The committee met to study barriers to entrepreneurship among veterans. Witnesses were Nicholas Stroesser, founder of Corporal4Life Apparel; Duncan McSporran, managing director of Vimy Forge; Heather Vanderveer, owner of Alberta Recoil Inc.; William Steed, appearing as an individual; Joseph Blanchard, founder and CEO of the Veterans Entrepreneurship Hub (Vet-Hub) and VeCATS Inc.; and Arjun Grewal, lead for defence innovation at IMT Group.
Nicholas Stroesser described self-funding his apparel business for 11 years, facing barriers in hiring, mentorship and capital. He recommended a veteran-owned business job bank for recruiting staff and government partnerships with national banks to offer low-interest funding or grants, noting that even $10,000 would have helped him keep a store open. He said he had not used the federal job bank for veterans and had found mentors informally rather than through Veterans Affairs.
Duncan McSporran argued that Canada lacks a coherent system for veteran entrepreneurs, unlike the United States and United Kingdom, and that support programs are not aligned with the non-linear nature of entrepreneurship. He called for a centrally managed, coordinated national program that provides a clear front door and connects veterans to training, investment and procurement opportunities, especially in defence and national security sectors where their operational experience is directly relevant.
Heather Vanderveer said female veterans and non-commissioned members face higher credibility thresholds and that her organization, which provides peer support for military sexual trauma, has been denied funding from Veterans Affairs programs for three consecutive years. She asked that entrepreneurship be formally recognized as a legitimate transition and rehabilitation pathway, that clear guidance be provided on how business income interacts with benefits, and that funding opportunities be more accessible to veteran-led organizations regardless of rank or gender.
William Steed said he turned to blacksmithing after struggling to fit into civilian employment, and that his business now offers workshops for veterans through informal word-of-mouth connections with DND and Veterans Affairs. He noted the lack of a central depository of information for veteran entrepreneurs to learn about and access government programs, and recommended creating such a resource.
Joseph Blanchard proposed scaling the Veterans Entrepreneurship Hub as a national ecosystem that centralizes training, mentorship, capital access, shared business services and procurement acceleration for veteran-owned businesses. He said the hub is in discussions with the Nova Scotia government, St. Francis Xavier University and ACOA for a proof of concept, and asked that it be formalized and funded similarly to women's, Black and indigenous entrepreneurship programs, noting that no centralized data exists on veteran business success or failure rates in Canada.
Arjun Grewal emphasized that a flourishing veteran is a powerful recruiting tool and that veteran entrepreneurship policy should be coupled with economic policy to incentivize corporations to buy from veteran-owned businesses. He pointed to the U.S. Small Business Administration's veteran programs as a model, and said Canada should create similar pathways for capital and procurement, noting that the future veteran will bring new skills shaped by current geopolitical realities.
The committee debated a motion by Marie-Hélène Gaudreau to extend the study on veterans' rehabilitation services with three additional meetings. Blake Richards moved an amendment to add the Union of Veterans' Affairs Employees to the list of potential witnesses. Sean Casey opposed the motion, arguing that testimony heard so far, including from the ombud and the minister, did not justify retraumatizing veterans by revisiting the issue. The amendment was adopted, and the motion as amended was passed on division.
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