Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC; french: Anciens Combattants Canada) is the department within the Government of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

with responsibility for

pensions A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

, benefits and

services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...

for

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

s, retired and still-serving members of the

Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

and

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

(RCMP), their families, as well as some civilians.

History

Creation

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, it became clear that a coordinated approach was needed to deal with ill and injured soldiers. On February 21, 1918, the Department of Civil Re-establishment was created for that purpose. Subsequently, on June 11, 1928, the Government for Canada created the Department of Pensions and National Health, which took over responsibility for caring for ill and injured soldiers Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the volume of soldiers returning home made it clear that the Government of Canada would require a department dedicated entirely to serving ill and injured veterans. Consequently, in 1944 Prime Minister Mackenzie King's government passed a motion that officially created the Department of Veterans Affairs. Canada operated a benefits program similar to the American

G.I. Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

for its World War II veterans, with a strong economic impact similar to the American case. A war veteran's eligibility for certain benefits depended on the veteran's "overseas" status, defined by Veterans Affairs as having served at least two miles offshore from Canada. In the Second World War (1939–45) Canada did not yet include

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, which became a Canadian province in 1949. Thus, World War I and World War II veterans who served in Newfoundland (with

Royal Newfoundland Regiment The Royal Newfoundland Regiment (R NFLD R) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 37 Canadian Brigade Group. Predecessor units trace their origins to 1795, and since 1949 Royal N ...

and

Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve The Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve was a military reserve force founded in 1900 in what was then the Newfoundland Colony, a part of the British Empire. From 1900 to 1902, approximately 50 members of the reserve trained each winter with the North ...

) are considered by Veterans Affairs to be "overseas veterans" (and as such may be referred to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Service Personnel and Veterans Agency The Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) was an executive agency of the UK Ministry of Defence. The SPVA provided personnel, pensions, welfare and support services to members of the UK Armed Forces, veterans and their dependents. It was f ...

). In the late 1970s, Prime Minister

Pierre Elliott Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...

undertook an initiative to decentralize government away from Ottawa. He and his Minister of Veterans Affairs, Daniel J. MacDonald (Member of Parliament for Cardigan) devised the plan to move the headquarters of the Department of Veterans Affairs from Ottawa to

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in 1 ...

. The department's head office has been located in the Daniel J. MacDonald Building in PEI's capital since 1980. In the early 21st century, a second building two blocks from the DJM, the

Jean Canfield Ella Jean Canfield, née Garrett (October 4, 1919 – December 31, 2000) was a Canadian politician."Involvement's the thing: minister". ''Ottawa Citizen'', April 12, 1973. She was the first woman ever elected to the Legislative Assembly of Pr ...

Building, was constructed to house Veterans Affairs and other federal government offices. The department has become a major economic contributor to PEI, and has had an important impact on Charlottetown's cultural landscape. Veterans Affairs Canada is the only major federal department whose headquarters is located outside of Ottawa.

Programs

The department is largely responsible for medical care, rehabilitation, commemoration, and disability pensions and awards for Veterans. Appeals from departmental decisions on disability pensions and awards are presented by Veterans to the

Veterans Review and Appeal Board The Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB; french: Tribunal des anciens combattants (révision et appel)) is a government of Canada government agency, agency responsible for hearing (law), hearing reviews and appeals by ill and injured Veterans a ...

; mainly with the assistance of lawyers from the semi-autonomous Bureau of Pensions Advocates free of charge.

''Veterans' Bill of Rights''

In 2007, the ''

Veterans' Bill of Rights The ''Veterans' Bill of Rights'' is a bill of rights in Canada for veterans of the Canadian Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police.Melinda Dalton, "Harper unveils vets bill of rights; PM visits region to make policy announcement," ''The Record'' ...

'' was passed by the

Harper government The premiership of Stephen Harper began on February 6, 2006, when the first Cabinet headed by Stephen Harper was sworn in by Governor General Michaelle Jean. Harper was invited to form the 28th Canadian Ministry and become Prime Minister of ...

. The bill included a statement that Veterans Affairs Canada must show veterans respect.

