The Auditor General of Canada said sick and injured veterans continue to face unacceptable delays when applying for federal assistance and benefits despite numerous government initiatives to reduce waiting times.
In fact, Karen Hogan said in a report released Tuesday that Veterans Affairs Canada does not know if any of these initiatives have actually helped to expedite the processing of veterans ’disability claims.
Veterans rights activists have long been alarmed about the far-reaching impact of delays in processing applications on disabled veterans and their families by destroying access to treatment and financial assistance.
Ms Hogan added that statement to her report, adding that the government needs to come up with a truly long -term plan to address the problem, including the right amount of resources and personnel.
The auditor said the government has hired hundreds of temporary workers and made some changes to how Veterans Affairs applications are processed.
But he said those efforts seem to have done little to reduce waiting times and process the more than 40,000 unprocessed applications that remain in the department.
Source: Radio-Canada
