Veterans Affairs Canada’s CommunicationsTask Force makes significant progress
July 28, 2015 – Ottawa – Veterans Affairs Canada
The Honourable Erin O’Toole, Minister of Veterans Affairs, today provided an update on the progress made by the Department’s Veteran-centric Communications Task Force to improve how Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) communicates with Veterans and their families. The Task Force was created to find ways to reduce the administrative paperwork burden for our Veterans and to ensure all letters and forms are easy to understand and necessary.
The task force was mandated to look at each and every form and letter we use to communicate with our Veterans and ask:
- Is it easy to understand?
- Is it necessary?
- Could it be eliminated altogether?
- If updates or renewals are required, is this appropriate?
- Could a case manager help fill out this paperwork?
- Could more time be given to complete this paperwork?
The first phase focussed on reviewing ministerial correspondence to include Veteran-centric language. Phase one is now complete, and new letters with Veteran-centric language are now being used in customized ministerial correspondence.
With assistance from the Veterans Ombudsman, the second phase involved the review of the most frequently used forms and applications. As a result, we will reduce the number of forms from 22 to 9, eliminating more than 800,000 pages of paper per year, significantly reducing the paperwork burden on our Veterans. The proposed new forms and applications are being developed and shared with the Veterans Ombudsman, stakeholders and Veterans’ organizations, for feedback and testing from a Veteran’s perspective. Using the feedback, the Department will begin revising the forms and making the changes to the forms and applications on a priority basis. A major roll-out of the phase two changes will begin in fall 2015.
Phase three involves a comprehensive review and rewrite of the most frequently used letters to Veterans and their families which are used approximately 400,000 times a year.
Martin Magnan
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs
613-996-4649
Media Relations
Veterans Affairs Canada
613-992-7468
