2024/25 – 2026/27 business plan

Letter of transmittal

The Honourable Michael Parsa
Minister of Children, Community and Social Services

Dear Minister Parsa:

Consistent with the requirements of Treasury Board Secretariat, I am pleased to present this 2024–25 – 2026–27 business plan on behalf of the Soldiers’ Aid Commission.

Sincerely,

Philip ten Kortenaar, CD
Chair

Executive Summary

The Soldiers’ Aid Commission is continuing its work to support Ontario’s vulnerable Veterans and their family members as per the terms of the Soldiers’ Aid Commission Act, 2020. The key priority for the coming years will be to raise program awareness to further increase program uptake rates.

Mandate

Pursuant to the Soldiers’ Aid Commission Act, 2020, the commission is mandated to:

1. Administer a financial assistance program for eligible Veterans and eligible family members of Veterans who reside in Ontario
2. Review applications for financial assistance and decide whether or not to approve them, in whole or part, in accordance with the regulations made under the act
3. Provide advice to the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services on matters affecting Veterans and their families
4. Engage in any other activities that may be prescribed by the regulations made under the act

The Soldiers’ Aid Commission will continue to make a positive difference to the well-being of vulnerable Ontario Veterans and their families by providing them with access to modest financial assistance.

The commission operates at arm’s length from government. The current members are appointed by Order-in-Council and have term lengths fixed at three years.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the commission and the ministry was last ratified in 2023.

Eligible Veterans

A Veteran is a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces who has completed basic training and was released from service.

The following people are also Veterans:

• Any person who served in any armed force of Canada or any Allied Force during World War I or World War II
• Any person who served in any armed force of Canada during World War II and who was stationed in Canada or the United States
• Any person who served in the Merchant Navy in a theatre of war during World War II
• Any person who served in any armed force of Canada or any Allied Force and who served in a theatre of operations during the Korean War

Eligible Family Members

The following family members of an eligible Veteran may receive financial assistance from the Soldiers’ Aid Commission:

• the spouse of a Veteran, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Veteran
• the child of a Veteran or Veteran’s spouse who is financially dependent, including the child of a deceased Veteran or Veteran’s spouse

The commission may provide up to $2,000 over a 12-month period per household for an applicant in financial need.

If both spouses in a household are Veterans, each spouse is eligible for up to $2,000 in a 12-month period. However, each Veteran cannot make an application for the same expense.

The commission will consider applications to support eligible recipients with financial assistance for essential expenses in the following categories:

• housing-related items, modifications or repairs that support mobility, accessibility or health and safety
• assistance to secure or maintain housing
• specialized equipment and assistive devices to support mobility, accessibility or health and safety
• health-related items and services to support physical and mental health
• personal items, services and expenses to support basic needs
• employment-related supports to remove barriers to employment or improve employability

The commission accepts applications for financial assistance made by Veterans in need or their dependents by way of the Royal Canadian Legion and Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). The Royal Canadian Legion or VAC receives applications for assistance and completes an initial screening to confirm Veteran status, obtain financial/income documentation and quotes for services being requested. Financial assistance is available to resolve a specific situation when all other resources have been exhausted.

Organization

As of January 1, 2024, the commission is comprised of a chair and vice-chair, and six other commissioners for a total of eight members. The maximum number of members is eleven. The membership of the commission is as follows:

Environmental Scan

The commission continues to receive applications through the Royal Canadian Legion – Ontario Command and VAC. These are the two key avenues that allow an applicant to apply for funding from SAC.

The commission has actively been engaging and will continue to engage with both organizations to help establish a strong foothold with the front-line staff that engage with prospective applicants.

The aim has been to educate front-line staff on the mandate of the SAC program to best support a prospective applicant. The commission will continue to meet with and present to front-line staff to ensure a regular and consistent knowledge base of those who support Veterans or their family members directly

Additionally, SAC has continued to strengthen relationships with the Legion – Ontario Command to troubleshoot any potential process issues, build a stronger working relationship and aim to support more and more vulnerable Veterans and their families.

Moving forward, the commission will focus on targeting new community and Veteran-based organizations to raise awareness of SAC and to promote the application process through the Legion and VAC. The aim will be to help spread the word about the program to reach a broader audience of Veterans and to establish the opportunity to work with these organizations in the future.

The ministry will continue to work with SAC to support their engagement and outreach priorities. Recently, this work has included the development of new materials and outreach plans to reach more Veterans over the coming years.

SAC has seen a large increase in the number of applicants received and supported over this last year (2023–24). SAC is anticipating a steady rise in total applications over the coming years.

Strategic Directions

As per the request of the minister, the commission should be:

• implementing the financial assistance program in accordance with relevant legislation, regulation and program guidelines, and operating within your agency’s allocation;
• working collaboratively with VAC, Royal Canadian Legion – Ontario Command and the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services to ensure a smooth application process for Ontario Veterans and their families and explore digitization or digital modernization strategies for provision of supports online;
• liaising with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services as needed to ensure the commission meets its goals and objectives;
• abiding by applicable government directives and policies and ensuring transparency and accountability in reporting, including adhering to requirements of the Agencies and Appointments Directive and responding to audit findings, where applicable;
• maintaining an effective system of internal controls and compliance with applicable requirements to promote accountability and sustainability;
• developing and implementing an effective process for the identification, assessment and mitigation of risks, including planning for and responding to emergency situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic; and
• supporting transparency and data sharing with the ministry, as appropriate.

