5.0 Program efficiency

The evaluation examined program efficiency and economy for both the Funeral and Burial Program and the Cemetery and Grave Marker Maintenance Program.

5.1 Funeral and Burial Program efficiency

Individuals requesting Funeral and Burial funding typically enter the program through one of two streams:

• A family member/executor/concerned party calls the Last Post Fund directly to inquire about the program and ask about eligibility; or
• The Last Post Fund is notified of a Veteran’s passing through a VAC-generated work item or specialized report which then prompts the Last Post Fund to make contact with the family to inform them about the program.

According to survey responses from the Last Post Fund Client Survey, approximately half of the Funeral and Burial applicants surveyed learned about the program from VAC, while others became aware of the program through a funeral home or family/friends.

5.1.1 Funeral and Burial communication

As a result of COVID-19 travel protocols, the evaluation team was not able to observe Last Post Fund frontline telephone interactions with clients to determine efficiency. The team could not review recorded phone calls (as done in previous evaluations) as a change in telephone service providers has left the Last Post Fund without the ability to record telephone calls. Interviews and feedback through the Last Post Fund Client Survey suggest that clients appreciate direct communication with officers for several reasons:

1. A conversation allows a Last Post Fund counsellor to quickly assess a client’s situation and to collect information necessary for starting the application process.
2. Explaining eligibility criteria directly allows the potential client to quickly determine if they may be eligible for the program. Interviewees noted, this has helped reduce claims that have no potential for approval (statistics are not kept on clients who do not continue with the application process).
3. Clients are often grieving the loss of a loved one and appreciate the one-on-one contact with Last Post Fund counsellors who can answer questions quickly.

5.1.2 Turn-around times

The evaluation finds that the current standard for means-tested Funeral and Burial benefits is being met. As Table 13 indicates, decisions were made within thirty days between 89% - 94% of the time over the period of the evaluation (target 80%).

Source: VAC Commemorations

There are no service standards published for Funeral and Burial matter of right decisions. Matter of right decisions are made by VAC adjudicators responsible for rendering decisions on VAC Disability Benefits (within the Service Delivery branch of the Department). Matter of right decisions are not prioritized and statistics on turn-around times are not kept separately from regular Disability Benefit decisions. Interviews with VAC and Last Post Fund staff indicate that matter of right decisions sometimes take up to one year to complete, meaning family members or next-of-kin must wait for reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses related to a Veteran’s burial (which may total in the thousands of dollars).

5.1.3 VAC notification of death

When VAC is notified of a Veteran’s death, business processes indicate that a work item should be sent to the Last Post Fund for information purposes. As a result of the 2017 Evaluation of Commemorative Benefits and Services, the Funeral and Burial Program area also sends ad-hoc reports to the Last Post Fund indicating:

• Veterans who died and were in receipt of the War Veterans Allowance. The War Veterans Allowance is a means-tested program (higher likelihood that these clients will be approved for Funeral and Burial benefits under means-tested eligibility);
• Veterans who were homeless at the time of death (again likelihood for approval under the financial means-tested eligibility); or
• had a matter of right decision made (which would allow for automatic eligibility for the Funeral and Burial program as they died from their service-related condition).

The evaluation team reviewed copies of the reports that are sent to the Last Post Fund. Analysis indicates they do not contain a fulsome list of all deaths within these three categories. As a result of this discovery, and to ensure all Veterans with a higher chance of eligibility for benefits are forwarded to the Last Post Fund for contact, the evaluation team reached out to VAC’s internal statistics unit to better understand the reporting and possible areas of discrepancy. The internal reports are now being reviewed by relevant departmental areas to address the issue.

5.1.4 Analysis of client data

To further support the evaluation, data was requested from VAC’s Statistics Unit to analyze all Veteran deaths from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2021, as well as all decisions made by the Last Post Fund over that same time period. The purpose of this data review was to:

• ensure the Funeral and Burial Program is reaching the appropriate Veterans/estates;
• compare statistics relating to matter of right eligibility decisions made by VAC and payment decisions relating to matter of right made by the Last Post Fund; and
• assess program reach for high-risk groups such as War Veterans Allowance recipients and homeless Veterans (at the time of death).

