Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, December 15, 2014

Veterans Affairs: Managers reaped rewards after cuts

OTTAWA — Veterans Affairs Canada managers made hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses for cutting costs as the department shed hundreds of jobs.

In 2011-12, the department paid $343,000 to 60 managers under what appears to be a new program for “Savings/Spending Targets.” No such bonuses were given out in previous years.

Bonuses ranged from $2,376 up to $14,728, and averaged about $5,700 per person, said a departmental response to a question tabled by Sen. Percy Downe of Prince Edward Island.

The following year, $243,000 was paid out to 55 managers, an average of $4,400 each.

At the same time, the department cut hundreds of jobs. In 2010-11, Veterans Affairs had 3,708 employees. By 2013-14, the department dropped 658 jobs to 3,050 positions.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper downplayed the cut jobs as “backroom administration” and “bureaucracy.”

While the number of employees fell, payments to veterans did not. The department’s budget has remained steady and sits at $3.5 billion, slightly above what it was five years ago.

The department said the reason for cutting jobs is a decline in the number of veterans it serves over the past five years, as well as new reforms to cut red tape.

The number of Veterans Affairs clients has dropped, although not at the same rate as the cuts. The number of people who received support from Veterans Affairs dropped from about 220,000 in 2008 to 205,000 this year, said the department.

That is a drop of about seven per cent. Over that same time frame, the department reduced its staffing by about 1,000 full-time jobs, or almost 25 per cent.

NDP veterans affairs critic Peter Stoffer said paying out over half a million dollars in bonuses while cutting staff will infuriate veterans.

“I just find that absolutely appalling,” said Stoffer, who represents Sackville-Eastern Shore.

“It’s quite sad to be honest with you.”

A key unanswered question is what has happened to caseloads. When federal auditor general Michael Ferguson looked into the department, his auditors were told that overwork among case managers was a problem.

However, the department did not have enough data for auditors to examine the issue. The Chronicle Herald requested numbers on caseloads, but the department did not provide any numbers as of Thursday evening.

“They definitely are overworked, overwhelmed and everything else,” said Cape Breton veteran Terry Collins, who was active in the movement to save the Veterans Affairs office in Sydney.

Collins said his case manager saw her caseload rise from around 500 clients to well over a thousand, although the Herald could not confirm this.

The department said it has recognized the issue and has been hiring new case managers this year.

The department also said it has streamlined services to provide quicker benefits with fewer staff.

This includes eliminating the requirement to submit receipts for health-care travel expenses, housekeeping and grounds maintenance services.

The government has also moved some services online, and has directed veterans to Service Canada stations. Both moves were controversial and angered some veterans, but the department said it had the effect of creating 600 new points of service across the country.

Original Article
Source: thechronicleherald.ca/
Author: PAUL MCLEOD

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