News Releases

April 21, 2022 - The Office of the Veterans Ombud (OVO) today released its report, The Adjudication of Sexual Dysfunction Claims Consequential to an Entitled Psychiatric Condition.  

Our investigation found sex-based bias in Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) adjudication processes for female sexual dysfunction claims. VAC streamlines male-specific erectile dysfunction claims related to a psychiatric condition, but no similar process exists for female claims. This is unfair.

October 12, 2022, Ottawa, ON – Today, the Office of the Veterans Ombud (OVO) released its 2022 Report Card tracking the status of the implementation of its recommendations to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). As of March 31, 2022, VAC has fully or partially implemented 69 percent or 52 of the OVO’s 75 recommendations, showing a slight improvement over last year.

October 25, 2022, Ottawa, ON – Today, the Office of the Veterans Ombud (OVO) released its Disability Benefit Wait Times Update. This builds on our 2018 report and provides an update on how long members and Veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces and the RCMP are waiting for disability claim decisions from VAC. 

The long wait time for disability benefits continues to be the number one complaint the OVO receives. Wait times significantly exceed the 16 week service standard set by VAC.

February 23, 2022 – On January 1, 2022, Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) released initial details of its proposed new mental health benefit and requested feedback from the public. This new benefit provides Veterans with mental health treatment while they are waiting for a VAC decision on their mental health disability claim. Veterans Ombud Col (Ret’d) Nishika Jardine issued the following statement on the proposed new benefit: