OTTAWA --
Veterans Affairs Canada says the Liberal authorities has agreed to increase the contracts of solely about one-third of the non permanent workers employed to take care of a backlog of incapacity claims from unwell and injured ex-soldiers.
That's regardless of the very fact the division nonetheless has practically 34,000 unprocessed functions on its desk -- a quantity that officers warn will solely develop by the hundreds if extra non permanent employees aren't retained previous the tip of their present contracts in March.
Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay final week instructed a parliamentary committee that the federal government has left the door open to extending the contracts of extra non permanent workers to maintain a lid on the backlog.
But whereas Veterans Affairs officers have been quietly pushing the Liberals for approval to start out extending contracts final spring, MacAulay stated any new funding must wait till the subsequent federal price range is launched within the spring.
Officers warned the minister final Might that the division had already misplaced a few of the 560 non permanent workers employed to take care of the backlog, and an early choice on extending contracts would assist guarantee extra did not go away for different jobs.
"I can't point out what can be within the price range, as a result of it isn't acceptable," MacAulay stated throughout his look earlier than the Home of Commons veterans' affairs committee.
"However the truth is I've indicated fairly clearly that we'll be in search of extra funding to be sure that we proceed on the identical observe that we're on to scale back the backlog."
The backlog has emerged as one of many important sources of frustration, anger and hardship for Canada's veterans' neighborhood, with these unwell and injured compelled to attend months -- and infrequently years -- for entry to monetary or medical assist for his or her accidents.
The Canadian Press, which was the primary to report the existence of the backlog in 2017, detailed in a collection final 12 months the extra stress and difficulties that veterans caught within the backlog are experiencing as they wait for his or her claims to be processed.
The Liberal authorities made what was alleged to be a one-time, $20-million money injection in 2018 to rent dozens of non permanent workers to hurry up the processing of incapacity profit functions and guarantee veterans had well timed entry to advantages and companies.
But that funding did not make a dent because the variety of functions coming in continued to surpass the division's assets, and the backlog grew from 29,000 functions in December 2017 to 49,000 in March 2020.
It was solely after the Liberals added one other $192 million in June 2020 to maintain the non permanent workers employed in 2018 and add lots of of others to the combo -- for a complete of 560 additional workers -- that it has began to report some enhancements.
MacAulay's spokesman Cameron McNeill reported final week there have been practically 34,000 unprocessed claims from greater than 25,000 veterans with the division on the finish of December, about 15,000 fewer claims than at its peak.
But whereas MacAulay touted that as progress, Veterans Affairs admitted in response to a current query from Conservative critic Frank Caputo that the typical veteran remains to be having to attend over 40 weeks for his or her declare to be processed.
And Veterans Affairs officers say even what the federal government describes as progress is at risk of being reversed as solely 168 of the 560 non permanent workers have up to now had their contracts prolonged previous the tip of March.
Figures supplied to Caputo present officers estimate the variety of unprocessed recordsdata will fall to about 26,600 by the tip of March, however will rise again as much as 36,500 by the tip of the 12 months until the Liberal authorities approves extra workers.
"If we're given extra assets, that can definitely tackle these numbers and can enable us to deliver that backlog down," Veterans Affairs deputy minister Paul Ledwell instructed committee members this week.
Nonetheless, he added, "we do not have the affirmation of assets but. And that can solely come by the budgeting course of."
Meaning the division will not know till mid-March on the earliest what number of extra of the non permanent workers will likely be stored. That's regardless of the Liberals having been repeatedly warned for greater than a 12 months that these workers will likely be wanted.
Parliamentary price range officer Yves Giroux in September 2020 reported the federal government would want to maintain most of these non permanent workers previous their present contract set to finish in March 2022 for one more three years to correctly take care of the backlog.
Giroux additionally stated the federal government may have eradicated all the backlog by the tip of 2021 by hiring 400 extra workers on high of these already underneath contract by including $159 million to the price range. The Liberals ignored this advice.
Veterans Affairs warned MacAulay in regards to the continued want for extra workers final Might, noting in paperwork obtained by entry to info the non permanent workers solely actually obtained up and operating in January 2021 after months of recruitment and coaching.
These officers not solely spoke of the significance of retaining their non permanent workers, but additionally for the federal government to decide on such an extension sooner reasonably than later.
"With delays in extending spike workers comes the upper danger of shedding these extremely expert and skilled workers," reads the report. "To this point, we've got misplaced 38 workers with 27 being important choice makers."
MacAulay throughout his committee look acknowledged: "You simply do not stroll into Veterans Affairs and change into a case loader. There's work to be carried out in an effort to be sure they're able to serve veterans and Veterans Affairs Canada."
NDP veterans affairs critic Rachel Blaney in an interview stated hundreds of veterans are ready whereas the federal government dithers -- and it may have eradicated the backlog by now if it simply put its cash the place its mouth is.
"The PBO stated: `Look, when you do that and then you definitely do that, you would be caught up utterly inside a 12 months,"' she stated.
"I imagine our veterans deserve that. And it is completely appalling that individuals who served our nation, who're coping with in some instances some extreme trauma, are having to take care of this (backlog)."
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Feb. 6, 2022.
Members of the Canadian Forces carry out sentry responsibility on the Nationwide Struggle Memorial Monday July 13, 2020 in Ottawa. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Adrian Wyld)
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