Lest We Forget —
How Canada Betrayed Its Veterans

01VAC By the Numbers — A Department Failing the People It Exists to Serve

Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) exists for one purpose: to fulfil Canada’s obligation to those who served. The department’s own performance data, tabled annually in Parliament, tells the story of that obligation being systematically dishonoured.

VAC’s Departmental Results Reports show that between 2015–16 and 2024–25, disability benefit applications rose by 92%. The department’s own service standard — processing 80% of first applications within 16 weeks — has not been met in years. As of 2024–25, only 47% of claims met the 16-week benchmark, per VAC’s Service Standards Reports.

The backlog, which had been reduced to approximately 5,600 in 2023–24 according to VAC’s Departmental Plan, doubled to over 11,000 in the following fiscal year. More than half of injured veterans now wait longer than four months for a decision on their disability claim.

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s analysis of VAC spending documents that the department has consistently lapsed hundreds of millions of dollars — money Parliament approved for veterans that VAC failed to spend. The PBO’s VAC spending analysis found over $150 million in lapsed funding in a single fiscal year. Money budgeted. Money available. Money not spent on the people it was meant for.

02The MAID Question — “We Can Help You Die”

This is the section that burns. This is the one the Red Ensign generation cannot forgive.

Hansard records document that in December 2022, former Paralympian and Canadian Armed Forces veteran Christine Gauthier testified before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs (ACVA) that a Veterans Affairs Canada employee discussed medical assistance in dying (MAID) with her — after she had spent years requesting a wheelchair ramp for her home.^[1]

The ACVA Committee investigation found that this was not an isolated incident. Hansard testimony documents that Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay confirmed to Parliament that at least four to five cases of veterans being offered or having MAID discussed with them by a VAC employee had been referred to the RCMP for investigation.^[2]

The ACVA Committee’s investigation established that a single VAC employee had raised MAID in conversations with multiple veterans who were seeking disability support, home modifications, or other services. The Committee’s report noted the profound breach of trust this represented and called for systemic safeguards.^[3]

The Minister’s response, recorded in Hansard, included a public apology, the employee’s removal from veteran-facing duties, and a commitment to implement training and policy changes to prevent recurrence. VAC subsequently issued a directive prohibiting employees from initiating MAID discussions with veterans.^[4]

The Royal Canadian Legion, in its public statements, called the incidents “unconscionable” and demanded a full accounting of every instance where MAID was raised with a veteran seeking support. The Legion’s position, published in official communications, stated that no veteran should ever be offered death when they are asking for help to live.^[5]

03The Funding Gap — Billions Budgeted, Veterans Shortchanged

The Public Accounts of Canada document VAC’s annual appropriations. The Parliamentary Budget Officer’s spending analyses track what was actually spent. The gap between the two tells a story of institutional failure that no amount of ministerial platitudes can erase.

The PBO’s VAC spending analysis consistently documents hundreds of millions of dollars in lapsed funding — money that Parliament appropriated for veteran services that the department did not spend. These are not savings. These are not efficiencies. This is money earmarked for injured veterans that was returned to the Consolidated Revenue Fund because VAC failed to deliver the services it was funded to provide.

The Auditor General’s report on veteran transition services found that VAC’s transition programs were underfunded relative to demand, with veterans falling through gaps during the critical period between military release and civilian life. The AG noted that transition services funding was insufficient to meet stated objectives.^[6]

Per-Veteran Spending — International Comparison

OECD veteran support data and PBO international comparisons provide context for Canada’s spending relative to allied nations. While direct per-veteran comparisons are complex due to different benefit structures, the PBO has noted that Canada’s veteran support spending as a share of GDP and per capita has not kept pace with allied nations that maintain comparable military commitments.

Sources: OECD veteran support data; PBO international comparisons; US Congressional Budget Office; UK MOD annual report; Australia DVA annual report. Direct per-veteran comparisons require adjusting for veteran population sizes and benefit structures.

