2025/26 – 2027/28 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 2025/26 – 2027/28 business plan on behalf of the Soldiers’ Aid Commission.

Sincerely,

Philip ten Kortenaar, CD

Chair

Executive summary

The Soldiers’ Aid Commission main goal is to support Ontario’s vulnerable Veterans and their family members as per the terms of the Soldiers’ Aid Commission Act, 2020.

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. Lead engagement and promotion opportunities supporting the mandate of the commission;
4. Provide advice to the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services on matters affecting Veterans and their families; and
5. Engage in any other activities that may be prescribed by the regulations made under the act.

Additionally, in November 2024 the government made the following changes to the Soldiers’ Aid Commission Act, 2020 and its regulations.

Increased funding limit:

Changes to O. Reg. 703/20 have increased the funding available from the Commission to $3,000 per 12-month period.

Modifying the last resort requirement:

Amendments to O. Reg. 703/20 also now only require veterans to seek support from federal veteran specific funding prior to requesting assistance from the Commission.

Enhancing commissioner outreach:

The new object of the Soldiers’ Aid Commission Act, 2020 has been amended to include the role of SAC to assist the Minister in promoting the financial assistance program administered by the Commission to increase awareness of the program for the benefit of veterans and their family members.

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.

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.

Eligible Ontario Veterans and their families in financial need can get up to $3,000 per 12-month period to help pay for eligible expenses.

Applicants may apply multiple times over the 12-month period until they have received the maximum amount of $3,000.

If both spouses in a household are Veterans, each spouse is eligible for up to $3,000 in a 12-month period. However, both Veterans may not apply for funding for the same expense.

If an applicant receives social assistance, funding from the Soldiers’ Aid Commission is in addition to any financial assistance from Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). Funding does not impact eligibility for social assistance or the amount of an applicant’s monthly payment.

Financial assistance through the Soldiers’ Aid Commission can supplement support offered by Veterans Affairs Canada.

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

• Home-related items, such as repairs, furniture, replacement/repair of roof and furnace
• Housing-related items, such as first and last month’s rent or moving costs
• Mental health supports and health-related items, such as hearing aids, glasses, prescription and dental needs
• Specialized equipment, including assistive devices, wheelchairs and prosthetics
• Personal items, such as clothing and personal care products
• Employment-related supports, including work clothing such as work boots, and short-term courses to help improve access to the job market

The commission accepts applications through the Royal Canadian Legion and Veterans Affairs Canada. Their service officers and agents help access other Veteran supports as well as assistance from the Commission.

Organization

The commission, as of January 1, 2025, is comprised of a chair and seven 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 works directly with the Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Command and Veterans Affairs Canada. Both organizations provide onboarding services for prospective applicants and assist them with applying to the Soldiers’ Aid Commission for funding.

The commission will continue to actively engage with both organizations which includes meeting and presenting to front line staff and sharing materials both digitally and printed to promote the commission. Additionally, commissioners will focus on attending in person and virtual events led by these organizations to continue to strengthen their relationship and share program knowledge in an effort to increase program uptake rates.

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 the Veteran or their family directly. Through 2025, the commission will also invite referral partners to their monthly meetings, as appropriate, to strengthen their partnership.

Additionally, the commission and ministry are strengthening their direct relationship with the Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Command by providing funding to support the Legion to modernize its website and create a direct landing page for prospective Soldiers’ Aid Commission applicants and a dedicated Legion contact email and phone number. Additional short-term funding will be provided for dedicated resources at the Legion to help process the flow of applications, promote the commission’s mandate within the over 400 Legion branches and support various initiatives within the organization that will help raise recognition and intake rates.

In late 2024, the ministry launched an expansion to the mandate of the Soldiers’ Aid Commission by removing the need for charitable organizations to fund an application prior to the commission, and increasing the amount the commission could fund per applicant from $2000 to $3000. It is anticipated that both these changes will be met positively within the Veteran community and will directly lead to further program growth and more applications. To date, the commission is already seeing a positive trend in program uptake rates since these changes launched in mid-November 2024.

The ministry will continue to work with SAC to support their engagement and outreach priorities. This has included the development of new materials and outreach and communication plans to raise awareness of SAC among the Veteran community.

Over the past several years SAC has seen a year over year increase in the number of applications received and processed. It is anticipated that these uptake rates will continue to increase in the coming years. The recent changes to the Soldiers’ Aid Commission, and the dedicated effort of the ministry to raise awareness of the Soldiers’ Aid Commission financial assistance has resulted in more applications for funding.

