Veterans Affairs

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs met to consider the supplementary estimates (B), 2025-26, and heard from Minister of Veterans Affairs Jill McKnight, along with department officials Christine McDowell, Steven Harris, Pierre Tessier, and Mitch Freeman.

Minister McKnight stated that the supplementary estimates increase Veterans Affairs Canada expenditures by $14.2 million, and that budget 2025 invests $184.9 million over four years and $40.1 million ongoing to stabilize disability benefits service delivery, with no cuts to benefits or services. She announced that a diagnosis of Gulf War illness will now be accepted as part of a disability benefits application, and she defended the adjustment to the cannabis for medical purposes reimbursement rate from $8.50 to $6 per gram as a market-alignment that protects access and saves $127 million annually on a cash basis, with the $4.23 billion in budget 2025 representing long-term accrued savings under standard accounting practices. She disagreed with characterizations of cuts, emphasizing that the budget implementation act amendments clarify calculation methods without changing how benefits have been calculated.

Christine McDowell, acting deputy minister, confirmed that 94% of the department's budget goes directly to veterans and that the $184.9 million investment will stabilize resources and fund modernization of service delivery. She stated that artificial intelligence is used only as a tool to support staff with administrative tasks, not to make decisions on individual cases, and that the department publishes its AI uses on a public registry. She noted that no district offices were closed in this budget and that the department collects feedback through a national veteran survey every two years and through advisory groups.

Steven Harris, senior assistant deputy minister for service delivery, explained that the $10.5 million in the supplementary estimates is for a health claims processing contract with Medavie Blue Cross, not for the PCVRS program. He said the $184.9 million will stabilize about 300 staff focused on disability benefits adjudication and fund service modernization including IT improvements. He clarified that long-term care admissions are based on provincial decisions and that the department works with facilities to keep families together where possible. He noted that the national veterans employment strategy has engaged 7,000 participants through webinars and helps about 2,100 veterans per year through career transition services.

Pierre Tessier, assistant deputy minister and chief financial officer, explained that the $4.2 billion figure in budget 2025 reflects accrual accounting, where a $129 million ongoing annual reduction in the cannabis program is projected over a 30-year period and then recognized in a four- to five-year window. He stated that the decrease in the department's total budget from $7.8 billion to $5.6 billion is due to the end of temporary funding and the absence of a previous quasi-statutory update, which the new ongoing funding addresses. He confirmed that the accounting practices used are common in North America and not unique to Canada.

Mitch Freeman, acting assistant deputy minister for strategic policy, planning and performance, stated that the veteran homelessness program has cost approximately $79.1 million since inception and has assisted over 1,400 veterans, securing housing for 233 as of March 2025. He said that work on providing mental health care funding for family members in their own right is under way but would require a legislative change, and that no such legislation has been tabled in Parliament. He agreed to provide data on the percentage of francophone veterans in Quebec and the share of the veteran and family well-being fund invested in Quebec.

The committee then proceeded to consider the supplementary estimates (B), 2025-26, and agreed to report them to the House, with one member voting on division.