This report presents the findings and recommendations of an independent evaluation of the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman (OVO) conducted between September, 2019 and February, 2020.
Evaluation Purpose and Scope
The purpose of the evaluation was to determine the OVO’s effectiveness, the efficiency of OVO operations, and the relevance of the OVO mandate. This was the first evaluation conducted of the OVO since its creation in 2007. The scope included all activity areas of the OVO from 2014-2015 to 2019-2020. In addition, the evaluation looked back to the start of the OVO in 2007 to examine the ongoing relevance of the original mandate, roles and responsibilities.
Evaluation Methodology
The methodology included multiple secondary and primary data collection methods to triangulate data. This entailed a comprehensive review of documents and performance data, including client feedback surveys conducted by the OVO and a separate study conducted by VAC; interviews with key informants from the OVO (n=8), Veterans Affairs Canada (n=4), Veterans (n=8) and other stakeholders (n=2), for a total of 22; case studies of two recent individual complaints and one systemic review; and, a comparative assessment with other ombudsman offices at the federal and provincial levels.
Mandate and Role of the OVO
The OVO’s mandate is to ensure that Canada's Veterans, serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), their families, and other clients of Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) are treated fairly and respectfully, in accordance with the Veterans Bill of Rights; and, that Veterans and other clients receive the services and benefits that they require in a fair, timely, and efficient manner. The OVO works in four key areas to: (1) assist and inform Veterans and facilitate referrals; (2) investigate complaints from those who believe they have been treated unfairly; (3) conduct systemic investigations to address issues facing Veterans; and, (4) provide advice to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Parliamentary Committees on Veterans’ issues.
The OVO’s role is limited to reviewing complaints/cases related to Veterans Health Care Regulations and to the Veterans Well-Being Act part 1,2 and 3.1. The OVO cannot review individual decisions of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB) or any complaints in regard to a decision on a program that would have a recourse to VRAB, and for all other areas, it can usually only intervene once complainants have exhausted all of VAC review mechanisms, except in compelling circumstances.
The Ombudsman reports directly to the Minister of VAC yet operates independently and at arms-length from the department. Over the last five years, the average expenditures of the OVO have been approximately $3.3 million per year.
Conclusions
Based on evidence from the documentation, interviews, comparative assessment and cases studies, the evaluation concluded the following:
Effectiveness
The OVO has been effective by providing information/referrals; resolving complaints within its mandate; and treating Veterans fairly and respectfully. However, some Veterans/clients are concerned with the timeliness and level of communication regarding their complaints. As well, more could be done to increase Veterans’/clients’ awareness of the OVO and of its role.
The OVO, with support from stakeholders, has had a significant impact through systemic investigations and advice to Parliamentarians that have improved benefits and fair outcomes for thousands of Veterans and other clients. This is seen as a central role for the OVO. While the overall impact of individual complaints is small compared to systemic investigations, the outcome for the Veterans/clients can be significant.
Efficiency
The OVO made process improvements and these are ongoing to enhance efficiency in operations, particularly in relation to providing timely responses to Veterans’ complaints and in reducing its turnaround times. The OVO’s governance structure is clear and stable, and the performance framework has been updated and is robust. The OVO could gain further efficiencies through continued staff training and specialization, by expediting simple complaints, and with enhanced abilities for the OVO to mediate.
Based on the input from federal Ombuds offices and others in VAC and the OVO, greater efficiencies may also result by integrating federal Ombuds offices (e.g., either in a limited fashion by merging the OVO with the DND Ombuds office, or in a more comprehensive fashion by grouping all federal Ombuds offices into one entity with specialized sections). However, it was out of the scope of this evaluation to examine this in depth and further study would be needed to assess the cost-benefit of such a proposition.
Relevance
There is an ongoing need for the OVO to meet the needs and expectations of Veterans despite the OVO’s limited mandate. Veterans generally believe the mandate is broader than it actually is, as the OVO’s mandate restricts where it can act to address Veterans’ complaints. This contributes to perceptions that undermine the OVO’s credibility in terms of the ability to address Veterans’ individual complaints. Most stakeholders (e.g., interviews with Veterans), the comparative study, and the Venice Principles supported two areas of change to the OVO mandate to ensure it can act, and is perceived as acting, in the best interest of Veterans, including: (1) greater independence (e.g., reporting to Parliament, legislated mandate), and (2) enhanced powers (e.g., power to compel evidence, as well to power to mediate/undertake alternative dispute resolution). The evaluation also concluded that the review/appeal system for Veterans is complex, with multiple organizations involved and many levels to navigate.
Recommendations (supporting rationale provided in Section 4.2)
- It is recommended that Veterans Affairs Canada conduct an assessment of the effectiveness and efficiency of VAC’s review/appeal and complaint resolution streams and processes.
- In considering the evolution of the OVO as VAC services continue to improve and address Veterans’ needs, it is recommended that the OVO routinely, through strategic planning, review and ensure its resources are applied to efforts that can have the greatest impact in ensuring fair outcomes for Veterans/clients.
- It is recommended that the OVO optimize its outreach and engagement to continue to enhance its effectiveness in engaging key audiences and to increase awareness about the Office and what it can (and cannot) do for its clients.
- It is recommended that the OVO continue to improve its client service approach for individual complaints by:
- Continuing to improve on providing timely and clear (written) responses to complaints;
- Ensuring training so that frontline staff members have knowledge of current issues and Veterans’ experiences; and
- Assessing the need for staff specialization.