OVO Newsletter

Volume 3: July- September 2020

Deputy Ombudsman's Message

Thank you for taking time to check in and find out what is new at the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman (OVO).

The Fall season always brings with it a flurry of activity and - while some realities are different this year - this remains a busy time for our office. We hope that you, your family, and friends are taking good care of each other as we all continuously adjust to COVID-19 realities.

Serving Veterans and their families, no matter the circumstances, is the guiding force for our office. OVO queries and complaints are back to the same volumes we would expect at this point in the year. The office also improved the outcome of 180 cases where Veterans and their families were not fairly treated, be it through information support, system navigation, and/or facilitating a fair resolution directly with VAC. Uptake for the OVO online complaint tool over the last few months has outpaced our phone and email service. Please know we are always here to answer your queries using the method that best serves you, including online, mail and TTY. To improve our service, shortly our team will also be following up on queries to our office with written correspondence, offering helpful information. A big thank you to the OVO team for your dedication and agility while working remotely.

We’ve deployed online platforms over the summer to stay connected to stakeholders and to seek advice from our Veterans Ombudsman Advisory Council for which we’ve welcomed new members: David MacLeod, Tim O'Loan & Shauna Mulligan. And I’d like to also express our deepest appreciation to outgoing members Jim Lowther and Larry Gollner for their many contributions over the years. We’d also like to acknowledge the passing of a member late last year, Luc O’Bomsawin, who made a lasting imprint on the OVO through his thoughtful and long-time service on VOAC.

Remembrance Day ceremonies may be celebrated differently this year but we, like many of you, will find other meaningful ways to honour and pay tribute to all those who served while keeping us safe.

With the government process underway to appoint a new Veterans Ombudsman, the office is looking forward to welcoming this person in the months to come.

I invite you to read on about highlights from the last few months and to learn more about what is on deck for the OVO this Fall. A few I’d like to draw your attention to include: the outcome of an independent evaluation of our office and call for a mandate review; release of Spouses Supporting Transition project publications; our recent success story; and on October 8th we will celebrate International Ombudsman Day so stay tuned to our social media channels for more on this.

Evaluation Report

The OVO welcomed recommendations that resulted from an independent evaluation of the office. The evaluation report, published in August, reviews the office’s effectiveness, efficiency and the relevance of our mandate. The OVO is responding to these recommendations through an Action Plan that includes activities, which are also part of our ongoing efforts to improve our service investigating fair outcomes for Veterans and their families.

For our office, the most important finding in this report is the need to review the OVO’s mandate. We hope this prompts greater discussion about how best to address fair outcomes for Veterans and their families. The report also recommended to VAC that it conduct a full assessment of the review and appeal processes, including the roles of the OVO, VAC and VRAB .

For 13 years the OVO, through interventions with Veterans and their families and investigating complaints, has made a real difference in individual lives. As well, our systemic investigations shone a spotlight on system-wide issues impacting populations of Veterans and their families. The office strives to do our best, with the tools currently at our disposal, but we can (and want) to do more.

It is our expectation that these steps will result in positive changes supporting the OVO’s work, and ultimately improve fair treatment, process and outcomes for all Veterans and their families.

Recent Systemic Investigation Findings

Spouses Supporting Transition

Study Report

This project explores aspects of the spouse’s role in a Veteran’s successful transition from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to civilian life, through the lived experiences of spouses and a survey of academic literature. Two recent publications conclude this project work: Spouses Supporting Transition Study Report and the Spouses of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Veterans During Military to Civilian Transition Literature Review .

Key findings from the study report include:

The top three stressors are the Veteran’s health issues, financial security, and maintaining family stability.
The top three sources of support were family, friends, and counselors/therapists.
Informal supports were the most helpful, and formal supports were complex and confusing.

Highlights from the literature review include:

Spouses of Veterans inherit a significant amount of unpaid labour, and suffer negative impacts to both physical and mental health immediately prior to, during, and following the Veteran’s medical release.

Several studies reported negative career impacts, social isolation, and a sense of loss from the spouses’ perspectives as a consequence of peer-reviewed work drawn from academic as well as government sources of military to civilian transition.

One study recorded that Veterans living with partners report higher levels of satisfaction, adjustment, perceived social support, and lower difficulty with military to civilian transition than Veterans living alone or with family members.

What can be learned? More study is needed to determine how Canada should assist caregivers who provide valuable, largely unrecognized and unpaid, support to our Veterans. And more research is required to better understand how transition can impact the spouses’ health and employment, and to identify gaps or improvements to programs and services that will minimize the effects for them.

You can also access other published work from this project here.

Success Story

Putting Health and Wellness First

A Veteran was denied services through the Veterans Independence Program (VIP) because his injuries were psychological rather than physical. He contacted us for assistance.

The program provides funding for services such as grounds maintenance, housekeeping, and meal preparation. Most often, these services are approved when the applicant is not able to do these activities because of physical limitations. In this case, the Veteran was physically able to mow his lawn and clean his house, but his psychological injuries affected his ability to function and manage such daily affairs.

Our office acted as soon as the Veteran reached out to us. From the onset of the investigation, it was clear to the OVO Issues Analyst that the denial of benefits was unfair as it ignored the Veteran’s psychological need. This analyst developed a rationale for overturning the decision and assisted the Veteran with both levels of appeal, the second of which produced the result they deserved - access to the needed VIP services.

Complaints by the Numbers

Service Standard Time

The OVO strives to find new ways to improve our services, including how we respond to your complaints. Our service standard is that 75% of complaints are handled and closed within 60 working days. To date, 87% of queries to our office meet this standard.

Veterans Ombudsman Application Process Underway

Candidates are invited to apply online via the Governor in Council Appointments website. For more information please visit Government of Canada Appointments Opportunities.