Letter to CDS: Input on Status of Defence Policy Review (Strong, Secured Engaged)

19 December 2022

 

General Wayne Eyre
Chief of the Defence Staff
Canadian Armed Forces
101 Colonel By Drive
13th Floor, South Tower
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K2

 

Dear General Eyre,

Thank you for our meeting on 16 August 2022. I appreciated your openness in addressing the issues facing the Defence community.

At this meeting, we discussed the Defence Policy, Strong Secured and Engaged (SSE), and the ongoing Defence Policy Update. I offered to provide input to you on this update from the perspective of the Ombudsman’s Office.

As you know, as part of the consultation on the original Defence Policy Review in 2016, my office submitted a report titled “Our People, Our Security, Our Future: Submission to the Defence Policy Review.” This “people first” framework contained primary interventions based on three themes: treatment of the Reserve Force, transition from military to civilian life and challenges faced by Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) families. The CAF incorporated many of these initiatives in the first chapter of SSE.

Since that time, my office has continued to highlight many of the same issues with the Department of National Defence (DND) and the CAF. Six years on, much work remains.

I am encouraged that some my office’s recommendations have made their way into current initiatives, such as progressing with Seamless Canada, including civilians in the services available from the Sexual Misconduct Response Center (SMRC), and standing up the Transition Group.

I am taking this opportunity to provide you with a summary of initiatives that do have a lasting impact on the Defence community. You will find this summary in Annex A of this letter. Rest assured that my office will continue to raise these areas of concern with senior leadership of the CAF and the DND moving forward.

Families

As you are aware, the Minister has expressed interest in finding ways to assist military families. On November 4, 2022, I responded to her in a letter that outlined areas where the DND and CAF could act in the near-to-medium term which would greatly benefit this important group. From the resourcing and implementation of the Comprehensive Military Family Strategy to spousal employment, childcare, and healthcare, there is no shortage of areas on which to act definitively. I also encouraged the Minister to increase the level of political engagement with provincial and territorial counterparts at the Seamless Canada table.

Process versus People

Resolving some of the issues identified in this document may involve complex and lengthy solutions. However, the DND and the CAF could make many improvements with minimal resource implications. Additionally, my office has acknowledged in various reports and other public communications that the DND and the CAF cannot solve key issues facing the Defence community by simply “throwing people at the problem.” Additional resources and tiger teams have often proven to be temporary solutions to backlogs and delays which resurface shortly after those teams “stand down.” To modernize the support and care provided to our CAF members, sustained technological and process streamlining solutions must be explored.

Challenges with Central Agencies and Internal Policy Framework

It is widely recognized that the Chief of the Defence Staff has little room to manoeuvre when it comes to funding new initiatives, increasing/reallocating funds to support ongoing initiatives and managing within the constraints of central agency policies. While understanding that checks and balances are necessary for proper stewardship of taxpayer dollars, important and timely initiatives can hit snags when they get to central agencies. Often, the snags can become snarls.

In an opinion piece that I wrote for The Hill Times in November 2022, I outlined my concerns with the DND and the CAF not having the appropriate agility to meet challenges expediently. I wrote the following:

“Many benefits available to CAF members and their families fall under the authority of the Treasury Board. Government expenditures of any kind must face central agency scrutiny. While a necessary step to ensure fiscal accountability, the process can be lengthy and shackle the agility of the DND and CAF to respond to the needs and exceptional circumstances often faced by CAF members and their families. One such area that has been highlighted is the volatile cost of living and the fact that some allowances are out of sync with the reality of military family expenses.

These delays in responding to the needs of the CAF are not conducive to the recruitment and retention of CAF members and ultimately to the operational effectiveness of the CAF. The DND, the CAF and the Treasury Board must strengthen the dialogue to better articulate these needs, and the potential consequences of not ‘getting it right.’ Military operations are not run by outside civilian agencies and the management of military personnel and their families, must be considered differently with greater responsibility placed in the hands of those that understand the military.”

Generally, the defence policy review must incorporate an analysis of the aforementioned. The review must also examine policies and processes internal to the DND and the CAF, to remove redundant or overly restrictive elements, and to align and streamline policies under simpler frameworks. My office can provide examples of where this can and does occur.

Health Services Concerns

During my time as Ombudsman, I have seen a recurring issue that lies at the root of many concerns facing the health and wellness of Canadian Armed Forces members: resourcing issues at Canadian Forces Health Services. From our constituent files, I can confirm that CAF members and other stakeholders continue to identify resource shortfalls and staffing shortages as the reasons for gaps within the health care system. Access to mental health resources is perhaps the most acute issue. These chronic staffing and resource shortages weigh heavily on many CAF members. They have raised this with me multiple times during my visits to bases and wings across the country. This must be prioritized in the defence policy review.

