By Perry Gray, Editor-in-Chief VVi
It has been over a year since Sean Bruyea went public with
information about how VAC illegally accessed and shared his personal
information. Apart from a
few political statements, there has been no action by the federal
government to either redress the matter or punish those guilty. This is probably not surprising
to many Canadians, who familiar with political procedures and the
insincerity of democratic political bodies in Canada. One of the most obvious examples
of the failure of Canadian democracy is the current federal
government’s lack of integrity in implementing one of its own
policies, namely accountability.
Now another veteran, Dennis Manuge, has announced that his
personal information was illegally shared by VAC. He will also be taking legal
action in addition to continuing with his SISIP Clawback class action.
What must happen before the federal government takes the
appropriate actions to end the mismanagement of VAC?
I think that it is time for a public inquiry to investigate
the systemic problems of VAC and prevent future abuses by its senior
officials.
Excerpt from Hansard, 26 Sep 2010:
Hon. Jack Layton (Toronto—Danforth, NDP):
“I
would like to turn to another very troubling report that we read about
today. Sean Bruyea, an advocate on behalf of veterans, a veteran himself
who served this country, found out that the Conservatives have been
rooting around in his private medical records. That is contrary not to
only decency but to the law. We found that the Minister of Veterans
Affairs was trying to find out about medical appointments.
Will
the minister stand in his place and apologize today?
(1435)
Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC):
Mr.
Speaker, let us be clear about the facts. It appears that certain
private information regarding this individual had been widely
circulating in the bureaucracy and, by the way, before this government
came to office.
That
is completely unacceptable. Canadians take the privacy laws extremely
seriously, especially for those who have served our country in uniform.
I
understand the Privacy Commissioner is looking into matters such as
this. The Privacy Commissioner will receive nothing but the full
co-operation of this government to ensure that these kinds of things do
not happen again.”
The
former Minister of Veterans Affairs, Jean-Pierre Blackburn, stated that
he would punish those involved in this privacy scandal; however, he
never disclosed what he did before losing his seat in Parliament in the
last election. The current
minister, Steven Blaney, has not provided any additional information on
how this matter is being resolved.
He may not even be aware of the scandal unless his advisors at
VAC have bothered to discuss it with him.
The
Privacy Commissioner is looking into the matter, but seems reluctant to
do so aggressively and even if his office does a thorough investigation,
it lacks the powers to punish the guilty.
MVA
Blaney will now have to deal with a second privacy scandal. And more will likely follow as
other Veterans access VAC correspondence to look for breaches. Will he be more accountable and
punish repeat offenders…or not?
The bottom line is that senior
bureaucrats who have committed unlawful acts will likely go unpunished.
This is just another example of how undemocratic our governments
have become.
A
number of political commentators have used the term “inverted
totalitarianism” to describe the devolution of modern democracies. Many are Americans critical of
the US political system, which they claim is not the ideal model of a
good democracy. Instead
they argue that the US has too many similarities with Hitler’s Germany
and Stalin’s USSR. This
may be contrary to the beliefs of many citizens, who know that the US
and other democracies opposed such totalitarian states in the Second
World War and then the Cold War. It
is inconceivable to make comparisons between the US or Canada and those
“evil empires”. Or is it?
For
Veterans, there have been many examples in recent history that the
federal government has failed to adhere to democratic principles. The most obvious one is the
creation of the New Veterans Charter, which was completely developed by
bureaucrats, who have little experience of the Veteran Culture and
seemingly little inclination to educate themselves. This is symptomatic of a much
broader problem within governments in which the public services fail to
serve the public and seem indifferent to the needs of the public.
Canadians
may elect politicians in the mistaken belief that these elected
officials will implement their campaign policies. The reality is usually quite
different. One major reason
is that the politicians are dependent on the public service to do most
of the work…or not. Powerful
organisations such as the Office of the Prime Minister (PMO), the
Privy Council Office (PCO) and Treasury Board are often more influential
in defining the policies that will affect how the public service
operates.
The PMO
employs speech writers, strategists, and other specialists, who
influence the prime minister's and cabinet's message, as well as keeping the prime
minister informed on events that take place in government and across the
country, and act as a link between the political party organisation and
the government. It is a partisan organisation supporting the political party
that forms the government.
The PCO
provides officially non-partisan advice and support to the Prime
Minister and leadership,
coordination, and support to the departments and agencies of the
government. Officials
play an important role in the formulation and implementation of public
policy at the highest levels of government. Despite its influential
roles, the public tends to know little about its operation and
activities.
The Treasury Board is responsible
for accountability and ethics, financial, personnel and administrative
management, comptrollership, approving regulations and most
Orders-in-Council. It is responsible for the
management of the government by translating the policies and programs
approved by Cabinet into operational reality and by providing
departments with the resources and the administrative environment they
need to do their work.
