ACVA Committee Report

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APPENDIX D

AMENDMENTS TO THE NEW VETERANS CHARTER AND REGULATIONS SINCE 2006

Since 2006, the NVC has been amended by Bill C-55 in 2011, and four regulations have amended the original regulations.

1. Bill C-55

Bill C-55, An Act to amend the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Act and the Pension Act, was tabled on 17 November 2010 and received Royal Assent on 24 March 2011. Its provisions came into effect on 3 October 2011.

The bill amends the NVC by changing the term “job placement” to “career transition services”; by changing the permanent impairment allowance and introducing a supplement to it; and by making it possible in future to pay the disability award as an annuity. The following table sets out the provisions of the NVC before and after the coming into force of the amendments made by Bill C-55.

BEFORE C-55	AFTER C-55
Part 1 The term “job placement” might have suggested that the services available were similar to those offered by a placement agency, while in fact only basic services were provided, such as career counselling, information on how to draft a CV and help preparing for an interview.	These services are now known as “Career transition services.”
Section 12 “The Minister may, on application, provide rehabilitation services or vocational assistance to a member’s or a veteran’s survivor …” The conjunction might have been interpreted as exclusive while it was meant to be inclusive.	“The Minister may, on application, provide rehabilitation services and vocational assistance to a member’s or a veteran’s survivor …”
Sections 38-39 Eligibility for the permanent impairment allowance (PIA) for veterans with “dual eligibility”. This allowance is meant to assist the most seriously disabled veterans, and the eligibility criteria for it are set out in the regulations accompanying the NVC. It is very similar to what the Pension Act, before 2006, called the “exceptional incapacity allowance” (EIA). To receive the PIA, the veteran must have received a disability award, while to receive the EIA, the veteran must be in receipt of a pension. In certain cases, veterans received a pension and also received a disability award for a new injury or an undiagnosed previous injury. Following the transition in 2006 from the Pension Act to the NVC, veterans who received a pension were excluded from the PIA, and veterans who received a disability award were excluded from the EIA, even though they would have been entitled to one or the other were it not for the transition. About 200 seriously disabled veterans were therefore unable to apply for either the PIA or the EIA because of their dual eligibility.	Seriously disabled veterans who receive both a pension and a disability award may now apply either for the permanent impairment allowance (PIA) under the NVC or for the exceptional incapacity allowance (EIA) under the Pension Act. It is, however, still impossible to combine both the PIA and the EIA. The number of veterans who have received the PIA or the EIA is unknown.

BEFORE C-55	AFTER C-55
*Pension* Act. Eligibility for exceptional incapacity allowance. (See preceding paragraph) In the past, the eligibility criteria for this allowance were unrelated to those for the permanent impairment allowance under the NVC.	Since 3 October 2011, veterans receiving a disability award may be eligible for the exceptional incapacity allowance if they do not receive the permanent impairment allowance.
Increase in the permanent impairment allowance (PIA). This allowance is paid to veterans with a “permanent and severe impairment”. The severity of impairment is assessed separately from its effects on the veteran’s ability to earn income. In 2014, the monthly PIA amount was set according to one of three levels of impairment severity: $574.89, $1,149.78 and $1,724.65. The amounts are indexed annually.	Since 3 October 2011, the Minister may increase the permanent impairment allowance by $1,000 per month if, in addition to receiving the PIA, the veteran is totally and permanently incapacitated. Unlike a “permanent and severe impairment” that makes a veteran eligible for the PIA, total and permanent incapacitation refers to the veteran’s vocational limitations. In other words, to receive the monthly supplement, the veteran must suffer from both a “permanent and severe impairment” and a “total and permanent incapacitation”. The criteria defining these two elements are found in the Regulations and have not been changed. The number of veterans who have received the PIA supplement is unknown.
Changes to disability award payment methods. In the past, the veteran could receive this disability award only in the form of a lump sum payment.	Since 3 October 2011, a veteran may choose to receive the disability award in the form of a lump sum payment, annuities or a combination of the two. The proportion of veterans who have chosen each of the three options is unknown.
Parliamentary review of the new provisions of the NVC. There was no provision for such a review.	By October 2013, a comprehensive review of the provisions of Bill C-55 must be undertaken by the House of Commons and Senate committees designated by the houses for this purpose. The House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs conducted this review in fall 2013.

