Our role is to assess fairness in the delivery of programs and services offered by Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). Anything outside of this is beyond our mandate.
Seeking Information?
When you contact us seeking information, we will do our best to provide that information in a timely manner or refer you to resources best suited to answer your question(s).
Have a Complaint?
When you contact us with a complaint or concern, we will review your complaint to determine if we can accept it.
Reasons we may not accept your complaint include:
- The issue is outside of our mandate (for example, disability benefits assessment and entitlement, Veterans Review and Appeal Board appeals, Department of National Defence policy and process matters, or issues with external or provincial bodies)
- Too much time has passed since the issue occurred
- Other avenues still remain to be pursued before we get involved (we are the office of last resort)
- There is no resolution that we can reasonably pursue
Accepting Complaints
If we accept your complaint, it will be handled on a first-come first-served basis. We only prioritize complaints if they meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Immediate and substantial financial concerns (for example, Income Replacement Benefits that are ending or significant health costs that you are paying for while you are waiting for a decision)
- An unmet health need
- Advanced age (80+) or palliative
Information Gathering
If we accept your complaint, the assigned Analyst will:
- Speak with you
- Review your file
- Examine the legislation, regulations and relevant policies
- Consult our legal counsel, if needed
- Speak with VAC
- Ask you for more information, if needed
- Ask you for documents and evidence
Fairness Assessment
We assess fairness based on the facts, information, and evidence available to us in reviewing your case. Our job is to be impartial. We don’t take sides in any case —not yours and not VAC’s.
We will do our best to advise you of expected timeframes, but these may vary depending on the number of cases we are working on, the timeliness of responses from VAC, and the complexity of your case.
If our assessment finds an unfairness:
- We will advise you of our findings
- We will work with VAC, if possible, to try to resolve the issue and make recommendations on what they should do to address the unfairness
- We will keep you informed
- We may write a report or letter to the Minister of Veterans Affairs
GOOD TO KNOW
Our office does not have the power to compel someone to give us information or to require VAC to change a decision.
We want to hear from you
Call us or use our Online Form to get started.
Telephone (toll-free): 1-877-330-4343
Fax (toll-free): 1-888-566-7582
TTY (toll-free): 1-833-902-9399
Mail: Office of the Veterans Ombud P.O. Box 66 Charlottetown, PE C1A 7K2
Website: www.ombudsman-veterans.gc.ca