OTTAWA—The long delays many veterans face when applying to the government for assistance for service-related injuries have reached a new milestone. But Veterans Affairs Canada says the average wait time for initial applications is now twice as long — 32 weeks — as requests for assistance continue to outpace the department’s ability to process them. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOWVeterans ombudsman Craig Dalton told a parliamentary committee last month that wait times were the “No. The government is hoping to rein in the ever-growing wait times, which have also resulted in a 40,000-case backlog, after hiring and training hundreds of temporary staff. “Ensuring veterans receive the benefits they deserve is a top priority for our government,” Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay’s spokesman, Alex Wellstead, said in an email.

Source: thestar July 03, 2019 23:26 UTC