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Record of Discussion - 18 May 2023

Thursday, 18 May 2023
13:00 - 14:30 (ET)
MS Teams

Care and support advisory group members

  • Mary Boutette, The Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre (Member Co-Chair)
  • Major (Retired) Bruce Henwood, National Council of Veteran Associations
  • Captain (Retired) Rod Holowaty, Zone Commander Legion District 3 Zone 1
  • Sergeant (Retired) Andrea Newton
  • Lieutenant Navy (Retired) Sylvain Bouliane, VeteransCanada.ca
  • Major (Retired) Linda Lander
  • Marie Andrée Malette, Canadian Caregivers Brigade
  • Major (Retired) Jorma Hamalainen, NATO Vets

Regrets

  • Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class (Retired) Debbie Eisan, Aboriginal Veterans Autochtones
  • Reverend Ken MacLaren
  • Second Lieutenant (Retired) Walter Callaghan, Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto
  • Alexa Pasha, Royal Canadian Legion

Veterans Affairs Canada officials

  • Jane Hicks, A/Director General, Service Delivery and Program Management (Co-chair)
  • Lisa Matte, Project Officer, Engagements and Events

Minister’s office

  • Erika Lashbrook Knutson, Press Secretary, Minister’s Office

Observer

  • Kristen Johnson, Office of the Veterans Ombud
  • Gladys Bradley, Strategic Advisor, Service Delivery and Program Management

Welcome/Opening remarks/Administrative updates

The Co-Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting, including representatives from the Minister's and Ombud's offices. Participants were reminded of the meeting's purpose and the wide variety of VAC services and benefits in place.

Land acknowledgement

The VAC Co-Chair welcomed the members and offered a land acknowledgement recognizing that we are all on sacred land, subject to numerous treaties.

Overview of programs and services at VAC

During the meeting, VAC representatives provided an overview of their many programs and services, including:

  • Pain and Suffering Compensation available to eligible claimants.
  • Veteran Health and Well-being Programs and Services.
  • Long Term Care - a high-level overview of the long-term care available to eligible to Veterans.

Questions and feedback from the group included:

  • The importance of family having access to programs and services available to Veterans.
  • What active research is being conducted in terms of equipment for male and female members.
  • Before deciding between a lump sum and a monthly payment, it's advisable to speak to a financial advisor.

Face-to-face meeting discussion

On 14 and 15 June 2023, a hybrid in-person meeting is scheduled to take place. The meeting will be held in Ottawa at VAC Ottawa Headquarters (66 Slater Street), and all attendees' travel expenses to Ottawa will be covered by VAC. The objective of this two-day meeting is to have in-depth discussions and formulate a recommendation for the Minister. Feedback was received on the draft agenda.

Roundtable

A member brought up SISIP as a topic for further discussion at the next in-person meeting, as there will be some upcoming changes in 2024.

Closing remarks

  • The VAC Co-Chair also reminded members that she is available at any time if members have any concerns about anything that is discussed at the meetings.
  • Programs and services for families is an identified a gap and will be discussed further at the face-to-face meeting in June.
  • Supporting documents discussed during the meeting will be sent to the advisory group members for reference.

Meeting adjourned at 1430 ET.

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