Thursday, October 27, 2022
12:00 - 14:30 (ET)
Service Excellence and Transition Advisory Group Members
- Captain (Retired) Kimberley Newman
- Corporal (Retired) Sylvain Chartrand, Canadian Veterans Advocacy
- Dr. Darryl Cathcart
- Deanna Fimrite, Army, Navy & Air Force Veterans in Canada
- Lieutenant-Colonel (Retired) Dave Byrne
- Master Warrant Officer (Retired) Michael Hogan
- Warrant Officer (Retired) Jessica Hewett
- Steve Graham, RCMP Veterans’ Association
- Corporal (Retired) Bruce Moncur
- Lieutenant (Retired) Carolyn Hughes, Royal Canadian Legion
- Master Corporal (Retired) Joseph Burke
- Lieutenant-Colonel Kirk Watson, CAF Liaison Officer to VAC
Regrets
- Amanda DiFalco, Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness
Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs
- Michael Ferguson, Senior Special Assistant, Atlantic
- Jennifer Phillips, Director of Operations
Veterans Affairs Canada Officials
- Trudie Mackinnon, Director General, Centralized Operations Division (Co-chair)
- Patrick Lynch, Senior Advisor, Stakeholder Engagement and Outreach
Observer
- Laura Kelly, Office of the Veterans Ombudsperson
Presenters
- Kathy Norrie, Senior Director, Re-contracting, Service Delivery
- Kim Andrews, Senior Director, Health Care Programs
- Chris Hutt, A/Director, Transition and Program Support
Opening Remarks in Plenary
Members of all six Ministerial Advisory Groups met in plenary and both the Minister and the Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs brought greetings and provided updates. The Assistant Deputy Minister, Commemoration and Public Affairs discussed procedural items and how to conduct the vote for a Member Co-chair. Members were then transferred to their individual Advisory Group meeting.)
Opening Remarks
- The Deputy Minister welcomed the members and acknowledged that the land from which he was speaking is unceded Mi’kmaq territory; he also acknowledged the ancestral and unceded territory of all Inuit, Métis, and First Nations people and took a moment to recognize the importance of these lands that we all call home.
- He thanked the members for their understanding given that the meeting was rescheduled from September to October. He also acknowledged the value of stakeholder feedback and highlighted the important role of advisory group members to contribute and influence positive change. The Deputy Minister then introduced Minister Lawrence MacAulay.
Remarks from Minister MacAulay
- Minister MacAulay welcomed members, thanked them for their commitment, and acknowledged that the work of the advisory groups will make a real difference. He also highlighted that the advisory groups are a space to speak freely and share thoughts and ideas to help the Department live up to its commitment to respect and deliver care to Veterans and their families.
- The Minister acknowledged the ongoing priority of reducing the backlog, which has decreased by 50 percent since 2020. He also highlighted the recent 43 million dollar investment to address the evolving needs of Veterans.
- The Minister thanked those who helped secure Juno Beach as commemorative grounds and acknowledged their importance for education.
- He highlighted the success of the new Mental Health Benefit, which offers automatic support to Veterans to ensure they receive the help where and when they need it.
- The Minister highlighted key priorities from his mandate letter, including improving performance and client experience for Veterans and their families, ensuring Veterans have access to benefits and services, recognizing and commemorating the efforts of Veterans with a focus on underrepresented Veterans, addressing Veterans homelessness, and launching the Veterans employment strategy.
- The Minister acknowledged that there is a lot more work to do, and that he and the Department value the Ministerial advisory groups as key assets in ensuring progress continues. He acknowledged the evolving needs of the Veteran community and wants to hear from members on how the Department can best serve Veterans and their families. The advisory groups were created to provide the Department insight, advice, and recommendations on the issues facing Veterans and their families, so it’s important that members speak freely. He then thanked members for their commitment and contributions.
Closing Plenary Remarks
- The Deputy Minister thanked Minister MacAulay and then provided some additional updates and recent developments, specifically the unveiling of the final bronze caribou monument was unveiled in Gallipoli in September.
- He addressed a recent news story on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) and underlined that the Department took immediate action to apologize to the Veteran and immediately investigate.
