Canadians misinformed on veterans: ombudsman
OTTAWA • Opposition parties and some veterans groups have been spreading wrong and even “misleading” information, which is confusing Canadians about how former military personnel are really being treated by the government, says Canada’s veterans ombudsman.
But Guy Parent also says Veterans Affairs should have been more transparent and paid closer attention to the impact on service before laying off hundreds of front-line staff and closing offices across the country.
“Some organizations portray the exception rather than the rule. Like you’d think everybody is treated that way,” Parent said in a wide-ranging interview. “The perception is that everybody is treated that way, that they’re mistreated and maltreated. But that’s not the case.”
The Conservative government has been accused of balancing the federal budget on the backs of those who have served in uniform by laying off hundreds of Veterans Affairs staff, closing nine client-service offices and failing to fix longstanding problems with the system.
Documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen show a drop in service as the layoffs have reduced staffing to its lowest level since 1998. The cuts have resulted in delays in answering calls to the department’s toll-free line and in processing applications for support from injured ex-soldiers.
Parent said the government and department should have been more open to what they were planning and paid closer attention to the potential impacts before taking such actions.
“The closing of the offices is a good example,” he said. “Why wasn’t it more transparent? Why wasn’t there maybe a reduction in staffing at those offices before they were eventually closed?”
That doesn’t mean they were necessarily the wrong decisions, he said. Spending millions of dollars to keep the client-service offices open even though they were seeing only a handful of clients each month was difficult to justify, he said.
Parent said veterans’ issues have been used by political parties, veterans advocacy groups and others to push an agenda, which can often result in the spread of misinformation.
“The opposition critics, for instance, will side with an organization that has a particular negative approach because it fits their way of thinking,” he said. “It makes it difficult for people who don’t understand. It’s misleading.
“When it comes down to it, I respect anybody that tries to do something for veterans. They’re trying to help,” he added. “But as the voice of veterans, it becomes my responsibility to make sure that people don’t get misinformed.”
Parent said his office receives about 7,000 calls each year, many of which involve trying to push back against incorrect information spread by others. And while about 2,000 calls lead to investigations by his office, he said there are many instances where the complaint is unsubstantiated or even frivolous.
“There will always be some people who will have wants rather than needs,” he said. “You know, if you want a blue scooter instead of a red one, it’s pretty hard to argue with the department when that’s all they have.”
Parent said the Conservative government has made great strides helping veterans in other ways, including a number of recent fixes to the New Veterans Charter, the support and benefits system for those who served after the Korean War.
Some have said the measures are simply an election ploy, given that many of the issues with the system are long-standing, but the government has decided to act only months before Canadians go to the polls. Parent doesn’t believe such accusations. And even if they are true, he said he doesn’t care.
“I mean, it’s the first major changes we’ve had in the New Veterans Charter since (2011),” he said. “These changes are permanent. These changes meet some needs of veterans and their families.”
Some have argued Parent is too close to and too easy on the government. For example, unlike his predecessor, the retired chief warrant officer doesn’t hold press conferences to attack the government for failing to meet the needs of those who have served in uniform. Critics say that has rendered him toothless.
Parent maintains that a working relationship with the department and the government are essential for instituting real change for veterans both as an ombudsman and in his secondary role as a special adviser to the minister.
“If I’m going to be a special adviser to the minister, I have to be fairly close to him. We have to trust and respect each other,” he said. “And I can’t handle 2,000 cases a year and resolve them with the department unless we are close to them and understand and work together on making it better for everybody.”
I can’t handle 2,000 cases a year unless we are close to the department