OTTAWA - Veterans Affairs will be hiring up to 100 additional case managers to help guide the country's former soldiers through the maze of the federal bureaucracy.
The announcement was made today in Courcelette, Que., 150 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.
Veterans Affairs Minister Erin O'Toole says the permanent staff are being added to provide improved one-on-one service for soldiers, and will be located across the country at points where they are needed the most.
The veterans ombudsman, the auditor general and the Commons veterans committee have all complained in the past that the department has too few case managers, leading to frustration and lengthy waits for rehabilitation services.
The new case workers represent an increase of more than one third in the current number, who are managing as many as 40 veterans files apiece.
O'Toole says the additions mean each manager will now be responsible for 32 ex-soldiers, giving them more time to attend to individual needs.