2010 Privacy Breach

In her October 2010 report, resulting from formal complaints made by a veteran of the 1991

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, who had become a vocal critic of Veterans Affairs, federal Privacy Commissioner

Jennifer Stoddart Jennifer Stoddart (born 1949) was the sixth Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Early life and education Stoddart was born in 1949 in Toronto. In 1967 she graduated from Neuchâtel Junior College in Switzerland. Fluent in five languages, she studied ...

uncovered evidence of widespread privacy issues at the VAC. Her report found that the privacy former Captain Sean Bruyea, who had been medically-released from the military, had been violated by VAC when his "medical and financial details had been circulated" to numerous departmental officials, after he had criticized the New Veterans Charter and the way Afghanistan veterans were being treated by the government. Stoddart said that this was "deeply concerning" and a violation of the Privacy Act. A 2010 VFC conference call transcript revealed that a senior veterans official had responded to Bruyea's actions by saying, "It's time to take the gloves off." Veterans Affairs Minister

Jean-Pierre Blackburn Jean-Pierre Blackburn, (born July 6, 1948) is a Canadian politician and diplomat. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Jonquière—Alma from 2006 to 2011; earlier, he was the Progressive Conservative MP for Jonq ...

, apologized on behalf of the Government of Canada for its privacy breach and settled the suit in November 2010.

Christopher Garnier case

In 2018, controversy arose when it was discovered that convicted murderer, Christopher Garnier, was receiving Veterans Affairs Canada funded treatment for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Garnier had been convicted of the 2015 murder of off-duty Police Constable Catherine Campbell in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The controversy stemmed from the fact Garnier had never served in the Canadian armed forces or RCMP and the PTSD was said to be brought on by the murder for which he was convicted. Garnier was eligible for Veterans Affairs Canada benefits as his father had served in the armed forces.

Remembrance initiatives

The Canada Remembers program is responsible for all war commemoration activities, such as

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

, and coordinates and funds various "

pilgrimages A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

" for Canadian war veterans to foreign battlefields and international ceremonies (e.g. the 50th anniversary of the

Liberation of the Netherlands Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of Fall Gelb (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces surrendered. The Dutch government and the royal family re ...

in early 1995, the 60th anniversary of

D Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

on June 6, 2004). The Government of Canada declared 2005 the Year of the Veteran. Its purpose was to teach, remember, thank, honour and celebrate. The image of a

poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, ''Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug opi ...

overlapping a gold

maple leaf The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada. History of use in Canada By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by the French Canadians along the ...

became a special symbol during the campaign, on posters, pamphlets, bookmarks and documents. On November 9, 2008, the Honourable Greg Thompson, the-then Minister of Veterans Affairs, attended a Service of Remembrance at the Canada Memorial in Green Park, London, England, which Canada had recently assumed responsibility for; the memorial pays tribute to the nearly one million Canadian men and women who served in the United Kingdom during the First and Second World Wars.

VAC Stakeholder Committee Members

Veterans Affairs Canada
(the Deputy Minister serves as Chair of the Committee) * Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans (ANAVETs) in Canada * Department of National Defence & the

Royal Canadian Legion The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization (veterans' organization) founded in 1925. Membership includes people who have served as military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, Royal ...

* National Council of Veterans Associations * Canadian Association of Veterans in United Nations Peacekeeping
Canadian Veterans Advocacy
*

Gulf War Veterans Association of Canada A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodies ...

* Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association * NATO Veterans Organization of Canada * VeteransofCanada.ca * VeteranVoice.info * Veterans UN-NATO Canada * Royal Canadian Mounted Police Veterans’ Association *

Issues

New Veterans Charter

The benefits program administered by Veterans Affairs Canada to ill and injured soldiers was rarely changed since its creation after World War I. The result was a number of out-dated policies that no longer suited the needs of Canada's veterans. This program gave a life-time pension to an individual who was ill or injured due to military service. In 2005, all parties in the House of Commons passed the New Veterans Charter. This Charter replaced the life-time pension award with a lump sum payment award and used life-time pension payments much more sparingly. The Charter came into force on 1 April 2006 under Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority government. Under the New Veterans Charter, an ill or injured member may receive a lump sum payment of a maximum of $550,000 tax-free, ($300,000 lump sum and $250,000 disbursement insurance) as well as a maximum monthly, taxable pension of $9685. In July 2013, Prime Minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

appointed

Julian Fantino Julian Fantino, , ( it, Giuliano Fantino; born August 13, 1942) is a Canadian retired police official and former politician. He was the Conservative Party of Canada Member of the Parliament of Canada for the riding of Vaughan following a Nov ...