As per the request of the minister, SAC will:

• Make the conduits of the Legion and VAC aware of the expanded SAC mandate and engage with these organizations as to the benefits of the mandate eligibility. This will be accomplished through regular meetings with both organizations at both the front-line and management levels.
• Engage and increase awareness of the program via other Veteran support organizations. This includes actively engaging with groups such as True Patriot Love Foundation, Wounded Warriors, Helmets to Hard Hats, Canadian Forces Military Transition teams and other military associations. The goal is to make these programs aware of the available financial assistance from SAC, how SAC can assist Veterans or their immediate family members and how to submit an application.
• Review the possibility of supporting other Veteran organizations, within the existing legislative mandate, as another potential conduit into the SAC program.
• Strengthen the relationship with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services through structured and frequent meetings to assess SAC’s progress, and with other ministries as identified, to raise awareness of SACand how its mandate may assist their respective service programs.
• Refine and expand on the ministry’s communication plan with the specific goal of increasing SAC’s social media presence and considering paid advertisement opportunities.

Overview of Commission’s Current and Future Programs and Activities

The commission will continue to meet monthly both virtually and in person to review the communications plan and implement awareness strategies to the support organizations mentioned. The commission will review and make decisions on all applications received within five business days.

The commission will maintain an ongoing review of its internal processes to ensure that decisions and issuance of payments are timely. It will also engage with Veterans organizations to solicit feedback.

Resources Needed to Meet Goals and Objectives

The commission is not requesting any additional financial or capital resources to continue its core services or meet the proposed expansion of its mandate.

Realty and Information Technology (IT)

The commission is not anticipating any capital or IT related expenditures for fiscal years 2024–25 to 2026–27.

Staffing, Human Resources and Compensation Strategy

Each commissioner is appointed by an Order-in-Council. These members serve without remuneration but may claim out-of-pocket expenses related to travel and meal expenses.

The ministry supports the commission with the equivalent of a full-time staff to support the day-to-day operations of SAC, analysis of program needs and funding, program planning, and stakeholder management. The employee is a member of the Association of Management, Administrative and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario.

Performance Measures and Targets

Financial Budget

• The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services will provide the Soldiers’ Aid Commission with up to $1.5 million for each fiscal year from 2024–25 to 2026–27 to support eligible Veterans and their families.
• The commission does not receive any revenue, so staffing costs associated with supporting the commission will be paid by the ministry.

Risk Identification, Assessment and Mitigation Strategies

For fiscal years 2024–25 through 2026–27 there are no risks identified that will potentially inhibit the commission from fulfilling its mandate within the prescribed funding allotment.

Initiatives Involving Third Parties

The commission currently relies on the Royal Canadian Legion and VAC for application intake. The commission will be working towards creating much closer ties between the organizations. This will include regular meetings with senior staff and presentations to front line staff to increase program awareness of SAC.

The focus of the coming years will be to create relationships and work closer with other Veteran-focused organizations throughout Ontario. The initial push will be to help raise awareness of the program, but there will also be a focus on how SAC can work with these organizations to better help Ontario’s Veterans and their families.

The overall aim of SAC is to help more and more of Ontario’s vulnerable Veterans by boosting its presence within the province’s Veteran landscape. This will gradually help build new networks, conduits and improve overall program uptake rates.

Communications

The commission and the ministry launched an engagement initiative for Fall/–Winter 2023–24. This included the development of new digital and physical materials (posters, postcards, templates, web links etc.). It also included a cheque insert advertisement that was sent to all recipients on social assistance and outreach to all MPPs across the province promoting the work and mandate of the commission.

The aim for the coming years is to continue to push the engagement piece within the sphere of Veteran-based organizations. This will include direct outreach by commissioners to a wide array of Veteran organizations within the province.

This will also be followed up with outreach to community-based organizations that work directly with vulnerable Veterans who may benefit from the services/supports of SAC.

A Response to the Expectations Set Out in the Agency Mandate Letter

The members of the Soldiers’ Aid Commission are eager to continue the long historical relationship with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. The expansion of its mandate in 2021 is viewed by commissioners as a giant step forward in responding to the needs of Veterans in an ever-changing society.

The commission has already taken steps to strengthen the relationship with our two main community partners, the Royal Canadian Legion and Veteran Affairs Canada, through ongoing meetings that are now in place to address issues as they arise.

It is acknowledged that the strength of the commission lies in the dedication of its members and every step will be taken to assist the ministry by keeping the minister informed of upcoming appointment vacancies and by providing recommendations for appointments or re-appointments.

We look forward to the effective evolution of the program over the next few years and the continued support of the ministry.