431-00119 (Veterans' affairs)

The following response will reference both the Veterans Well-being Act (formerly the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Act), and the Pension Act with the following three interpretations.

1. Where the Petition states, “Whereas the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Act states that Canada is obligated “to show just and due appreciation to members and veterans for their service to Canada”, it would appear to be in reference to section 2.1 of the Veterans Well-being Act.
2. Where the Petition states, “Whereas the process by which Veterans Affairs Canada evaluates disability benefits claims exceeds reasonable time frames”, it would appear to be in reference to the service standards for processing applications for the Disability Pension under the Pension Act and the Pain and Suffering Compensation under the Veterans Well-being Act.
3. Where the Petition states, “Whereas the five year statutory limit on back-pay eligibility unjustly punishes veterans for Veterans Affairs Canada’s application processing delays”, it would appear to be in reference to the Disability Pension under the Pension Act and the Pain and Suffering Compensation under the Veterans Well-being Act.

Both the monthly Disability Pension under the Pension Act and the monthly Pain and Suffering Compensation under the Veterans Well-being Act (which came into force on April 1, 2019) can be paid for a period of time prior to the date of decision. They can be paid to the later of the date when the Member or Veteran first applied; or three years prior to the date of the decision awarding the Disability Pension or Pain and Suffering Compensation. This provision enables Veterans Affairs Canada to ensure Members and Veterans are not penalized when it takes an extended period of time to adjudicate a disability application.  This permits Veterans Affairs Canada to pay the Member or Veteran for the time period between application and decision. 

Additionally, either Veterans Affairs Canada or the Veterans Review and Appeal Board may grant an additional payment that is no more than an additional two years of Disability Pension or Pain and Suffering Compensation payments. This additional payment may be made when the Member or Veteran experienced delays in obtaining records or other administrative difficulties beyond their control.

Veterans Affairs Canada continues to work to reach the standard of service delivery excellence that Veterans deserve. The service standard for processing Disability Benefits is 16 weeks, with a target of 80% of applications meeting this standard. While Veterans Affairs Canada strives to meet this goal in all cases, a number of factors can contribute to a delay in processing an application for disability benefits.

Since 2015, Veterans Affairs Canada has seen an increase of more than 60% in disability applications (first applications, reassessments and departmental reviews). This includes an increase of more than 90% in first applications for disability benefits. In 2018-19, Veterans Affairs Canada made more than 41,000 disability benefits decisions, its best results in four years. While the overall volume completed has increased by 15%, these gains were consistently outpaced by the number of Veterans applying for disability benefits. More and more Veterans are coming forward to get the help they need. Veterans Affairs Canada continues to streamline the disability benefits process and simplify the decision-making process for some medical conditions. Veterans Affairs Canada will also explore opportunities to automate more steps in the disability benefits process and work with partners to speed up access to service health records to ensure timely decisions for Veterans.