Transition

My office has actively monitored the military to civilian transition space for the past seven years. Many recommendations from our systemic investigations, which would benefit those who serve, remain outstanding. In short, much work remains.

During my trip to CFB Borden, I was encouraged by the progress made by the Transition Group (TG) to roll out its new form and function across the country. However, I also heard some concerns that the Transition Group may not reach full operating capability by 2024. I encourage the CAF leadership to keep their foot on the throttle on the TG roll-out, and to reject any delays in this regard.

I am also encouraged by the continued collaboration between the DND/CAF and Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC).

In 2016, my office recommended that the CAF should not release any member until all benefits and services are in place before they walk out the door. As such, the requirement to reduce the VAC backlog remains paramount. Should this not be reduced, our recommendation remains an important process fix to help address this issue.

Leadership

I recognize the challenges that the institution has faced over the past few years. However, I believe that the leadership currently in place - including you and the Minister of National Defence - have the wind at your backs. I believe the current conditions are ideal for action to right some of the wrongs of the past. However, we have to get the “people” side of the equation correct. This is the foundation on which we build everything else.

While the “Reconstitution Directive” focuses on certain aspects of the areas contained in Annex A, I believe the DND and the CAF must make additional and sustained efforts and have adequate resources assigned to push these initiatives over the goal line. 

Finally, the United States Secretary of Defense has recently committed to several promising initiatives to support military families in the areas of childcare, postings, cost of living and spousal employment. There may be best practices and lessons learned that could be applied in the Canadian military context.

If you would like to discuss any of the above in more detail or have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Respectfully,

 

Gregory A. Lick

Ombudsman

 

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ANNEX A

Reserve Force

Since 2015, my office has completed three systemic recommendations and one study to improve the well-being and fair treatment of Reservists. Nine systemic recommendations to the DND and the CAF have been made. Despite progress on some, as of October 2022, none have been fully implemented. With the increase in domestic Operations and reliance on Reservists, the DND and the CAF must do more to ensure long lasting improvements for Canada’s Reserve Force. While reconstitution is a high priority for the CAF and the Government of Canada, further concrete progress on our recommendations will build a better foundation for these efforts to succeed. 

Health Care

The most pressing areas of concern relate to health care, specifically the access to and availability of regular health assessments and clear guidance/information regarding entitlements to care. Reservists are often called upon for immediate assistance and, because of the urgency of their deployment, out-of-date health assessments are ignored or waived. This can have a significant impact on those who may have pre-existing conditions and for the eligibility for benefits and services in the event of illness or injury. Through our regular and thorough tracking of the CAF’s progress on all our recommendations, we have confirmed that no consistent approach exists after return from deployment to contact Reservists for medical follow-up purposes. Equally, there is no oversight to ensure consistent completion of post-deployment follow-up activities based on our previous systemic investigations and the progress report on our recommendations.

Policies

Ambiguous policies and inconsistent application of policies around health care entitlements remain as concerns for Reservists. The CAF and the DND have indicated that addressing these is currently not a high priority. We have been told that interim measures such as Ministerial Directives are being explored, but no concrete steps in that direction have been taken.

The lengthy recruitment process for the Reserve Force is an additional source of frustration amongst applicants and those wishing to proceed with a component transfer between the Regular and Reserve Force. While some work has begun on streamlining the process and digitizing portions, much remains to be optimized. Any increase in recruitment activity will also further strain an already burdened medical services team.

If the CAF intends to leverage and grow the Reserve Force as part of its reconstitution efforts, this foundation of care must be addressed and medical services appropriately resourced.

Transition

Since 2014, my office has emphasized, through reports and committee appearances, the importance of fixing the transition process as there is a direct correlation to recruitment. Multiple Parliamentary Committee reports and SSE acknowledged this connection.

Access to Benefits and Services

Continuity of care and timely access to benefits when a member releases from the CAF are crucial for a successful transition out of uniform. My office continues to stress the importance of retaining a releasing member until all benefits and services from CAF, VAC and the Service Income Security Insurance Plan (SISIP) are confirmed and in place. The CAF has committed to holding a member until all applications for benefits and services are completed. However, members continue to be released without access to all financial and medical benefits and services, such as pensions, disability adjudications and medical supports. Challenges accessing medical records, navigating complex processes and dealing with bureaucratic processes and backlogs continue to impact the well-being of members leaving the CAF.

CAF Transition Group

With the introduction of the Canadian Armed Forces Transition Group (CAF TG) in 2019, pilot projects have worked towards fulfilling this recommendation. While there have been positive outcomes from this trial, this must be a country-wide initiative that is appropriately resourced. Part of the success in some of the pilot locations (Borden and Petawawa) is attributed to the responsiveness of a dedicated Military to Civilian Transition (MCT) Family Team. The MCT Family Team is composed of CFMWS/MFS staff that offer concierge services (based on a family resilience model) for medically and non-medically transitioning families supporting their individualized family requirements seeking and securing services in the communities in which they reside. Without dedicating funding to expand this model at other Transition Centres, families are instead referred to MFRCs to access general information and referral support.