as the Minister of Veterans Affairs. Fantino quickly indicated that he was open to amending the New Veterans Charter to ensure veterans received the benefits and support they deserved. In the spring of 2014, the all-party Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs met to discuss updates to the New Veterans Charter. The result was the unanimously-supported report titled ''The New Veterans Charter: Moving Forward,'' which was tabled in Parliament in June 2014. The committee made 13 recommendations to update the New Veterans Charter to close loopholes and ensure Canada's veterans would continue to receive the support and care that they deserve. In October 2014, the government responded, saying they agreed with the "spirit and intent" of all 13 recommendations and would begin working on the recommendations immediately.

Mobile Application

Veterans Affairs Canada has recently launched a suite of mobile applications aimed at aiding Veterans with accessing services offered by VAC. These includ
Veterans MatterOSI Connect
an
PTSD Coach Canada

Current Veterans Affairs Canada structure

* Minister of Veterans Affairs **Deputy Minister ***Associate Deputy Minister ***Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Service Delivery ***Assistant Deputy Minister, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Services ***Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy and Commemoration ***Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Oversight and Communications ***Audit and Evaluation ***Human Resources ** Bureau of Pensions Advocates **Office of the Veterans Ombudsman

Ministers of Veterans Affairs and precursor departments

Ministers of Soldiers' Civil Re-establishment *1918-1920 — Sir James A Lougheed, PC, KCMG, QC *1920-1921 — Sir James A Lougheed, PC, KCMG, QC, Senator (acting) *1921 — Dr Robert J Manion, MC *1921-1926 — Dr Henri Severin Beland, Senator *1926 — John Campbell Elliott, KC *1926 — Dr Robert J Manion, MC (acting) *1926 — Dr Raymond D Morand (acting) *1926 — Dr Eugene Paquet *1926-1928 — Dr James H King Ministers of Pensions and National Health *1928-1930 — Dr James H King, Senator *1930 — James L Ralston, PC, CMG, DSO, KC *1930-1934 — Dr Murray MacLaren, PC, CMG, VD *1934-1935 — Dr Donald M Sutherland, PC, DSO, VD *1935-1939 — Charles G. Power, MC, KC *1939-1944 — Ian A Mackenzie, KC Ministers of Veterans Affairs *1944-1948 — Ian A Mackenzie, KC *1948-1950 — Milton F Gregg, VC, PC, OC, CBE, MC, ED, CD *1950-1957 — Hughes Lapointe, PC, QC *1957-1960 — Alfred J Brooks, PC, VD, QC *1960-1963 —

Gordon Churchill Gordon Minto Churchill, (November 8, 1898 in Coldwater, Ontario, Coldwater, Ontario – August 3, 1985) was a Canadians, Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1946 to 1949 as an independent, and in the H ...

, PC, DSO, ED, QC *1963 — Marcel JA Lambert, PC, QC *1963-1968 — Roger Joseph Teillet, PC *1968-1972 — Jean-Eudes Dube, PC, OC, QC *1972 — Arthur Lang, PC *1972-1979 — Daniel J MacDonald, PC *1979-1980 — Allan B McKinnon, PC, MC, CD *1980 — Daniel J. MacDonald, PC *1980-1981 — J Gilles Lamontagne, PC, OC, CQ, CD (acting) *1981-1984 — W Bennett Campbell, PC *1894-1988 —

George Hees George Harris Hees (June 17, 1910 – June 11, 1996) was a Canadian politician and businessman. Background Born in Toronto, Hees earned a playboy image during his youth (nicknamed Gorgeous George), but then became a stalwart member of the Prog ...

, PC, OC *1988-1993 —

Gerald Merrithew Gerald Stairs "Gerry" Merrithew (September 23, 1931 – September 5, 2004), born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, was an educator, provincial and federal politician, and statesman. Merrithew graduated from the New Brunswick Teachers' Col ...

, PC, CD *1993 — A Kim Campbell, PC *1993 — Peter L McCreath, PC *1993-1996 —

David Collenette David Michael Collenette, PC (born June 24, 1946) is a former Canadian politician. From 1974, until his retirement from politics in 2004, he was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. A graduate from York University's Glendon College Glen ...

