1.1 Introduction to Information about Programs and Information Holdings
Information about Programs and Information Holdings provides information about the functions, programs, activities and related information holdings of government institutions subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. It provides individuals and employees of the government (current and former) with relevant information to access personal information about themselves held by government institutions subject to the Privacy Act and to exercise their rights under the Privacy Act.
The Introduction and an index of institutions subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act are available centrally.
The Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act assign overall responsibility to the President of Treasury Board (as the designated Minister) for the government-wide administration of the legislation.
1.2 Background
Canada has long recognized the hardship, suffering and sacrifice experienced by Veterans, Canadian Armed Forces personnel, civilians and their families during our nation’s periods of armed conflict and peacekeeping.
The Department of Veterans Affairs Act became law in 1944. The Act forms the basis of the Department’s mandate for Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), enabling VAC to offer a wide range of programs and services to support the health and wellness of its clients. Veterans Affairs Canada has continually evolved to meet the changing needs of modern-day Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and Veterans. As a result, in 2006 the Government of Canada enacted the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Act, now the Veterans Well-being Act, designed to give CAF Veterans and their families access to services and programs that would meet their individual needs.
The Veterans Affairs Portfolio consists of VAC, the Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB) and the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman (OVO). Veterans Affairs Canada reports to Parliament through the Minister of Veterans Affairs. The Veterans Ombudsman is an independent officer who reports directly to the Minister of Veterans Affairs. The Veterans Review and Appeal Board reports to Parliament through the Minister of Veterans Affairs. Information on the VRAB is reported in a separate chapter in Information about Programs and Information Holdings.
1.3 Responsibilities
The Department of Veterans Affairs Act is the Act that establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs and mandates the Minister to direct administration of services and benefits under the authority of various legislative and regulatory enactments. The Act charges the Minister of Veterans Affairs with responsibility for: “the care, treatment or re-establishment in civil life of any person who served in the Canadian Forces or merchant navy or in the naval, army or air forces or merchant navies of Her Majesty, of any person who has otherwise engaged in pursuits relating to war, and of any other person designated . . ., and the care of the dependants or survivors of any person referred to . . .”
Veterans Affairs Canada’s mission is “to provide exemplary, client-centred services and benefits that respond to the needs of Veterans, our other clients and their families, in recognition of their services to Canada; and to keep the memory of their achievements and sacrifices alive for all Canadians.”
Veterans Affairs Canada offers a wide range of programs and services to support the health and wellness of its clients. Veterans Affairs Canada’s clients include: traditional war service Veterans from the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War; Merchant Navy Veterans; people who lived in Canada but enlisted in the armed forces of other countries; former and still-serving members of the CAF, including those who served in special duty areas and in peacekeeping; certain civilians; and survivors and dependants of the foregoing groups.
Veterans Affairs Canada also administers, on behalf of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Disability Pensions and health care benefits to certain still-serving and former members of the RCMP.
The Veterans Well-being Act also provides support to CAF members and Veterans and their families to ease their transition to civilian life through access to a suite of programs which includes rehabilitation, health benefits, career transition services, financial support, and disability and death benefits.
Through the Canada Remembers Program, VAC keeps alive the achievements and sacrifices made by those who served Canada in times of war, military conflict and peace and it promotes an understanding of the significance of these efforts in Canadian life as we know it today. The Canada Remembers Program includes: programs that develop and share an array of historical and learning resources; funding remembrance activities throughout Canada, including the construction and restoration of memorials; maintaining cemeteries and grave markers and 14 European memorial sites; providing funeral and burial benefits; and leading and supporting commemorative ceremonies and events, nationally and internationally.
The Bureau of Pensions Advocates provides free legal advice and representation for individuals dissatisfied with decisions rendered by VAC regarding their disability benefits and War Veterans Allowance.
The Office of the Veterans Ombudsman works to ensure the fair treatment of Veterans, their representatives and their families, in accordance with the Veterans Bill of Rights.
Veterans Affairs Canada was responsible for the administration of programs related to the Soldier Settlement Act and the Veterans’ Land Act. The Soldier Settlement Act (1919), administered by Veterans Affairs since 1944, was enacted to assist eligible World War I Veterans to become re-established in civilian life as farmers by providing them with land and/or financial assistance in the form of repayable loans for specified purposes such as the purchase of land, livestock or farm equipment. The Veterans’ Land Administration (VLA) was established in 1942 under the Veterans’ Land Act, which was part of a rehabilitation package for returning servicemen to help them settle in Canada as full-time farmers, part-time farmers or commercial fishermen.