Veterans ombudsman says veterans still facing difficulty accessing benefits

OTTAWA — Canada’s veterans ombudsman says that while the federal government has implemented a number of his recommendations over the years, veterans are still facing difficulty accessing some benefits and services they’ve long been entitled to.

Guy Parent released his 2018 report card Tuesday detailing the government’s response to recommendations made by the ombudsman’s office over the past 10 years.

Parent says that progress has been made on the veterans file since his update last year, adding that the government has addressed 72 per cent of his recommendations, or 46 out of 64.

Parent says the most important recommendations of the remaining 18 left untouched include ensuring that veterans are being reimbursed for treatment expenses under the Veterans Well-being Act, and that reimbursement is retroactive to the date of the original application, like it is under the Pension Act.

Another recommendation encourages the Liberal government to amend the Veterans Well-being Act to allow a single Canadian Armed Forces member with no dependent children to designate a family member to apply for and receive the death benefit.

Parent says he will keep a close watch on the government’s actions and the remaining recommendations.