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Record of Discussion – 4 May 2021

May 4, 2021
13:00-14:00 (EDT)
Virtual – MS Teams

In Attendance

Service Excellence Advisory Group Members

  • Master Corporal (Retired) Joseph Burke,
  • Sylvain Chartrand, Canadian Veterans Advocacy
  • Deanna Fimrite, Army, Navy & Air Force Veterans in Canada (Co-chair)
  • Steve Graham, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Veterans’ Association
  • Captain (Retired) Dennis LeBlanc (Co-chair)
  • Corporal (Retired) Bruce Moncur
  • Lieutenant-Colonel (LCol) Sean McDowell, Canadian Armed Forces Liaison Officer to Veterans Affairs Canada

Regrets (1)

  • Bruce Henwood, National Council of Veteran Associations in Canada

Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs

  • Andrea Waselnuk, Policy Advisor, Stakeholders and Events
  • Sarah Cozzi, Director of Policy
  • Christian Dicks, Director of Operations

Veterans Affairs Canada Officials

  • Steven Harris, Assistant Deputy Minister, Service Delivery (Co-chair)
  • Beverly Gerg, Manager, Issues Coordination, Office of the Assistant Deputy Minister, Service Delivery
  • Faith McIntyre, Director General, Communications
  • Sylvie Thibodeau-Sealy, Director, Stakeholder Engagement and Outreach, Communications Division
  • Pat Lynch, Senior Analyst, Stakeholder Engagement and Outreach, Communications Division
  • Crystal Neary, Project Officer, Stakeholder Engagement and Outreach, Communications Division

Observer

  • Sharon Squire, Office of the Veterans Ombudsman

Welcome and Opening Remarks

  • The VAC and member Co-Chairs welcomed the members and thanked them for their time and effort to join the meeting virtually. The Service Excellence Advisory Group last met formally as a group in February, 2020; however engagement has continued through other meetings, including the COVID-19 working group.
  • The VAC Co-chair set the stage for the meeting with the review of the meeting agenda, highlighting the items to be discussed; renewal of the advisory groups, overview of the SEAG recommendations as well Budget 2021 announcements.

Update on Renewal of Advisory Groups

Director General, Communications thanked the group for their continued dedication, passion and work on behalf of Veterans and their families, and spoke to advisory group renewal:

  • Renewing group membership will allow VAC to learn from new perspectives and consider diverse opinions.
  • The intent is that each group would have approximately 12 members representing a broad cross section of Veterans, Veterans organizations, non-profit, public and private sector associations as well as underrepresented groups and observer status members.
  • For current members, the Stakeholder Engagement and Outreach team will confirm intent to remain and those who are interested in remaining will be asked to provide their resume.
  • New members will be appointed by the Minister through an open and transparent application process where a Notice of Opportunity will be posted to fill positions. Candidates interested in applying will be asked to complete an application form and include a cover letter and resume.
  • The plan is to launch the application process and to post the notice mid-May for four weeks. Applications will be assessed and appointments made, with intent for advisory groups to resume meeting in the fall.
  • A pause on the Advisory group formal engagement would occur once the renewal process is launched until the refresh which would occur likely in early Fall.
  • Members are encouraged to continue to communicate with the department and the Minister’s office as needed at any point in time.

Overview of SEAG Recommendations

The VAC Co-Chair reviewed the SEAG recommendations that were provided to the members and noted the actions that have been taken.  Areas highlighted to the group were the Disability Benefits Application Process, Transition and My VAC Account.

Discussion

  • The group had involvement on a number of important VAC policies and initiatives which resulted in positive changes to benefits and services for Veterans and their families.
  • The group was introduced to the new CAF/VAC Liaison Officer and were pleased to have them attending.
  • The group proposed to have the CAF/VAC transition group present at the next meeting.

Way Forward

  • The DG of Communications reiterated that next steps for the advisory group will be renewal.  There remains three additional meetings planned for the other advisory groups in May.  Although meetings will be put on hold until renewal is complete, the SEO team, DG of Communications and OMVA are always available for members to contact them with issues or feedback.

Closing Remarks

  • VAC co-chair and member co-chair thanked the members for all of their years of dedication to the group and noted that many recommendations put forward have translated into concrete actions.
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