Well-being of Veterans and their Families
Our focus is the well-being of Veterans and their families. The Department wants to provide the best possible benefits and services tailored to the unique needs of those we serve. Our work will be evidence-informed and outcome oriented—gathering feedback directly from Veterans and other stakeholders. A Veteran’s well-being is determined by multiple factors including a need for purpose, financial security, housing, health, family and community (social integration), resilience (life skills) and identity.
Mandate Letter Commitment:
On April 1, 2017, the maximum Disability Award/Death Benefit will become $360,000, an increase of 44% since inception in 2006.
Highlights for 2017–18:
- Continue to implement the Mental Health Strategy, working towards the creation of a Centre of Excellence for Mental Health
- Finalize the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF)/Veterans Affairs Canada Suicide Prevention Strategy and Action Plan
- Increase the Disability Award/Death Benefit
Placing Veterans at the centre of everything we do—our philosophies, our ideas and our operations—ensures that we are focusing all our efforts toward improving the well-being of Veterans. We strive to be proactive, responding quickly and compassionately to the emerging needs of Veterans.
Service Excellence
The Department strives for exemplary service and is continuously looking for ways to improve Veteran services practices, ensuring that Veterans needs for information and assistance are being met. Making Service Excellence a priority ensures that Veterans and other individuals experience improved quality, timeliness and efficiency in the delivery of services they receive.
Highlights for 2017–18:
- Open more offices to better serve Veterans in their communities
- Expand online services
- Hire more front line staff
Recognition of Service and Sacrifice
Through the Canada Remembers Program, Canadians are encouraged to recognize and honour those who served the country. Through commemorative ceremonies, learning resources to engage youth, funding for community projects, and financial assistance for Veterans’ funerals and burials the Department engages Canadians in reflecting on how past conflicts—and the sacrifices that were made to resolve them—helped to shape the country we know and appreciate today.
Highlights for 2017–18:
- Mark the 100th anniversaries of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the Battle of Passchendaele, as well as the 75th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid.
- Opening of the Visitor Education Centre in Vimy, France.
- Provide funding to ensure the successful construction of a National Memorial to Canada’s mission in Afghanistan
Through these and other planned activities, the Department expects that Canadian Veterans and those who died in service are honoured and the memory of their achievements and sacrifices is preserved.
Workplace of Choice
The Workplace of Choice Action Plan—a call for cultural change and employee engagement—lays out the Department’s plan to change its work culture and help employees feel supported, informed and actively engaged. The plan will help us: create a workplace that fosters employee health; increase employee understanding of Veterans Affairs Canada’s vision, mission and priorities, and what they mean to us and to Veterans; show Care, Compassion and Respect in all we do; and Delegate, Trust and Empower employees. Having an engaged and informed workforce will allow us to provide Veterans and their families with the high level of service they deserve.
Highlights for 2017–18:
- Continue efforts to improve workplace mental health with a focus on the areas of: promotion and awareness; and prevention and resilience
- Implement Care, Compassion and Respect @ Work action plan
- Take action to respond to employee feedback raised in two Employee Pulse Surveys, led by the National Employee Council
Good management practices, including seeking clarity, validating or communicating, accountability, collaborating and building strong relationships in our Workplace of Choice, must be evident in all we do. This includes delegation and empowerment so that employees feel supported, informed and actively engaged. Living up to these principles is essential to building and maintaining an engaged team that is committed to Service Excellence for Veterans. A team committed to Care, Compassion and Respect.
For more information on the Department of Veterans Affairs plans, priorities and the planned results, see the Planned results section of this report.