Currently, as the CAF TG is not at full operational capacity, they are not providing transition support to all members and their families. Changes to the transition process have been studied, reviewed and piloted for almost a decade. The CAF TG had a five-year plan to reach full operational capacity. While there are promising results coming from the pilot, implementation has been slow and full operating capacity is still years away and estimated now for 2025/26. Even with this timeline, concerns related to challenges resourcing the new model – ensuring that human and financial resources are in place and infrastructure is available have been raised by constituents across the country.

Families

In November of this year, after discussing the importance of military families, I wrote Minister Anand a letter outlining ways that she might work with her colleagues to help further the advancement of initiatives that would support military families. While many of these items were outside of the area of responsibility of the DND and the CAF, there is a role for the CAF and DND in influencing change in these areas.

Seamless Canada

Since the launch of Seamless Canada, I have been pleased to see improvements in areas such as, the 90-day wait period for health cards being waived for military families; CAF members being granted essential work status for movement across Canada; and the creation of additional employment and training support services for military spouses. As you know, the operational effectiveness of the CAF is strengthened by the support of military families. I continue to hear directly from military families about the challenges they face due to frequent relocations. Frustration related to access to family health care and specialist services remains a top challenge for relocating families. Reestablishing childcare, including the need for emergency and after-hour care, remains a major stressor for those with young children and presents a further challenge for spousal employment. And lastly, the challenges in having specialist qualifications and professional accreditations recognized in new locations cause barriers to spousal employment and impacts family revenue. I understand that these concerns continue to be key topics for Seamless Canada, in which I hold a seat.

The Comprehensive Military Family Plan

While some of the above challenges are not fully in the CAF or the DND area of authority, there are areas where progress can be made. The Comprehensive Military Family Plan (now known as the Comprehensive Military Family Strategy) identified several action areas for the DND and CAF, some of which required limited resources. Although this strategy received endorsement by senior leadership, the plan was never fully resourced and continues to compete with initiatives deemed higher priority.

The availability and accessibility of childcare remains one of the most common concerns I hear from military families. Moving from waitlist to waitlist when being posted and the unique operational demands of the military can be difficult to accommodate in mainstream childcare options. Short notice deployments/missions, irregular hours, overnight requirements, etc. further complicate these challenges.

I acknowledge and commend the efforts of Military Family Services in attempting to move forward on some of these issues. I was pleased to see the focus on military families in the reconstitution directive and urge the CAF to prioritize the well-being of military families by committing resources to the Comprehensive Military Family Plan/Strategy. For these initiatives to continue or expand, additional and sustained funding must be assigned.

Agility

We recognize that many financial benefits fall within the authority of the Treasury Board and any changes to them can be a lengthy process; these changes are often not retroactive nor individual in nature.

Benefits related to housing and cost of living is one such example. Over my tenure and that of my predecessor, we have heard of the detrimental impacts the lack of military housing and outdated Post-Living Differential (PLD) allowance rates are having on the quality of life of CAF members and their families. With the rapid rise in the cost of living across Canada, there is a significant need to address the demand for affordable housing and to update the PLD allowance rates to reduce financial strains for CAF members and military families.

The challenges that arise from this have been voiced from constituents across all areas of the CAF. Concerns related to the inflexibility, complexity and inconsistent interpretation of policy are also common themes, some of which can be mitigated internally.

Relationship with Treasury Board

The operational demands placed on CAF members and their families impact relationships and physical and mental wellbeing. At times, Treasury Board may not have a full understanding of these needs and greater engagement on both sides is necessary to ensure a solid foundation of understanding.

Web of Internal Policies

The unique demands of the CAF often necessitate a level of agility to effectively respond that is not possible in the current policy framework. The current number of policy related documents such as Canadian Forces Administrative Orders (CFAOs), King’s Regulations and Orders, Military Personnel Command (MPC) Orders and Instructions, etc. creates a patchwork of policy that is cumbersome to maintain and manage and can create duplication and incongruences. In addition, the language that is required in policy to properly articulate the intent can render them incomprehensible to most people and limits the opportunity of the CAF and the DND to leverage information/education tools to communicate with the various audiences around the CAF.

There may be opportunities in the Defence Policy Update and Human resource modernization to add agility into the policy framework; to review policies and processes to remove redundant or overly restrictive pieces. By aligning and streamlining policies under a simpler framework, there is an opportunity to reduce the prescriptive nature of regulations and allow the chain of command the latitude to maneuver within it to address unique situations.