- The Deputy then provided updates on recent senior appointments at VAC, including Ken MacKillop, the new Associate Deputy Minister, and Pierre Tessier the new Assistant Deputy Minister of Strategic Policy, Planning, and Performance.
- The Assistant Deputy Minister, Commemoration and Public Affairs, then spoke to procedural items concerning the terms of reference for the advisory groups and the in-camera selection of member co-chairs. She also referenced the Code of Conduct which members are expected to adhere to.
- Advisory Group members were then transferred to their individual breakout rooms.
Service Excellence and Transition Advisory Group Meeting
In camera selection of Member Co-chair
The group decided ahead of time to vote for two Member Co-Chairs. As quorum was met, the group decided that Bruce Moncour and Jessica Hewlett would be the new Member Co-Chairs.
Welcome and Roundtable Introductions
Once consensus was reached on the Member Co-Chair, the VAC Co-chair joined the breakout session to officially open the meeting. She thanked the members for their involvement and then had members, observers, and presenters do a roundtable introduction.
Presentation: National Veterans Employment Strategy Consultation
The A/ Director, Transition and Program Support gave a presentation to update on the National Veterans Employment Strategy and the consultations that have occurred to date. Work on the Strategy began in the summer of 2022 with a goal of a final version in the winter of 2023. A number of consultations have occurred or will occur throughout the Fall period including a Let’s Talk Veterans consultation, an Employer survey, a Ministerial roundtable, senior leader consultations and the SETAG itself.
Feedback/Comments from Members
- Would be nice to offer up tax breaks similar to the what is provided to Americans.
- The majority of our veterans are the disabled and medically released and feel like VAC does not care for them as they are pushed off to third parties.
- Would like to know how to make contact with these companies.
- Commissionaires is the largest employer of veterans in Canada with a broad range of employment opportunities across Canada.
- Unaware of consultations taking place due to not being on social media.
Presentation: Transition Services
The A/ Director, Transition and Program Support gave a presentation to update on the range of services available to assist with transition. Key areas discussed with the group was the Transition Interview and Screening Tool, Enhanced Transition Services for those who are medically releasing and the new Military to Civilian Transition Process for those who non-medically releasing which currently being rolled out nationally.
Feedback/Comments from Members
- Mandatory wellness screening is part of the transition process however most Veterans feel that this is a sore spot in the process.
Presentation: Federal Health Claims Processing Services (FHCPS) Re-contracting Consultation
The Senior Director, Re-contracting, Service Delivery and the Senior Director, Health Care Programs gave a presentation on the approach and work underway for the next FHCPS contract, including feedback received from consultations. The current contract was awarded in January 2014 and ends in July 2026. A draft Request for Proposal (RFP) was posted on the Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) Canada Buys website this month for stakeholder and industry feedback.
Consultations have been held with Veterans, subject matter experts, and industry, with the CAF and RCMP leading any consultation with their stakeholders directly. Improvements sought through the new contract include: making it easier for Veterans to access information, contact the contractor, share/upload documents, receive electronic mail, etc. through a Participant’s Portal, more focus on digital services and automation, clarified processes, enhanced reporting and service/program measurement, and improved service for Veterans living outside of Canada. The contractor will also be incentivized to hire Veterans and Indigenous persons.
Feedback/Comments from Members
- Noted opportunity to clarify who participant is interacting with (i.e., VAC or Contractor), as an example letters from the Contractor are on VAC letterhead.
- Numerous improvements can be made on the benefit grids.
Next Steps
The VAC Co-chair thanked the members for their participation in the discussions. She indicated that the next meeting would likely take place in late January and said that dates would be proposed for consideration.
The Members offered up agenda items for the next meeting along with wanting to focus in on where the group can help the Department. Forward Agenda items proposed; Valour in the Presence of the Enemy, RSVP, status update on previous recommendations, udpate on Disability Claims processing and backlog and artificial intelligence for hearing loss and tinnitus.
The VAC Co-chair again invited feedback and also encouraged Members to visit the Let’s Talk Veterans site to review the consultations taking place and to read the issues of the online Salute! Magazine.
Action Items
- Provide membership with email addresses for VAC presenters
- Provide membership email address to provide feedback for FHCPS presentation
- Send out email to membership to allow for a space to dialogue with each other