, PC *1993-1997 — Lawrence MacAulay, PC (as Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs) *1997-1999 — Fred Mifflin, PC, CD *1999-2000 — George Baker, PC *2000-2001 — Ronald J Duhamel, PC *2002-2003 — Dr Rey Pagtakhan, PC *2003-2004 —

John McCallum John McCallum (born 9 April 1950) is a Canadian politician, economist, diplomat and former university professor. A former Liberal Member of Parliament ( MP), McCallum was the Canadian Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2019. He was asked for h ...

, PC *2004-2006 —

Albina Guarnieri Albina Guarnieri (born June 23, 1953) is a former Canadian politician. She was a Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2011 who represented the Greater Toronto Area ridings of Mississauga East and Mississauga East—Co ...

, PC *2006-2010 — Greg Thompson, PC *2010-2011 —

, PC *2011-2013 —

Steven Blaney Steven Blaney (born April 8, 1965) is a Canadian businessman and Conservative politician. He served as the Minister of Public Safety Canada (July 15, 2013 – November 4, 2015) and previously as the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister o ...

, PC *2013-2015 —

, PC *2015 —

Erin O'Toole Erin Michael O'Toole (born January 22, 1973) is a Canadian politician who has been the member of Parliament (MP) for Durham since 2012. A member of the Conservative Party, O'Toole served as the party's leader and the leader of the Official ...

, PC *2015-2017 —

Kent Hehr Kent Hehr (born December 16, 1969) is a Canadian politician from Alberta. He was elected as the Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of Calgary Centre in the 2015 federal election. Hehr was named Minister of Veterans Affairs in the ...

, PC *2017-2019 —

Seamus O'Regan Seamus Thomas Harris O'Regan (born January 18, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the Minister of Natural Resources from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, O'Regan has represented St. John's South—Mount Pearl in the Hou ...

, PC *2019 — Jody Wilson-Raybould, PC *2019 —

Harjit Sajjan Harjit Singh Sajjan (, ; born September 6, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has served as the minister of international development since October 26, 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, Sajjan represents the British Columbia (BC) riding ...

, PC (acting) *2019-incumbent —

Lawrence MacAulay Lawrence A. MacAulay (born September 9, 1946) is a Canadian politician, who has represented the riding of Cardigan, Prince Edward Island in the House of Commons since 1988. On June 11, 1997, he joined the cabinet of Prime Minister Jean Chré ...

, PC

Deputy Ministers of Veterans Affairs and precursor departments

Deputy Ministers of Soldiers' Civilian Re-establishment *1918 — Samuel A. Anderson *1918 — Frank Healey *1919-1920 — FG Robinson *1920-1928 — Norman F Parkinson Deputy Ministers of Pensions and National Health *1919-1933 — Dr JA Amyot, CMG *1933-1944 — Dr RE Wodehouse, OBE Deputy Ministers of Veterans Affairs *1944-1950 — Walter S Woods, CMG *1950-1955 — Eedson LM Burns, CC, DSO, OBE, MC, CD *1954-1955 — G Lucien Lalonde, OBE, ED (acting) *1955-1963 — G Lucien Lalonde, OBE, ED *1963-1967 — Paul M Pelletier *1968 — Ernest A Cote, MBE *1968-1974 — John S Hodgson, OBE *1974-1975 — William B Brittain, DFC (acting) *1975-1985 — William B Brittain, DFC *1985-1987 — Pierre P Sicard *1987-1992 — David Broadbent, CD *1992-1993 — David Nicholson (acting) *1993-1994 — Nancy Hughes Anthony *1994-1999 — David Nicholson *1999-2003 — Larry Murray, CMM, CD *2003-2006 — Jack Stagg *2006-2007 — Verna Bruce (acting) *2007-2012 — Suzanne Tining *2012-2014 — Mary Chaput *2014 — Anne Marie Smart (acting) *2014-2021 —

Walt Natynczyk Walter John Natynczyk, ( ; born October 29, 1957) is a Canadian public servant and retired Canadian Army general who has served as Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs from 2014 to 2021. He was the President of the Canadian Space Agency from ...

*2021-incumbent — Paul Ledwell

References

External links

Veterans Affairs Canada Official Website

Canada Remembers

Watch ''Fields of Sacrifice'', a documentary produced for Department of Veteran Affairs
{{authority control Federal departments and agencies of Canada Veterans' affairs in Canada