45,000 veterans’ graves in disrepair, audit finds

FUNDING SHORTAGE

are the direct responsibility of Veterans Affairs, which is where departmental auditors found significant problems.

“More than 45,000 of these veteran grave markers require maintenance, with a total of close to 60,000 repairs required (some grave markers require more than one type of repairs),” their final report said.

It added that interviews with Veterans Affairs officials “identified that there are not enough funds currently allocated to veteran grave maintenance to address the known required repairs.” Veterans Affairs had managed to reduce the number of outstanding repairs by about nine per cent between 2013 and 2016, but that was because officials focused on the easy stuff.

“Higher-cost maintenance items such as legibility issues, grave marker replacement and foundation repairs have been increasing on an annual basis and should be considered priority items,” the report said.

The auditors calculated that it would take 17 years at current funding levels to complete the all of the outstanding repairs, the total cost of which was estimated at around $12.9 million.

“Additional efforts are required to ensure veteran graves are being properly maintained,” the audit concluded.

“Increase funding as well as a targeted work plan are required.”

The report was published online by the department. Veterans Affairs spokesman Marc Lescoutre said they had accepted the auditors’ findings and recommendations, and officials were developing a plan to address the issues.

“Current practices will be reviewed for possible efficiencies, such as prioritizing the repair of items that compromise the structural integrity of veteran graves,” Lescoutre said in an email.

A new maintenance plan is also being drawn up, he added, while “options will be explored for increased resource allocations to help address the backlog of maintenance items.”

Officials told the auditors, however, that any request for additional funding was not expected until next year at the earliest.