2. Regulatory changes

(i) Changes to the earnings loss benefit[1]

In addition to implementing the changes brought about by Bill C-55, the Regulations guarantee a minimum threshold for the earnings loss benefit amount. If the veteran is participating in rehabilitation, this taxable benefit guarantees 75% of the gross income the veteran was earning at the time of release from the Canadian Forces. The Regulations now guarantee that the amount based on this percentage does not fall below $42,426.[2]

The Regulations also increase the deemed monthly salary of Class B (less than 180 days) and Class A reservists from $2,000 to $2,700. The monthly earnings loss benefit for these reservists is calculated based on 75% of the deemed monthly salary.

(ii) Removal of the disability pension amount from the earnings loss benefit calculation[3]

Prior to October 2012, the monthly disability pension provided under the Pension Act was included in the income used to reduce the amount of the earnings loss benefit. Following the Manuge ruling, the Department of National Defence (DND) Service Income Security Insurance Plan (SISIP) ceased using the disability pension as an offset in calculating the disability benefit as of 1 July 2012. Since the earnings loss benefit is modeled on SISIP disability benefits, Veterans Affairs Canada decided to make the same changes.

(iii) Changes to career transition services[4]

Career transition services[5] are a VAC program that ended up overlapping to a certain extent with similar DND programs.

Since 1 October 2012, DND is the sole organization providing career transition services to serving members, in partnership with a third party, Canada Company.[6]

In return, as of 1 January 2013, “[e]ligible CF veterans or eligible survivors will receive up to a $1,000 lifetime maximum grant payment to support obtaining CTS. These recipients will have the flexibility to choose their CTS provider(s) and the type(s) of CTS of their choice to better meet their needs.”[7]

(iv) Changes to eligible training expenses under a vocational rehabilitation program[8]

Qualification for the earnings loss benefit requires participation in a rehabilitation program that focusses on three areas: medical, psycho-social and vocational. Training costs related to a vocational rehabilitation program account for roughly 70% of the entire rehabilitation program budget under the NVC, which in 2012–2013 was $18.4 million.[9] These Regulations were made to address two issues identified in the original version of the Regulations: “(1) the list of eligible expenses contained in the Regulations is not sufficiently inclusive; and (2) the maximum amounts for some training expenses are inadequate to meet rising costs over time.”[10]

The Regulations simplify the list of eligible expenses. Instead of a maximum amount for each item on the list of eligible expenses, a global envelope of $75,800 per veteran is available for all eligible training costs for the duration of the department-approved vocational rehabilitation program.

[1] SOR/2011-219 came into force on 3 October 2011 (P.C. 2011-1156).

[2] This minimum applies to veterans who were members of the Regular Force at the time of release, members of the Reserve Force who were injured while they were serving in the Regular Force (Class C) or in support of Regular Force operations (Class B).

[3] SOR/2012-195 came into force on 10 October 2012 (P.C. 2012-1138).

[4] SOR/2012-289 came into force on 2 January 2013 (P.C. 2012-1718).

[5] Prior to October 2011, career transition services were called “job placement services”.

[6] Department of National Defence, Transition Assistance Program (TAP).

[7] Regulations Amending the Veterans Health Care Regulations and the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Regulations, “Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement”, Section 2.

[8] SOR/2013-0157 came into force on 9 October 2013 (P.C. 2013-934).

[9] Anne-Marie Pellerin (Director, Case Management and Support Services, Veterans Affairs Canada), Evidence, ACVA, 3 December 2013, 1205; see also the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Reestablishment and Compensation Regulations, “Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement”, SOR/2006-50, Canada Gazette, Part II, Vol. 140, No. 7, 5 April 2006, p. 209.

[10] Regulations Amending the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Regulations, SOR/2013-0157, “Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement”, “Issue” section.