Organization
The Veterans Affairs Portfolio consists of the Department of Veterans Affairs which reports to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and the Veterans Review and Appeal Board which reports to Parliament through the Minister of Veterans Affairs.
The Department is made up of three branches (Veterans Services Branch, Corporate Services Branch and the Public Programs and Communications Branch); and three divisions (Audit and Evaluation, Policy, Planning and Liaison and the Bureau of Pensions Advocates), which report to the Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs.
Personal information contained in the Department's personal information banks is used by all components of the Portfolio.
The Department of Veterans Affairs
The Veterans Services Branch is responsible for delivering pensions and health care, and for providing social and economic support to Veterans and qualified civilians in all regions of Canada. Health care is provided to eligible Veterans in the departmental hospital at Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec, in contract hospital beds, in Veterans' homes, and in hospitals of choice. The Branch is also responsible for providing emergency and ongoing income support, social counselling and referral services, client counselling on disability pension applications and adjudication of disability pension claims.
The Branch Head Office in Charlottetown maintains functional and line authority over program operations within the health care, pensions, and economic support areas, and is responsible for program and policy development. It is also responsible for negotiating with the provinces and for delivering certain other centrally managed programs.
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This Branch is responsible for ensuring the effective and efficient use and protection of the Portfolio's financial, human, material and information technology resources; administering property agreements with participating Veterans and assisting Veterans settled under the Veterans' Land Act. The Branch also provides support services to the rest of the Portfolio, including records and facilities management and video conferencing; Business Resumption Planning; security and emergency preparedness; employment equity and official languages programs; and service standards.
The Branch also coordinates federal participation in the Knowledge Economy Partnership on P.E.I. and other local shared services initiatives. Access to information and privacy activities also fall under this Branch.
Access to Information Request Form
Personal Information Request Form
Send all requests for information to the following address:
Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator's Office
PO Box 7700
Charlottetown PE C1A 8M9
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This Branch is responsible for keeping the achievements and sacrifices of Canadian Veterans and their memory alive for all Canadians; for contributing to public knowledge and appreciation of the historical significance of these accomplishments and their contribution to the development of Canada as a nation. The Branch also ensures Veterans, other client groups and the public are provided with the information they need to access the services and programs of the Department; and ensures staff are aware of, and understand, program and policy changes and new initiatives to support the service they provide to clients. The Portfolio library services are within this Branch.
The Canada Remembers Program endeavours to keep alive the achievements and sacrifices made by those who served Canada in times of war and peace; to engage communities in remembrance of these achievements and sacrifices; and, to promote an understanding of their significance in Canadian life as we know it today.
The three components of the Canada Remembers Program are: National and International Memorials, Public Information and Research, and Community Engagement.
- The National and International Memorials component of the Program includes all work associated with funerals, burials, graves, cemeteries, monuments and the preservation and presentation of battlefield sites, including Vimy and Beaumont-Hamel. It has two dimensions, national and international, and includes responsibilities both in-Canada and overseas.
- The Public Information and Research component of the Program is considered to be the centre of expertise for the program. It includes all forms of information, all research associated with delivery of the program and all learning materials that promote an understanding of how the sacrifices and achievements of those who served Canada have contributed to the development of our national fabric.
- The Community Engagement component includes all activities that help Canadians recognize Canada's role in conflict and how this role has contributed to the nation's development; it includes local remembrance ceremonies, overseas pilgrimages, learning events, and all activities associated with Veterans' Week.
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The Bureau of Pensions Advocates provides free advice, assistance and representation for individuals dissatisfied with decisions rendered by VAC with respect to their claims for entitlement to disability pension, or any assessment awarded for their pensioned conditions. As the head of the Bureau, the Chief Pensions Advocate reports to the Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs and is assisted by two Regional Managers. The Bureau's advocates are dedicated exclusively to assisting clients in the redress process.
Audit and Evaluation is committed to a Quality Policy which is understood, implemented and maintained at all levels of the organization. The intended outcome is consistent product development and client satisfaction with agreed upon project specifications.
This Division is committed to promoting beneficial change through independent reviews of programs and operations for Portfolio Managers and other stakeholders, and to providing quality review services and reports. To support this objective, management is committed to providing the leadership and the required resources to establish and maintain an ISO 9001 Quality Management System.
This Secretariat is responsible for providing chief of staff services to the Deputy Minister and executive support to the Minister. It is responsible for ensuring policy consistency internally and externally and for providing a liaison with Veterans' organizations, parliamentary committees, and central agencies. The Secretariat is also responsible for converting approved policy into legislation and for ensuring that government policy is reflected in legislation and regulations.
This Secretariat has incorporated the Corporate Planning Division. This Division supports the Deputy Minister by carrying out long-term, strategic and operational planning and providing resource management advice on departmental issues.
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The Veterans Review and Appeal Board is an independent, quasi-judicial agency established by Parliament in 1995. The Board replaced the former Veterans Appeal Board and the former Canadian Pension Commission.
The Board considers reviews and appeals arising under the Pension Act, the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Act, the War Veterans Allowance Act, the Veterans Review and Appeal Board Act, the Civilian War-related Benefits Act, and other related statutes.
Within the Veterans Affairs Portfolio, the Board is the final level for disability compensation appeals from decisions made at the review level by the Board itself, and War Veterans Allowance appeals from decisions taken by regional Review Committees of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Click here for a list of more detailed information on programs offered.
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