Backgrounder

Bill C-41, Omnibus Veterans' Benefits Legislation

Extending Veterans' Benefits to Civilian Groups

These amendments to veterans' legislation extend veterans' benefits to all civilian groups who served overseas in close support of the war effort. Members of the Canadian Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, Canadian Fire Fighters, pilots and aircrew who ferried aircraft over the Atlantic and other groups who assisted the military overseas will receive increased benefits. The extension of benefits to these groups gives them greater access to Veterans Affairs Canada income support and disability pensions and additional health care benefits, including the Veterans Independence Program.

The overseas air crew of Ferry Command assisted the war effort by ferrying military aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from North America. During the Second World War, some 340 Canadian and Newfoundland civilian pilots and aircrew were under contract to deliver aircraft from North America to Britain and elsewhere. They previously had limited access to veterans' programs.

The Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit assisted the war effort by cutting timber in Scotland which was predominantly used in British coal mining operations. Britain quickly realized that the increased production of coal was a strategic imperative to fuel the war effort and thus the immediate need for experienced loggers to produce mining timbers. Over the course of the war, 3,680 Newfoundlanders served in the Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit, although many later transferred to the British Armed Forces or served with the British Home Guard.

When Canada and Newfoundland were negotiating the Terms of Union several years after the war, it was agreed that Newfoundland Armed Forces members would be eligible for veterans' benefits from Canada, but the members of the Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit were not included in the arrangement. While they have had limited access to income-tested veterans' programs for some time, they previously did not have access to pensions for service-related disabilities and death or the Veterans Independence Program.

During the Second World War, the Corps of (Civilian) Canadian Fire Fighters for Service in the United Kingdom assisted the war effort by fighting fires in Britain that were created by the Blitz. Also during the war, Overseas Welfare Workers, which included members of the Canadian Red Cross and St. John Ambulance, served overseas as welfare workers in support of the injured. The members of these groups have had basic access to income-tested veterans' programs, but previously had limited or no access to pensions for a service-related disability and no access to the Veterans Independence Program.

Responding to Canadian Forces Quality of Life Issues

On March 25, 1999 the Government responded to the Report of the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs which dealt with the Quality of Life of Canadian Forces Personnel. Veterans Affairs, a key contributor to improvements in the treatment of injured Canadian Forces personnel and their families, made a commitment to act on several recommendations. Among these are amendments to the Pension Act to provide pension benefits to all those CF members disabled by service-related injuries incurred in Canada. In addition, changes will soon be made to the Veterans Health Care Regulations to give these persons access to the Veterans Independence Program for their pensioned conditions and based on an assessed health need. This ensures equity of access to services and benefits to all CF members, regardless of whether the injury occurred in Canada or on a foreign deployment.

Previously, serving Canadian Forces members could only receive a VAC disability pension for a service-related disability if that disability arose out of or was directly connected with service in a Special Duty Area, such as a peacekeeping mission. Canadian Forces members who were injured while fighting a flood in Canada, for instance, could be awarded entitlement to a disability pension while still serving but could not have their disability assessed and receive pension payments prior to their release from service. These amendments remove this inequity and allow all Canadian Forces personnel with a service-related disability to receive a VAC disability pension regardless of where the injury occurred.

The amendments will also mean that still-serving RCMP members who are injured while on regular duty in Canada will likewise have access to a disability pension. In the past, RCMP members were eligible to receive a disability pension while still serving if their service-related disability arose out of or was directly connected with service in a Special Duty Area. Members with disabilities attributable to regular duty service received a disability pension upon discharge/retirement. Now, RCMP members who are injured while on regular duty will have access to disability benefits while still-serving.

In short, RCMP and CF members will be eligible to receive the same disability benefit coverage wherever they are serving. The RCMP and Canadian Forces members have historically had the same disability benefits under the Pension Act.

Other Improvements

These amendments also make a number of other improvements in wording and other legislative housekeeping, such as:

• permitting disability pensioners who are married to (or living common-law with) each other to each receive the married rate;
• extending remission authority to all types of overpayments of clients' benefits, while improving the ability to collect without causing hardship;
• reformulating the provisions governing the assessment of outside disability benefits (e.g. workers' compensation, U.N. disability compensation, court-awarded damages for personal injury);
• providing for a one-year continuation of a deceased client's pension to the guardian of the client's orphaned children;
• correcting the pension indexation formula to accommodate declines in the Consumer Price Index;
• improving and clarifying the exchange and use of client information both internally and with other departments;
• insulating client information from having to be disclosed by public servants in non-criminal, non-appellate legal proceedings;
• reformulating the provisions governing the amount of income support under the War Veterans Allowance Act when income has declined since the previous year; and
• allowing compassionate awards to be continued to survivors without the necessity of a high-level re-adjudication.