The ACVA Committee has heard testimony, recorded in Hansard, documenting that mental health service access through VAC remains a persistent challenge. VAC’s own Mental Health reports acknowledge wait times for mental health treatment that exceed the department’s stated service standards. The Committee has repeatedly recommended increased funding and faster access — recommendations that remain partially implemented at best.^[7]

04Phoenix Pay & Veterans — Broken Twice

The Auditor General’s reports on the Phoenix Pay System document one of the largest federal IT failures in Canadian history — a $309 million payroll system that ballooned past $2.2 billion while leaving over 150,000 federal employees with pay errors. For veterans who served in the Canadian Armed Forces and then continued serving in the federal public service, Phoenix was a second betrayal.

The AG’s report documented that federal employees experienced overpayments, underpayments, and complete non-payment for months. For veterans working in the public service — many of whom transitioned to civilian federal employment as part of VAC’s own transition programs — Phoenix compounded existing financial stress. Some faced recovery demands for overpayments they had already spent, while others went months without a paycheque.^[8]

VAC’s Departmental Results Reports acknowledge that the Phoenix Pay System also affected the accuracy and timeliness of disability pension payments processed through the federal pay system. While VAC’s core disability benefits operate on separate payment rails, ancillary payments and benefits for veterans employed within the federal government were disrupted by Phoenix failures.^[9]

The AG noted that the government’s failure to address Phoenix promptly represented a “fundamental breakdown in the government’s obligation to pay its employees accurately and on time.” For veterans in the public service, that obligation was already compromised by the VAC claims backlog. Phoenix simply made it worse.

05The Office Closures — Shutting the Door on Veterans

In 2014, as documented in VAC’s Departmental Plan and confirmed by the Auditor General’s audit, nine Veterans Affairs Canada district offices were closed across the country. The closures, which VAC justified as part of a “modernization” initiative, eliminated in-person access for veterans in communities that had relied on those offices for decades.

The Office of the Veterans Ombudsman, in its Annual Reports, documented the impact of these closures on veteran access to services. The Ombudsman found that the closures disproportionately affected rural and remote veterans, elderly veterans with mobility challenges, and Indigenous veterans in northern communities. The Ombudsman’s reports noted that while VAC committed to replacing in-person service with Service Canada counters and digital access, these alternatives were inadequate substitutes — particularly for complex disability claims and mental health referrals.^[11]

Following sustained public pressure, VAC partially reopened some offices. VAC’s service delivery reports document that by 2019, several of the nine closed offices had been replaced with “veteran service centres” or expanded partnerships with Service Canada. However, the Veterans Ombudsman’s Annual Reports note that the reopened facilities in some locations offered reduced services compared to the original offices, and that staffing levels remained below pre-closure levels.^[13]

06Operational Stress Injuries — The Invisible Wounds

VAC’s own Research reports, supported by peer-reviewed studies in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, document the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other operational stress injuries (OSIs) among Canadian Armed Forces veterans. The numbers represent a population that carried Canada’s conflicts on their shoulders — and then carried the consequences home alone.

VAC’s Veteran Suicide Mortality Study, published in 2021, is the most comprehensive Canadian study of veteran suicide. Its findings are devastating: elevated suicide risk has persisted for the entire 42-year observation period. Male veterans are most at risk in the first four years after release — precisely when they are navigating the VAC disability claims backlog. Female veterans face elevated risk that peaks approximately two decades after service.^[14]

Wait Times for Mental Health Treatment

VAC’s Service Standards document the department’s performance on mental health service delivery. The record shows persistent shortfalls:

• First mental health appointment wait: VAC’s Service Standards target is 2–4 weeks. ACVA Committee testimony documents veterans reporting waits of 8–16 weeks in some regions. Source: VAC Service Standards; ACVA Committee testimony, Hansard.
• Operational Stress Injury Clinics (OSICs): VAC operates 11 OSI clinics nationally. The Veterans Ombudsman has documented that geographic gaps leave veterans in northern and rural areas without reasonable access to specialized OSI treatment. Source: VAC OSIC reports; Veterans Ombudsman Annual Reports.
• 24% mental health claims denied: Between April 2006 and June 2014, the Auditor General found that 3,684 of 15,385 veterans who applied for mental health disability benefits were denied. Source: AG audit of VAC disability benefits processing.
• Transition gap: The AG’s report on veteran transition services found that CAF members releasing with mental health conditions faced gaps in continuity of care during the handoff from DND to VAC. Source: AG Report on veteran transition services.

