Canada's Veterans Ombud

10/19/2026

10/08/2026

October 8 is Ombuds Day, a day to highlight how ombuds offices help people navigate concerns, understand their options and seek fair resolutions.

This year’s theme is “Options in Action: Where Mediation Meets the Ombuds World.”

For our Office, that means listening to Veterans and their families, understanding what happened and engaging with Veterans Affairs Canada to explore options and promote fairness.

Sometimes the first step toward resolving a concern is knowing what options you have.

10/01/2026

A Veteran came to us after exhausting all review and appeal options for coverage of a low-dose daily medication to treat erectile dysfunction. We identified unfairness and helped support a new decision. The Veteran was approved for ongoing coverage of the medication and reimbursed for eligible past expenses. https://ow.ly/c3iC50ZTucH

09/28/2026

When a Veteran serves, their family serves too.

More must be done for the families of Veterans. While some progress has been made, important gaps remain including reducing the burden of care on Veterans’ live-in relatives, ensuring full and fair payment of pain and suffering compensation, and providing mental health treatment benefits for family members in their own right when the need is connected to service.

These are not new concerns. Veterans and their families have been waiting long enough and deserve immediate action and access to the support they need. https://ow.ly/Q2Aj50ZNwiB

09/25/2026

🧡 This National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day – Every Child Matters, take time to honour Survivors, remember the children who never returned home, and reflect on the ongoing journey of reconciliation.

Communities across Canada are hosting events, ceremonies and learning opportunities.

Find a gathering near you: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-day-truth-reconciliation.html?utm_campaign=pch-pch-ndtr-jnvr-26-27&utm_medium=smo&utm_source=fb&utm_content=activities-2-en-260922-pch

09/24/2026

I recently had the privilege of presenting Kelly Kwong with a Veterans Ombud Commendation in recognition of his nearly 50 years of service to Veterans and their families.

A Veteran of Hong Kong’s Royal Navy, Kelly has been active with The Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans in Canada Association (ANAVETS) and The Royal Canadian Legion for over 20 years. He has served in various leadership roles with both organizations and Kelly has also spent more than two decades preserving the legacy of Chinese Veterans through his long-standing work with the Chinese Canadian Military Museum.

His leadership, compassion, and longstanding commitment to Veterans and their families has left a lasting mark on the Veteran community.

Congratulations, Kelly, on this well-deserved honour. It was a privilege to recognize your contributions.

09/21/2026

Veterans’ families are part of the journey to civilian life.

Spotlight 2026 points to the many recommendations that remain unimplemented. Of particular concern to us is access to mental health treatment benefits for families in their own right, when the need is connected to service.

Families often share in the challenges of service and deserve access to the mental health treatment benefits they need. While progress has been made, more action is needed to address long-standing fairness concerns and ensure families receive the support they deserve. https://ow.ly/k7An50ZNvYP

09/16/2026

Trust is built when recommendations lead to action.

In Spotlight 2026, we recognize VAC’s progress toward implementing our recommendations, including two from our 2025 report, The Veterans Affairs Canada Internal Review Process.

Yet, many recommendations dating back to 2017 remain unimplemented. Progress has been made, but the work of addressing long-standing unfairness issues is far from finished. https://ow.ly/LyLE50ZNvNl

09/04/2026

Over the past several months, we have been reviewing complaints and identifying concerns that may have broader implications related to Income Replacement Benefit (IRB) overpayments.

We are now undertaking a formal systemic review and have requested information from Veterans Affairs Canada to help assess potential fairness concerns related to the administration of IRB overpayments.

Understanding whether these concerns point to broader systemic issues is an important step toward ensuring Veterans are treated fairly and consistently.

If you've received an IRB overpayment letter and aren't sure what it means, our resource can help you understand the process and your options:
https://ow.ly/Si2650ZJshf

09/03/2026

Recently Released! An 80+ year-old surviving spouse reached out to our office after waiting nearly two years for awarded survivor pension benefits. After our intervention, Veterans Affairs Canada identified an administrative error, issued the overdue payment, and started regular monthly survivor pension payments. Read the Case Story: https://ow.ly/VjC350ZtzLe