February 14, 2024
16:00 – 16:30 ET
Virtual – Microsoft Teams
Advisory Group Members
- Lieutenant-Colonel (Retired) Dave Byrne
- Corporal (Retired) Bruce Moncur
- Steve Graham, RCMP Veterans’ Association
- Deanna Fimrite, Army, Navy & Air Force Veterans in Canada
- Julia Burke
- Corporal (Retired) Sylvain Chartrand, Canadian Veterans Advocacy
- Warrant Officer (Retired) Jessica Hewett (Co-chair)
- Master Warrant Officer (Retired) Michael Hogan
- Lieutenant Colonel Kirk Watson, Canadian Armed Forces Liaison Officer to Veterans Affairs Canada
Regrets
- Amanda DiFalco, Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness
- Lieutenant (Retired) Carolyn Hughes, Royal Canadian Legion
- Dr. Darryl Cathcart
Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs
- The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence
- Jonathan Wiseman, Special Assistant
Veterans Affairs Canada Officials
- Trudie Mackinnon, Director General, Centralized Operations Division (Co-chair)
- Pamela Harrison, Director General, Community Engagement
- Jeff Gallant, Manager, Stakeholder Engagement and Outreach
Observer
- Laura Kelly, Office of the Veterans Ombud
Opening Remarks
Co-Chair Bruce Moncur provided a land acknowledgement.
Group Priorities
Pamela introduced Minister Petitpas Taylor and thanked her for joining the meeting.
The Minister shared her appreciation for all the work the group has completed to date and shared that she would like to see the group focus on two specific areas. The first being an analysis on which treatment benefits should be considered for automatic approval (similar to the Mental Health Benefits program). Secondly, she would like the group to advise on areas Veterans Affairs Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Armed Forces, should focus on to better support the transition period for releasing members.
Members were advised they would receive a mandate letter from the Minister outlining her priorities for the group in the near future.
To address potential overlap, it was confirmed that a co-chair meeting will be planned prior to the groups submitting their recommendations.
National Stakeholder Summit
Jeff Gallant, Manager, Stakeholder Engagement and Outreach at Veterans Affairs Canada, provided a brief overview of the upcoming National Stakeholder Summit, providing details on sessions that would be directly applicable to the work of the advisory group. Members of the advisory group who are attending the Summit were asked to attend the session on transition to listen to the community and ask questions to support the work they are doing.
Closing Remarks
The Minister thanked everyone for taking the time to meet with her and that she looks forward to working with them moving forward. The next meeting date is yet to be determined, but will be communicated to members. The meeting adjourned.