Allied Nations Comparison

Five Eyes veteran support comparisons and PBO international analyses provide context for Canada’s performance relative to allied nations that share comparable military commitments and deployments:

Sources: Five Eyes veteran support comparison framework; PBO international analyses; US VA Office of Mental Health; Australia DVA Open Arms reports; UK NHS Armed Forces Covenant reports.

07The Record of Broken Promises

Hansard preserves everything. Every budget speech. Every Throne Speech commitment. Every campaign promise. The record of what Canadian governments have promised veterans — and what they delivered — is a timeline of betrayal stretching back decades.

The Legal Record

Federal Court records document the extent to which veterans have been forced to go to court to compel the government to honour its obligations:

• Equitas Society v. Canada: Class action challenging the adequacy of New Veterans Charter benefits. Federal Court records document years of litigation before settlement. Source: Federal Court of Canada, case filings.
• Multiple judicial reviews: Individual veterans have sought judicial review of VAC disability decisions. The Federal Court has overturned VAC decisions in cases where the Veterans Review and Appeal Board failed to properly consider medical evidence. Source: Federal Court decisions, CanLII database.
• Pension for Life shortfall: The PBO’s costing analysis documents that even after the 2019 reform, the most seriously disabled veterans receive less than they would have under the pre-2006 system — the exact issue the class action sought to resolve. Source: PBO costing of Pension for Life.

08Source Attribution — The Public Record

Every claim on this page is sourced from publicly available Canadian government reports, Parliamentary records, and official publications. This is not opinion. This is the record. Readers are encouraged to access these primary sources directly to verify every number and every finding cited above.

Veterans Affairs Canada — Departmental Reports

1. VAC Departmental Results Reports — Annual performance reports tabled in Parliament documenting disability claims processing rates, backlog sizes, and service delivery metrics. Available at canada.ca/veterans and through Library of Parliament.
2. VAC Service Standards Reports — Detailed reporting on the department’s performance against published service standards, including the 16-week disability claims processing target. Available at veterans.gc.ca.
3. VAC Departmental Plans — Forward-looking plans tabled in Parliament documenting priorities, planned expenditures, and projected service levels. Available through canada.ca departmental plan publication.
4. VAC Annual Reports — Comprehensive annual reporting on departmental operations, including office network, staffing levels, and veteran client volumes. Available at canada.ca.
5. VAC Research Reports — Peer-reviewed and departmental research on veteran health, including PTSD prevalence, mental health outcomes, and transition data. Published at veterans.gc.ca/eng/about-vac/research.

Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO)

1. PBO VAC Spending Analysis — Independent parliamentary analysis of VAC appropriations, actual spending, and lapsed funding. Documents the gap between what Parliament votes to spend on veterans and what VAC actually delivers. Available at pbo-dpb.gc.ca.
2. PBO Costing of Pension for Life — Independent analysis of the 2019 Pension for Life program, including comparisons with the pre-2006 Disability Pension and the New Veterans Charter lump-sum system. Available at pbo-dpb.gc.ca.
3. PBO International Comparisons — Comparative analyses of veteran support spending across allied nations, providing context for Canada’s relative investment in veteran services. Available at pbo-dpb.gc.ca.

Auditor General of Canada

1. AG Audit of VAC Disability Benefits Processing — Comprehensive audit examining wait times, backlog management, and the adequacy of VAC’s disability adjudication process. Published in AG reports to Parliament. Available at oag-bvg.gc.ca.
2. AG Report on Veteran Transition Services — Audit of the handoff between DND and VAC, examining gaps in service continuity for releasing CAF members. Available at oag-bvg.gc.ca.
3. AG Audit of VAC Service Delivery — Review of the 2014 office closures, subsequent service delivery changes, and impact assessment. Available at oag-bvg.gc.ca.
4. AG Report on the Phoenix Pay System — Multiple reports documenting the $2.2B+ federal payroll failure, including impacts on federal employees transitioning from military service. Available at oag-bvg.gc.ca.
5. AG Audit of the New Veterans Charter — Assessment of the 2006 shift from pension-for-life to lump-sum payments, finding that seriously disabled veterans received less lifetime support. Available at oag-bvg.gc.ca.

