As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below.

Recommendation 1

That Veterans Affairs Canada implement a process that prioritizes applications submitted in French, just as it successfully did for applications submitted by women.

Recommendation 2

That Veterans Affairs Canada compile and make publicly available, in summary reports, disaggregated data by quarter on the processing time of first applications for disability benefits submitted in English, in French, by a male veteran and by a female veteran, as well as the number of applications submitted by each group per quarter.

Recommendation 3

That Veterans Affairs Canada offer full-time permanent positions, instead of temporary ones, to employees responsible for processing disability benefit applications.

Recommendation 4

That Veterans Affairs Canada publish the average and median total wait time for first applications for disability benefits from the date the application is received to the date, in the case of a favourable decision, payment is issued, or, in the case of an unfavourable decision, the date the decision is communicated to the Veteran.

Recommendation 5

That Veterans Affairs Canada implement in their entirety the recommendations listed in the Auditor General’s 2022 Report 2—Processing Disability Benefits for Veterans.

Recommendation 6

That Veterans Affairs Canada expand and enhance the Office of Women and 2SLGBTQ+ Veterans to better identify and address systemic issues and continue holding annual Women Veterans Forums to bring together Veterans, researchers, experts and organizational leaders to discuss specific challenges women and how Veterans Affairs Canada can continue to improve supports and services tailored to these Veterans.

Recommendation 7

That Veterans Affairs Canada provide all its employees with training on the LGBT purge in order to educate them about the unique trauma experienced by Veterans who were victims of this institutional discrimination.

Recommendation 8

That the Department of National Defence modify the DND 1209 self-identification form to add a question asking members whether they belong to the 2SLBGTQ+ community.

Recommendation 9

That Veterans Affairs Canada allow 2SLGBTQ+ Veterans to self-identify through its life after service surveys and other data collection tools.

Recommendation 10

That Veterans Affairs Canada create liaison officer positions responsible for regularly following up on benefit applications and overseeing the work of case managers to implement application processing plans for Veterans with more complex needs.

Recommendation 11

That Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) prioritize the use of a detailed checklist—developed through consultation with Veterans—to be used at the time of intake (such as VAC’s Benefits Navigator); and that VAC make a concerted effort to prioritize personal connections with Veterans, especially those who do not have a case manager and often call for service but never reach the same person twice or are redirected to a website.