Strategic directions

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

1. Continuing to grow the program by supporting more eligible Veterans and their eligible family members.
2. Continuing to lead outreach opportunities by targeting both new and existing Veteran organizations to strengthen and/or establish networks and promote the mandate of the Commission.
3. Reviewing applications in a timely manner to ensure expedient turnaround times for applicants applying to the Commission for financial assistance.
4. Continuing to build and strengthen relationships with the Commission’s two key referral partners: The Royal Canadian Legion – Ontario Command and Veterans Affairs Canada.

As per the request of the minister, SAC will:

• Continue to focus on engagement and promotion over the course of the coming years. SAC will focus on its two key program conduits in the Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Command and Veterans Affairs Canada.
• Subsequently SAC will engage and increase awareness of the program via other Veteran support organizations. The goal will be to meet and discuss opportunities with as many new and existing Veteran based organizations to help spread the word and work towards promoting the mandate of the commission. The target will be to have Commissioners assigned a specific region within the province to focus on organizations within the area. The goal will have Commissioners meet multiple organizations and lead discussions and presentations to enhance awareness of the Commission.
• Continue to provide exceptional customer service and quick turn around times for Veterans submitting applications to the commission for review. SAC will monitor the application review process and consider amendments to the process where needed.
• Monitor the number of applications submitted to the commission, the type of expenses requested/approved, and the location of referrals with the intention of increasing applications and raising awareness in areas of the Province that have lower numbers.
• 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 SAC and how its mandate may assist their respective service programs. This includes meeting with the minister and/or delegates throughout the year.

Overview of commission’s current and future programs and activities

The commission will continue to meet monthly to discuss regular commission business. All applications will be reviewed digitally with a commitment to review and make a decision on applications within 5-business days.

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

Through the relationship and short-term funding provided by the ministry to The Royal Canadian Legion - Ontario Command, there will be increased opportunities for data sharing and trend identification between both organizations. The Commission will monitory the number and types of inquiries and work with the Legion to better understand and adapt to the types of applications being submitted. This will also lead to further communication opportunities within the Legion to help better promote the mandate at the local Branch level.

Resources needed to meet goals and objectives

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

Realty and information technology (IT)

For fiscal years 2025-26 to 2027-28 the commission is not anticipating any capital or IT related expenditures.

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 approved travel and meal expenses.

The ministry supports the commission with staffing to operate the day to day operations of SAC, analysis of program needs and funding, program planning and stakeholder management.

Performance measures and targets

Financial budget

• The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services will provide the Soldiers’ Aid Commission with up to $1.55M for each fiscal year from 2025-26 to 2027-28 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 2025-26 through 2027-28 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 works with the Royal Canadian Legion – Ontario Command and Veterans Affairs Canada for application intake. Currently the ministry is providing short term funding to the Royal Canadian Legion – Ontario Command that will help with digital website modernization and resources to support commission applications.

The focus of the coming years will be to create relationships and work closer with other Veteran-serving organizations throughout Ontario. The initial push will be to help raise awareness of the program beyond the Legion and Veterans Affairs Canada, to increase awareness of SAC with an intention to increase application rates and fully spend the available budget.

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 community. This will gradually help build new networks, conduits and improve overall program uptake rates.

Communication plan

The commission and the ministry will continue to work together to target communications and engagement opportunities to Veteran serving organizations and the general public. This includes maintaining and developing digital and physical materials (posters, postcards, templates, web links etc.). It also includes maintaining the SAC website and engaging in social media outreach activities.

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

This will also be followed up with more work to reach community-based organizations that may also work directly with vulnerable Veterans who may benefit from the services/supports SAC could assist funding.

A Response to the expectations set out in the agency mandate letter

The Soldiers’ Aid Commission will endeavour to maintain a strong outreach protocol to continue to raise awareness of the funding available to eligible Ontario based Veterans and their families in need.

The goal is to maintain strong communications with our conduit partners in The Royal Canadian Legion – Ontario Command and Veterans Affairs Canada. This includes continuing to spread program awareness, lead presentations, share communications materials and network with front line staff and other Veteran-service organizations.

The Soldiers’ Aid Commission recognizes the urgency of supporting Ontario’s Veteran in need. Therefore, we are committed to ensuring a timely review in addressing an application to facilitate a rapid turnaround of funding. At present, if an application is approved, the commission will issue funding within five to eight business days.

Through a new partnership with The Royal Canadian Legion – Ontario Command, we’ve made it easier for Veterans to apply by creating a new Commission landing page on the Legion website and having dedicated Legion staff to support onboarding of applications to the Commission.

This will result in a steady flow of new applications. The Soldiers’ Aid Commission continues to see growth year over year, and it is our expectation to maintain this momentum to continue to support Ontario based Veterans.