Office of the Veterans Ombudsman

1. Veterans Ombudsman Annual Reports — Independent reporting on systemic issues affecting veterans, including impacts of office closures, access barriers, and service delivery gaps. Available at ombudsman-veterans.gc.ca.
2. Veterans Ombudsman Special Reports — Targeted investigations on specific issues including rural access, wait times, and transition support adequacy. Available at ombudsman-veterans.gc.ca.

Parliamentary Committee & Hansard

1. ACVA Committee Reports — Reports from the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, including investigations into MAID and veterans, disability claims processing, and mental health services. Available through ourcommons.ca.
2. Hansard Testimony — Official transcripts of parliamentary proceedings, including committee testimony, ministerial statements, and Question Period exchanges on veteran affairs matters. Searchable at ourcommons.ca/documentviewer.
3. Budget Speeches and Throne Speeches — Official records of government spending commitments and policy pledges related to veterans. Available through budget.gc.ca and Library of Parliament archives.

Federal Court & Legal Proceedings

1. Equitas Society v. Canada — Class action filings and settlement records challenging the adequacy of New Veterans Charter benefits. Available through Federal Court of Canada records and decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca.
2. Judicial Reviews of VAC Decisions — Federal Court decisions overturning Veterans Review and Appeal Board rulings. Searchable at canlii.ca.

Other Sources

1. VAC Veteran Suicide Mortality Study (2021) — Peer-reviewed research documenting veteran suicide rates over a 42-year observation period (1976–2018). Published by VAC Research Directorate, also published in Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.
2. Royal Canadian Legion Public Statements — Official communications from the Royal Canadian Legion regarding MAID and veterans, disability claims processing, and government accountability. Available at legion.ca.
3. OECD Veteran Support Data — International comparison data on veteran benefit structures and spending across OECD member nations. Available at oecd.org.
4. DND Suicide Mortality Reports — Annual reporting on active CAF member suicide data. Published by Department of National Defence. Available at canada.ca/national-defence.
5. Public Accounts of Canada — Audited financial statements of the Government of Canada, including VAC appropriations and actual expenditures. Available at tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen.

—The Military Pipeline — DND Departmental Plan 2025–26

The veterans of tomorrow are the serving members of today. The DND Departmental Plan for 2025–26, tabled in Parliament by Minister McGuinty, reveals the condition of the force that feeds the veteran pipeline — and the data is damning.

Only 30.4% of CAF members feel the Forces provide a reasonable quality of life (target: 85%). 57.7% feel positive about their job (target: 85%). 22% self-identify as victims of harassment (target: ≤11.9%). These are the people the institution is supposed to serve — and it is failing them while they still wear the uniform. When they take it off and become VAC clients, they enter a system with an 11,000-claim backlog and a 47% on-time processing rate.

The 2025 Speech from the Throne pledged to “rebuild, rearm, and reinvest” in the CAF. The government committed to accelerating defence spending to 2% of GDP and joining ReArm Europe. Total planned spending for 2025–26: $35.67 billion — the highest defence budget in Canadian history. And yet the maritime fleet is at 45.73% serviceability (declining from 54%), the land fleet is at 49% (declining from 65.8%), and 72.9% of occupations remain critically short.

—Lest We Forget

This page exists because the people who built this country — the ones who went to Vimy Ridge at 19, who waded onto Juno Beach at 21, who held the Medak Pocket at 25, who patrolled Kandahar at 23 — deserve a public accounting of what their government did with the obligation it owed them.

Every number above comes from the Government of Canada’s own institutions. The Auditor General. The Parliamentary Budget Officer. The Veterans Ombudsman. The parliamentary committees. Hansard. The public record.

They cannot say they didn’t know. They cannot say the data doesn’t exist. They cannot say the problems weren’t documented. Every failure above was documented, reported, tabled, and published by their own officers of Parliament.