time. But the other side of me also says they are not starting over and many things have been known for years.

And besides that.....right now there is not much I can do.......but wait. I believe there are very good people at VAC and many are trying their darn-dest to do the best they can with the little staff/resources they have.

And you Teen (and Mr. Gray)......help to keep us informed the best you can.........Thank you for your guidance and loyalty....very much appreciated.

Riddick

Teen......... you are a good devils advocate.........and that is a good thing. You have your ear to the ground, you bring out the pros and the cons....good and the bad and it makes ignorant people like myself think.

If a person or couple take 20 years to get in debt over their head, they cannot (without winning money or inheritance) get out of debt in 2 months. I understand that whatever changes the government or VAC/MVA are making it will take time. To expedite things and do a half-assed job is counterproductive. I am guessing that the waits times are for a reason (no only because of low staffing levels).....and I am being optimistic when I say for a good reason and "no news is good news". I want VAC, VRAB and whomever to take the necessary time with my claims and do them right THIS TIME. To make change starts at the top and things take time to filter down.

They need to discuss with their staff what needs to be done, what forms need to be changed, all the publications and online information will need to be changed and or updated. I get it, this takes time. But the other side of me also says they are not starting over and many things have been known for years.

And besides that.....right now there is not much I can do.......but wait. I believe there are very good people at VAC and many are trying their darn-dest to do the best they can with the little staff/resources they have.

And you Teen (and Mr. Gray)......help to keep us informed the best you can.........Thank you for your guidance and loyalty....very much appreciated.

Riddick

every party's PROMISSES are out there to read read em well and vote accordingly . two federal parties you know for a fact cant be trusted and one well you can probably figure cant be trusted but don't know for a fact as of yet at least when it comes to being in power . I get the PSAC thing for sure and fully agree the thing is I cant fire their buts. the cons have fracked this whole file up from the get go and I sure as hell can fire them .

right now PSAC can and will help fire the cons out so the enemy of my enemy is my friend at least for now.

propat

Rex I said don't let ANY of them get away with it. So my previous post also includes the Cons. If anything double down on the questions with them.

I totally understand the skeptism to "belive" what the Tories are pitching right now. But I want to play devils advocate for a second.....when does PSAC take a hit for lack of "desire" to do the job more effectively?

Right now there is a huge fight between PSAC and the Tories. PSAC has lost their severance, are in the process of losing their sick leave, and jobs.

The CRA is so screwed up that even the people who are still there can't give a simple answer to a simple question. They need to take stress leave because the computer system for their pay checks is going thru growing pains.

The money they have put into videos about closing of VAC offices, flying vets into Ottawa last January to do a drive by of hatered towards VAC was nothing but 100% b.s. PSAC knew two years before hand that the offices were going to close and people were going to be let go because of the 5% cut Flaherety called for from every gov't department.

I strongly feel that right now PSAC employees are doing a silent work to rule so we get pissed off and do nothing but bash the Tories.

It's a game. When we lost almost HALF of the CF in the 90's did we fold up our tents and work to rule? Hell no we had a PM that didn't know how to say NO to any UN deployments, NATO deployments. We had crap gear and half the workforce. We sucked it up and worked harder to get the job done.

Where is the same attitude in PSAC? Why aren't they taking any heat? Why are we putting up with it? I'll tell you why....they have the power and they bloody well know it!!!

There's two sides to every situation. So I think this is the #1 question to ask ALL political parties.....What are you going to do with the work attitude of PSAC?

Now don't label me anti-union because you would be wrong. I grew up in a union home. I know the value of a union and what it can do for a family.

I am being a devils advocate here...and that's all.

Teen, I agree that we shouldn't get sucked in by election promises and to challenge the other parties, but the same can be said of the Tories. Everything that is going on now, should have been going on the entire time, but it didn't. The Tories fired a over 1/4 of the staff that managed claims, and now have been forced into hiring 100 full time and part time staff. But how many are part time, and what evidence is there that those jobs will exist beyond October. These new hires could just be more political smoke and mirrors. Before the Tories, a Veteran could call VAC, and within 24 weeks, VAC could mail out an application and medical questionnaire, go through their entire med docs, request any additional medical evidence, Send it to Charlottetown to determine entitlement and decide on level of disability, and send out all the appropriate cheques. Now they can take as long as they want to gather the information. They do not have any time limit to go through your med docs and submit any pertinent information. There is absolutely nothing that tells them when they have to send your files for adjudication. They can't even live up to the one time frame they do have. So forgive me if I would rather take the word of one of the other parties, over anything the Tories say, or even do, at this point

"Officials blamed a “convergence of operational challenges,” including delays obtaining records from National Defence and more priority applications. They also cited “the learning curve associated with digitizing our processes” and a new requirement to call veterans for additional evidence before rejecting any claim." Nobody called me before rejecting 3 claims in April.
Submitted new claims: took them over one month to enter it on the system (after several 'complaints'). Now it is at 'Step 1' according to their system. it will probably take 3 months to get to stage/step 3. After that, it will take about 24-26 week (I hope) before they deny it again (probably without calling to 'request additional info). I know who I am voting for this year.
Cheers

teentitan - That all sounds great, and makes me wonder why I am on wk 22 of a PIA Review, that should have been done long ago..

What the Minister did not say....because this is going to be a 'splash' event in a few weeks...is the following:
Hires have already started
Adjudicators are calling clients to clarify info
A CWO is in the adjudicators office
A RN is also in the adjudicators office
The sacred obligation is starting to be embedded in VAC everyday/everything psychie
The DM is drilling veterancentric thinking
The DM is not micro managing therefore he is making department heads do their job instead of sending it up the chain to the DM's desk

Military and Veteran issues are most likely going to be front and center. So if you are at one of the BBQ events ask the NDP and Libs "how" are you going to change veterans affairs. How are you going to open the offices that were closed? Where are you going to get the money? Do you support One Veteran One Standard? Will you give our Ombudsman legislated independence? Will you merge the PA and NVC? How much are you going to lean on Veteran Organizations and work side by side not across tables with them?

Don't let hollow promises swoon you to vote for them. Challenge them! If they sluff you off just stand there and loudly say "So this is how you will listen to and help vets? One tough question and you are going to turn your back on us?"

Don't let ANY of them off the hook.

This is not new news......it is something everyone of us know only too well.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/staffing-cuts-at-veterans-affairs-hit-frontline-service

It is just the MVA is finally admitting/acknowledging staffing cuts went too far. The big thing is......he hasn't said when the 100 new staff would be hired!! Hello....hello....

NDP veterans affairs critic Peter Stoffer and Liberal veterans affairs critic Frank Valeriote appear to be on the same page and thankfully backing us veterans. Not sure what good it has done us.........but it won't hurt.

Riddick