The Gomery Commission
(2004-2006) undertook an analysis of the federal government and the
state of Canadian democracy in the wake of the sponsorship scandal. An element of the
Commission’s report criticised the operation of the PCO. Under
the current process, the prime minister enjoys full discretion in
appointing senior staff. This
creates an environment in which the clerk and deputy ministers may
become potentially beholden to partisan interests, as their careers
depend largely on satisfying the expectations of the prime minister
and the cabinet.
Of note, the federal government had not instituted
any of the commission’s recommendations. The prime minister campaigned in
2006 to reform the government:
“As Conservatives we are looking for a Canada where corruption,
waste and dishonesty are news of the past. This Policy Declaration sets
out how a Conservative Government will be accountable, trustworthy, and
committed to properly addressing issues that Canada faces today and in
the future.”
“The
Conservative Party is determined to enforce parliamentary principles of
government accountability. Ministers in a Conservative Government will
have authority and be accountable for the policies they implement and
the administrative actions of their departments.”
Yet Prime
Minister Harper rejected the majority support for Bill C-120 (to eliminate the marriage
after 60 restrictions which were originally implemented to prevent so
called “gold-diggers” or younger women from marrying older veterans
for their pensions) three times.
He has also rejected majority votes to end the clawback of
pensions after age 65 from Veterans.
Despite the government’s use of the military annuity to payoff
the national debt ($16.5 billion and more to be withdrawn). Instead of using these funds for
the very people who pay into the annuity, the government prefers to deny
so that it can spend the money elsewhere.
Grossly unfair to the Veterans Community.
On a regular basis, Canadians are provided with examples of
the continuation of corruption, waste and dishonesty. For Veterans, Sean Bruyea’s
and Dennis Manuge’s revelations on the privacy scandal, statements by
the former Veterans Ombudsman, Patrick Stogran, and VAC’s failure to
implement almost 500 recommendations to the NVC are all examples of the
ongoing systemic problems within the government.
Overall this is symptomatic of the old quote “the more
things change, the more they stay the same”. While the public veneer of the
government may change as different political parties win elections, the
core remains the same. One
major difference between the American and Canadian governments is that
in Canada there are usually few changes within the senior levels of the
public service. Deputy
ministers and their senior subordinates are not routinely purged when a
new party wins an election. Thus
the leadership of the PCO and TB does not change e Deven if the PMO
does. The so-called
non-partisan senior advisors continue to influence the day to day
operations of the government regardless of which party is in power.
Using the NVC as an example, it was introduced by the
Liberals and the Conservatives stated that it would be changed when they
were elected. After more
than five years in power, the Conservatives have only approved four
recommendations despite much hype about new benefits for Veterans. The reality is that very little
has changed or is likely to change.
VAC continues to down size and reduce its expenditures in
accordance with directives from PMO, PCO and TB.
“Axe-wielding
executives in the public service stand to earn big bonuses based on how
much they cut in the run-up to the 2012 federal budget.
Treasury
Board President Tony Clement says 40 per cent of “at risk” pay for
senior managers will be based on how much they contribute to the
Conservatives’ target of finding at least $4-billion a year in
permanent savings.” Globe and Mail Published Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011
It is likely that VAC will cut up to $500 million,
despite announcements last year that $2 billion dollars would be added
to the department in the near future.
What numbers should Canadians believe?
While the deputy minister, Suzanne Tining, and her
senior subordinates will likely collect their bonuses, employees at
lower levels may lose their jobs as VAC considers reducing its staff by
500 (about 4500 people are employed by VAC). But why are these senior
officials being rewarded for their substandard performance?
Ms Tining admitted that a government study (Keith
Coulter’s report of 2010) stated that VAC was not providing good
support to its clients in many key programs. She also admitted that IT was
“in the dark, dark ages”. An
annual financial report also demonstrates that VAC is poorly managed. In 2008, VAC spent 30 cents of every
dollar or $1-billion of its $3-billion budget on funding “overhead.”
But on the health care side, the inefficiency was even more pronounced
with 71 cents of every dollar covering overhead and only 29 cents making
it to the Veterans’ care. Of more than $1-billion budgeted to the
healthcare division, only $266-million is paid out for Veterans’
treatment.
By contrast, the U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs spends only 10 cents of every dollar on operating costs with
approximately 90 cents going directly to the veteran in the form of
benefits or medical care. The U.S. has 100 times more employees in their
healthcare division than Canada but its budget at $37-billion is only 37
times as large as the healthcare budget of VAC.
Comparison with the oft-criticised Ontario Health
Insurance Program (OHIP) highlights that VAC is a
productivity-challenged organization. OHIP was projected to spend
approximately $280-million to administer $12.9-billion in payments for
health care. This equates to an operating cost of 2.1 cents for every
dollar paid out for the healthcare of Ontario’s residents.
Meanwhile Ms Tining bills the government (insert
taxpayers) $2800 per month for an apartment in Ottawa, which she rarely
uses. This is more than any
Veteran receives for a 100% disability award under the Pension Act on a
monthly basis. Her overall
income excluding many expenses is more than 10 times the starting income
for a Veteran under the NVC ($40,000). Ms Tining also has two offices;
one in Chalottetown; and a second in Ottawa. She lives very well while
Veterans are wandering homeless on Canadian streets!