The Last Post Fund is the administrator of the Funeral and Burial Program and collects program data. This data is not included within VAC’s system of record (Client Service Delivery Network/GC Case). Because of this, the evaluation team was not able to reconcile all data received from Last Post Fund to VAC data. Since there are two systems involved, and point in time can impact the data entered, there are some inconsistencies due to the following:

1. a Veteran could have died within the specified time frame and not have had a decision rendered by the Last Post Fund within the same time frame; or
2. the Last Post Fund is able to make decisions based on financial need for Veterans who may not already be in receipt of a benefit from VAC (and thus wouldn’t be reflected within the Veteran death file prepared by VAC’s Statistics Unit).

Despite inconsistencies, the evaluation team was able to analyze 2,452 Veteran files^{Footnote 23} relating to the Funeral and Burial decision-making process. The analysis revealed that VAC rendered 518 matter of right decisions within the scope of the evaluation, however, in 102 instances, a corresponding payment was not shown in the Last Post Fund data file. The evaluation team provided the Last Post Fund with a sample of 30 files to review to determine why a payment was not made. Of the 30 sample files;

• sixteen had no payment as the next of kin/estate did not proceed with an application for reimbursement;
• eight cases were determined to have been paid by either the Last Post Fund (error in system dates) or DND (payment by DND due to death during service); and
• six cases were not actioned by the Last Post Fund.

To ensure the Last Post Fund has the ability to appropriately address all matter of right decisions, VAC sends ad-hoc reports listing favourable matter of right files; however, as noted in section 5.1.3, VAC death notification process, there are omissions in this report. The evaluation team was unable to follow the communication trail between VAC and the Last Post Fund, and therefore could not determine where the breakdown in the notification process is occurring.

VAC released an updated business process for Matter of Right Administrative Death Rulings for VAC's Funeral and Burial Program on 31 October 2021. Additional guidance is provided around sharing work items with the Last Post Fund regarding matter of right decisions. Due to the timing of the business process release, the evaluation team is not able to comment on how the business process has impacted the matter of right process.

Opportunity – The evaluation finds that there is an opportunity to monitor how the business process is working to ensure that the correct information is going to the Last Post Fund and that matter of right files are being actioned appropriately.

5.2 Cemetery and Grave Marker Maintenance Program efficiency

Cemetery and Grave Marker Maintenance Program efforts shifted from normal operations to the grave marker maintenance backlog project during the period of the evaluation. This shift included additional temporary staff to facilitate grave marker inspections and to manage marker maintenance. Accordingly, the evaluation concentrated on the efficiency of the project.

5.2.1 Grave marker maintenance backlog project

5.2.1.1 Background – lead up to the backlog project

To understand why the backlog project was necessary, it is important to understand how the backlog of repairs became a concern. Research points to a 2002 decision to reduce VAC’s national cemetery and grave marker maintenance budget (beginning in 2003) from approximately $5 million to $1 million. At the time, VAC had no tracking system to accurately account for graves requiring maintenance and their locations, therefore it was difficult to make a case that the full $5 million was required.

To address concerns around accurate accounting for VAC administered grave markers, the Department introduced the first iteration of the Canada Remembers Grave Tracking system in 2004. By 2009, the program budget had increased slightly to $1.2 million and has remained unchanged at approximately $1.25 million (current base budget).

While the program budget has remained consistent, the number of graves tracked and requiring maintenance in the tracking system has risen substantially. The latest version of the Canada Remembers Grave Tracking system contains information on more than 220,000 graves, with information on approximately 30,000 additional graves currently being entered. See Figure 2 for grave marker inventory actual and forecasted growth between 2013 and 2023.

Figure 2 – Grave marker inventory actual and forecasted growth (2013-23)

Source: VAC Commemorations *Note: approximately 30,000 additional grave markers are in the process of being added to the inventory (expected to be complete by the end of the backlog project in 2023). Data from 2016-17 to 2019-20 is not available.

As the number of grave markers under VAC responsibility continued to grow, the program area adopted a 12-year inspection and maintenance cycle (2011). This cycle was developed in correlation with the reduced funding post 2003 rather than as a best practice for maintaining grave markers. Interviews suggest that there was difficulty maintaining all grave markers within the 12-year cycle. The long inspection cycle coupled with insufficient funding, as identified in the 2017 Evaluation of Commemorative Benefits and Services, resulted in a significant backlog of outstanding Veteran grave marker maintenance (as of 2016, more than 45,000 Veteran grave markers in Canada required maintenance).

