QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Veterans Affairs
Access to Programs
October 23, 2025
Minister, I’m going to talk about veterans who are over 65 years of age. We have a number of policies for veterans that are outdated. A 65-year-old is relatively young. Specifically, I want to talk about those Canadians who have served in the RCMP and the Canadian Armed Forces who have service-related injuries requiring rehabilitation. We know disability creates lifelong diminished earning capacity, and as people age, they’re more likely to live in poverty as older persons.
While there are policies and programs in place to support veterans up to 65 years of age in terms of rehabilitation, there are a number of veterans now who are realizing they have service-related injuries and whom these programs will not cover but can work.
As these veterans reach that age, they are vulnerable, and we are trying to make sure they don’t continue the poverty cycle —
Thank you, senator, for the question. Again, ensuring that veterans have access to any and all benefits they’re eligible for is one of our top priorities; it’s something that we are focused on every single day.
I would certainly encourage anyone who may come to you who is experiencing challenges with accessing supports to reach out to Veterans Affairs so we can work to see what is available to support them. There may be a program they have not accessed before that is available. There are things such as the Veterans Independence Program and a few others we can work with them on.
So to follow up on that, paragraph 20 in the Veterans Affairs Canada policy from 1971 allows the granting of a de facto reasonable delay. Can we consider someone over the age of 65 and knowing that they can meet the criteria for rehabilitation to have access to these programs?
Thank you. I don’t have the specific information in front of me right now, but I would be happy to follow up with you with a specific answer.
I am certain that you’ll join me in thanking Minister McKnight for being with us today.
We will now resume our proceedings where we left off at the start of Question Period. Thank you, minister.
