Government of Canada update on efforts to improve service to Military Veterans

teentitan - Ah quess thats what he was talking about earlier this aft. Good news for us here in PEI. Our CM's came from NB, and about once a mth. So having access for the Vets here just became alot better. Which all seemed a little odd to us, when most of us can throw a rock at the HQ.
I think the 167 CM's is a higher number then they orginally announced. And more folks working on files to get it back under the 16 wks is also good news. I can imagine we will see a few more carrots between now and Oct..VVV..

The Honourable Erin O’Toole, Minister of Veterans Affairs, announced today that Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) is delivering on its commitment to service excellence by announcing the hiring of 61 new employees in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, to support the disability application and case management processes for Military Veterans and former members of the RCMP.

Thirty-three of the new employees (20 permanent and 13 temporary) will work on disability benefits applications. One permanent case manager will be hired in Charlottetown to dedicate more time and attention to meeting the individual needs of Veterans living in P.E.I. Sixteen case management support staff will be hired to assist case managers across Canada. The remaining 11 employees will be hired to help support the process of hiring, training, and engaging the new employees.

The additional disability benefits staff will ensure there is more capacity to support Military Veterans who need help applying for disability benefits, 11 more adjudicators to make decisions, and more staff to process payments. This means Military Veterans will have faster access to disability benefits as well as health care funding and mental health treatment related to their disability.

Quick Facts

* Veterans Affairs Canada provides disability benefits totalling about $2 billion a year to approximately 180,000 individuals, including Military Veterans, Canadian Armed Forces serving personnel, former RCMP, RCMP personnel and surviving family members.

* Across Canada, VAC will hire 101 disability benefits staff, to be located in up to 16 locations across the country.

* VAC will hire 167 new case managers across Canada to provide direct service to Veterans and their families.

* It is expected most of the positions will be staffed by the end of March 2016.

* VAC has committed to reducing caseloads to no more than 30 Veterans for each VAC case manager in order to provide improved one-on-one service. VAC frontline employees will work in locations where they are needed the most.

Quote

“Hiring more staff to support and assist Military Veterans and ensure payments are processed more quickly demonstrates the Government of Canada’s commitment to service excellence for Military Veterans and former members of the RCMP. We are taking action to serve those Military Veterans and their families who need it the most.”

The Honourable Erin O’Toole, Minister of Veterans Affairs

Associated Links

* Minister O'Toole speaks with Veterans' groups at Ottawa Summit * Achieving service excellence through enhanced services