5.2.1.2 Implementation of the backlog project

The 2017 Evaluation of Commemorative Benefits and Services found that the funds allocated to the Cemetery and Grave Marker Maintenance Program were insufficient to address known required repairs and that only a portion of the required maintenance could be completed each year. Consequently, the evaluation recommended that “the Director General of Commemoration put measures in place to reduce the backlog of outstanding Veteran grave marker maintenance, with an increased focus on maintenance items such as inscription legibility, grave marker replacements and foundation repairs”.

As a result of the evaluation recommendations, Budget 2018 allocated an additional investment of $24.4 million over five years to address urgently needed repairs to 45,000 graves requiring 57,000 maintenance actions (some graves require more than one type of repair). With funding in place, the grave marker maintenance backlog project began on 1 April 2018.

5.2.1.3 Project efficiency

A progress tracker was developed for the backlog project to track work completed as a result of the increased funds. The tracker is housed on VAC’s external website and indicates that 57,179 repairs will be completed between 2018 and 2023. As of March 2021, 59.3% of the repairs have been completed (as shown in Table 12 below).

Source: VAC Commemoration, * COVID-19 restrictions may impact these numbers. Actual data will be available by May 2022.

The evaluation finds that the Department is on track to complete backlog repairs within the five-year project timeline pending delays due to compounding impacts of the pandemic including procurement, contracting, travel, and human resource challenges. The breakdown of repairs completed as part of the project is shown in Table 13. The table shows a point in time implementation of the project. Grave marker inspection and maintenance work is conducted by region/zone, therefore some provinces may be targeted for work later in the project period, while some areas were addressed earlier.

Source: AED analysis of project On-line Data Tracker

*As of 31 December 2021

Further, since the project began, approximately 37,000 additional repairs have been completed, as identified during the backlog project inspection process. These repairs are not included in the table above and are tracked separately from the project.

In order to facilitate timely inspections for the backlog project, VAC amended the Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorandum of agreement to give the Commission responsibility for all grave marker inspections and repairs in the province of Ontario.^{Footnote 24} The remaining Veteran grave markers in Canada are the responsibility of the VAC inspection team.^{Footnote 25}

5.2.2 Efficiency of Grave Marker Maintenance Program tools and supports

The Cemetery and Grave Marker Maintenance Program has several tools and supports in place to aid in the delivery of the program. Principally, there is a detailed National Technical Manual used to support the inspection and maintenance of grave markers, and a grave marker database system to track the information and status of Veteran graves in the inspection/maintenance cycle. In addition, individuals responsible for inspecting Veteran graves have been issued phones and cameras to help document inspections. The evaluation finds that the tools required to support inspections are evolving, and that changes have been made to aid staff who conduct field inspections (e.g., satellite phones for safety when inspecting in remote areas, upgraded rental vehicles capable of traversing rugged terrain, and access to proper protective clothing/footwear). A review of documentation and interview results indicate there are areas where improvements could be made to support a more efficient grave marker inspection process. Specifically:

• Review the current technical manual (dated 2005) for any required updates such as enhanced cleaning techniques, consideration to Indigenous land regulations and inclusion of traditional Indigenous names and symbols, differences in provincial burial regulations, evolving environmental practices, and links to other relevant policies/procedures.^{Footnote 26}
• Take into consideration the unique health and safety situations to consider, given the number and remote location of some graves (e.g., rugged terrain and wildlife).
• Consider enabling the grave inspection team with better technology (e.g., tablets) to enhance the efficiency of capturing and uploading relevant information into the Canada Remembers Grave Tracking system. Use of technology with access to the VAC system and database during the inspection process would eliminate the need to document inspections by hand, then complete data entry into the system at a later date. Producing an immediate digitized file would also eliminate the need for thousands of pages of paper checklists annually.

5.2.3 Program response to grave maintenance enquiries

As indicated in section 4.1.2.1, the evaluation finds that turn-around times for responding to public enquiries regarding cemetery and grave marker maintenance are also meeting published standards. Enquiries are being responded to within 5 days 97% to 100% of the time (target 90%) and repairs/maintenance is occurring within 12 months 90% to 100% of the time (target 90%).

5.2.4 Grave Marker Maintenance Program quality assurance

Like the Funeral and Burial Program, contractors engaged to conduct grave marker maintenance must also provide photographic evidence of the work they complete. Given the thousands of maintenance issues addressed each year, the evaluation finds this to be an efficient form of quality assurance rather than a physical inspection that maintenance work has been completed.

Program guidance and supporting documents regarding the operations and maintenance of the two Departmental cemeteries will be discussed in section 6.2.3, Departmental cemeteries.