Veterans Affairs has hired only 25 injured soldiers

Despite a federal government push to hire former soldiers who were released due to medical issues, Veterans Affairs Canada has only hired 25 of them in the past 10 years.

Also according to statistics from the Public Service Commission, Veterans Affairs has only hired one former soldier who had been medically released in the last two years, as the government was emphasizing the need for such hirings.

Over the 10-year period, the Department of National Defence has hired 838, or 71 per cent, of the total of 1,184 injured soldiers now working in the public service.

Correctional Service Canada is the secondlargest employer with 63 such employees, followed by Employment and Social Development Canada with 52. Public Works has hired 28, Fisheries and Oceans 27 and the RCMP 25.

The Conservative government announced in November 2013 that it was pushing for priority hiring in the public service of soldiers who had been medically released from the military. Since they began that initiative, 130 such individuals were hired across the federal government.

On June 30, 2015, Veterans Affairs Minister Erin O’Toole announced that all military veterans would now get improved access to public-service jobs.

Neither a spokesperson for O’Toole nor for the Conservative Party commented.

But veterans advocate Sean Bruyea said the low numbers of hirings of injured soldiers, both in Veterans Affairs and across the 250,000-strong public service, show a major gap between the government’s statements about caring for military personnel and its actions.

“We have been told for almost 10 years the government reveres those who have served, but when it comes time to showing that, there hasn’t been much action on the job front,” said Bruyea.

He noted that of the 3,500 employees at Veterans Affairs, only 97, or 2.7 per cent, are veterans.

O’Toole, a military veteran, and former chief of the defence staff Walt Natynczyk, now Veterans Affairs deputy minister, have failed so far in their tenure to hire even one injured ex-soldier, Bruyea pointed out, citing the PSC numbers.

Asked for comment on criticism of the number of hires at the department, Veterans Affairs spokeswoman Janice Summerby sent an email noting: “Veterans Affairs Canada is committed to helping Veterans and releasing Canadian Armed Forces personnel find meaningful employment to help ensure a successful transition from military to civilian life.”

The email noted the “Department’s employment strategy is designed to support Veterans following their release from the Canadian Armed Forces, who are searching for employment opportunities in the public or private sector.