Why are people like the following allowed huge
salaries, bonuses and expense accounts for failing Canadians?
Mary Chaput, Associate Deputy Minister
Keith Hillier, ADM Service Delivery and
Commemoration
Bernard Butler, ADM Policy, Programs and
Partnerships
|
Current and Recommended Cash Compensation for
the EX and DM Groups
|
|
|
Level
|
Current 2008-2009
|
Recommended 2009-2010
|
Recommended 2010-2011
|
|
|
Salary Range Max.
|
Max. At Risk Pay
|
Max. Bonus
|
Salary Range Max.
|
Max. At Risk Pay
|
Max. Bonus
|
Salary Range Max.
|
Max. At Risk Pay
|
Max. Bonus
|
|
|
EX-1
|
$115,400
|
12.0%
|
3.0 %
|
$117,200
|
12.0%
|
3.0 %
|
$119,000
|
12.0%
|
3.0%
|
|
|
EX-2
|
$129,400
|
12.0%
|
3.0 %
|
$131,400
|
12.0%
|
3.0 %
|
$133,400
|
12.0%
|
3.0%
|
|
|
EX-3
|
$144,800
|
12.0%
|
3.0 %
|
$147,000
|
12.0%
|
3.0 %
|
$149,300
|
12.0%
|
3.0%
|
|
|
EX-4
|
$166,200
|
20.0%
|
6.0 %
|
$168,700
|
20.0%
|
6.0 %
|
$171,300
|
20.0%
|
6.0%
|
|
|
EX-5
|
$186,200
|
20.0%
|
6.0 %
|
$189,000
|
20.0%
|
6.0 %
|
$191,900
|
20.0%
|
6.0%
|
|
|
DM-1
|
$208,300
|
20.0%
|
6.0 %
|
$211,500
|
20.0%
|
6.0 %
|
$214,700
|
20.0%
|
6.0%
|
|
|
DM-2
|
$239,600
|
25.0%
|
8.0 %
|
$243,200
|
25.0%
|
8.0 %
|
$246,900
|
25.0%
|
8.0%
|
|
|
DM-3
|
$268,300
|
25.0%
|
8.0 %
|
$272,400
|
25.0%
|
8.0 %
|
$276,500
|
25.0%
|
8.0%
|
|
|
DM-4
|
$300,400
|
30.0%
|
9.0 %
|
$305,000
|
30.0%
|
9.0 %
|
$309,600
|
30.0%
|
9.0%
|
|
These three executives and other senior VAC
officials earn lots of money and claim thousands of dollars in expenses,
but can not even properly explain how their department operates or why
there are so many problems. Why
is it necessary to have so many employees in administrative positions in
Charlottetown (about 1500) with so few employed elsewhere (about 1500)? This does not include the only
VAC medical facility in Quebec (about 1200) because it is slated to
become a provincial hospital in the near future. Overall, there is a ratio of one
staff employee for every employee outside the national HQ. Ridiculous.
They are turkeys in a gilded cage. They adhere to policy and
procedures that do not benefit the Veterans Community. They have proven to be poor
leaders and managers.
It is time that the stakeholders had a much bigger and
influential role in the department that serves the Veterans Community. Why are Veterans denied what
shareholders in a publicly traded corporation have? If the DM is entitled to a salary similar to a CEO, then
Veterans should be treated like share holders. Rather than a hand-picked
few representatives getting invitations to stakeholders meetings, there
should be a general invitation to the Veterans Community. It would be very different
if 100,000 attended each meeting.
Stephen Harper made this statement before becoming prime
minister:
“All too often we
hear stories of veterans who are ignored or disrespected by government. What a shameful way to treat men
and women who risked their lives to defend Canada. This is a shame will end with
the election of a new government.”
Well it has been six years and the Veterans Community is
still waiting for his cabinet to make good on their commitments. I think that he is not really interested, thus is anti-Veteran. After appointing three
different ministers, none of whom have shown more than minimal interest;
it is time to consider other options.
What Veterans desperately need is a public inquiry to
examine the machinations of VAC to expose its corruption and
inadequacies. There needs
to be a revolutionary approach in ensuring that the Veterans Community
is truly treated with dignity and respect to honour its willingness to
defend Canadian democratic principles.
This has to be much more than the tired old lip-service currently
influencing VAC’s operations.
Remember the
quote that was used in an earlier editorial:
Dissent Is What Rescues Democracy From A Quiet Death Behind
Closed Doors. Molly Ivins
Here is a summary
of the last major review of VAC. It
influenced what Canada provided to its Veterans Community and was
supported by many Veterans groups.
It is time for another such review and in a public forum.
Canadian Forces Chief of Defence Staff Military Family Fund:
PPCLI Association
