The Bureau of Pensions Advocates (BPA) is a nation-wide, semi-independent law firm within Canada's Department of Veterans Affairs (also known as Veterans Affairs Canada). In place in one form or another since October 1, 1930, it provides free counsel and legal representation to Canadian Veterans and members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in appeals before the Veterans Review and Appeal Board regarding Veterans Affairs Canada decisions on their disability pension and award applications.
Mandate The Bureau of Pensions Advocates offers free legal advice and representation to Veterans and serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces, Veterans and serving members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, former members of Canada's Merchant Navy, and eligible family members before the Veterans Review and Appeal Board of Canada (VRAB) on Department of Veterans Affairs decisions related to the following Illness or Injury Benefits: Disability Pension, Critical Injury Benefit, Additional Pain and Suffering Compensation, and Exceptional Incapacity Allowance, as well as the following Income Support Benefits: Survivor's Pension and War Veteran's Allowance.
BPA lawyers, also referred to as "advocates", and support staff assist clients with reviews, appeals, and applications for reconsideration before VRAB. Given their experience in pension and disability matters, they are considered specialists in the area of claims for Veterans' disability pensions and awards. Over 98% of people appearing before VRAB are represented by BPA lawyers. BPA lawyers do not work for VRAB. Before appealing a decision to VRAB, BPA Advocates may, where appropriate, also assist clients with departmental reviews of their decisions.
BPA was established pursuant to section 6.1(1) of the Department of Veterans Affairs Act.
BPA's Legacy
Through its representation of its clients before the Veterans Review and Appeal Board, the Bureau of Pensions Advocates has contributed to the advancement of legislation and policy related to disability benefits for military Veterans and RCMP members in Canada. On some issues it was well ahead of the curve, putting forward interpretations that would later become accepted norms within Canadian society. Some of these include:
Gender Equality (including challenging traditional views on issues of harassment)
LGBTQ Equality (including extending benefits for same sex couples)
Mental Health (putting forward arguments around PTSD before it was a fully-recognized diagnosis)
Expansion of Who Qualifies as a "Veteran"
Refinement of the Definition of "On Duty" for the Purpose of Qualifying for Disability Benefits
Advancement of the Right to Benefits for Veterans' Survivors
Relevant Legislation
The Bureau of Pensions Advocates was established and operates pursuant to the Department of Veterans Affairs Act and the Veterans Review and Appeal Board Act. BPA lawyers work to obtain benefits for Veteran clients and eligible family members under the Pension Act, the Veterans Well-being Act, and the War Veterans Allowance Act. BPA lawyers also work on behalf of members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and eligible family members, both of whom receive benefits under the Pension Act only (the RCMP is not subject to the Veterans Well-being Act).
Partners
The Bureau of Pensions Advocates maintains a close working relationship with the Royal Canadian Legion (RCL), which includes training of RCL service officers as well as the co-representation of numerous clients before the Veterans Review and Appeal Board. BPA also cooperates with the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman to resolve complex cases and discuss policy approaches to Veterans' benefits. In addition, the Bureau works with Veterans Affairs Canada's Service Delivery Branch to divert cases away from the VRAB redress process and back to the department by way of departmental reviews where feasible, in an effort to resolve cases expeditiously. BPA also maintains working relationships with the Canadian Armed Forces through the CAF-VAC Liaison Officer, and with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police through the RCMP-VAC Liaison Officer, and collaborate on training initiatives as well as on complex files.
Services Offered
Applicants for a disability pension or award who are not satisfied with the Department of Veterans Affairs' decision may seek the services of the Bureau of Pensions Advocates at no cost to them. A BPA lawyer will review the client's file and may offer the following advice:
Departmental Review
Recommend a Departmental Review. In this case, the client may have been missing a piece of documentation or evidence in their application to the Department that could help the Department grant the disability pension or award requested. The lawyer will assist the client in submitting the information to the Department.
Accept the Department's Decision
Recommend against appealing because the Department's decision on the client's first application appears to be correct. Regardless of the lawyer's recommendation, the client has an absolute right (absent any fraud or issues of ethics) to instruct the lawyer to proceed to Review should the client wish to do so.
VRAB Review
Recommend proceeding to the Veterans Review and Appeal Board for a Review hearing. The lawyer will prepare and present an oral argument to a two-member panel. In a split decision, where one of the two panel members agrees and the other does not, the tie is resolved in favour of the client. At this level, the client is entitled to appear personally (at the Department's expense) and provide oral evidence with the assistance of his/her BPA lawyer. Regardless of the lawyer's recommendation, the client has an absolute right (absent any fraud or issues of ethics) to instruct the lawyer to proceed should the client wish to do so.
VRAB Appeal
Recommend proceeding to the Veterans Review and Appeal Board for an Appeal hearing. The lawyer will prepare and present a submission in writing (which sometimes is presented orally as well) to a three-member panel. Appeals generally deal with any errors in law or fact that the Review Board may have made. Errors in law or fact may include, for example, a misinterpretation of the law, or the improper consideration of evidence presented. The lawyer will provide the client with a copy of the written argument before the hearing. Only two of the three panel members need agree with the client for the disability pension or award to be granted. Although clients do not normally address the Board at the Appeal stage, they are entitled to attend the hearing (at their own expense). Regardless of the lawyer's recommendation to proceed to an Appeal or not, the client has an absolute right (absent any fraud or issues of ethics) to instruct the lawyer to proceed should the client wish to do so.
Application for Reconsideration
Discuss the possibilities for an Application for Reconsideration. After the Board's Appeal decision, if the client is still not satisfied, a Reconsideration hearing may, under exceptional circumstances, be held. Reconsiderations are not available to clients as of right; the client, or the client's lawyer, must apply for a hearing, which must be granted by VRAB before it can proceed.
If, after having exhausted his/her appeal options, a client is still dissatisfied, s/he may (at their own expense) appeal to the Federal Court of Canada. The Bureau of Pensions Advocates does not currently have the authority to represent individual clients at the Federal Court. Clients proceeding to the Federal Court of Canada with their own private lawyer or representing themselves should be aware that the Federal Court does not have the jurisdiction to impose its own decision to grant a disability pension or award. Instead, the Court considers how the Veterans Review and Appeal Board made its decision. If the Court deems that the decision was arrived at in an incorrect manner (e.g., the Board misinterpreted the law, or did not properly consider evidence presented), it can advise the Board of the error and direct it to reconsider the case (not to be confused with an Application for Reconsideration discussed above). At this point, the Bureau of Pensions Advocates may again represent the client (free of charge) before the Board as it reconsiders the matter.
Issues That Are Appealed Most
The issues that are most appealed by clients are:
Entitlement
Entitlement has to do with whether a client has a right to a benefit. The issue most dealt with under Entitlement is proving that the illness or injury was a result of, or directly connected to, service in the Canadian Armed Forces or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Assessment
Assessment is the determination of the severity of the illness or injury that resulted from, or was directly connected to, service. This will determine the amount of compensation the client will receive.
Retroactivity
Retroactivity looks at how far back payment of a benefit should begin.
History and Evolution
Pre-Confederation
The concept of compensation of Veterans in Canada began even before Confederation for demobilized soldiers of New France, and soldiers of the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Fenian Raids. These Veterans were given land as a way of helping them ease back into civilian life.Pg 6, "An Historical Perspective of Veteran Legislation, Department of Veterans Affairs, 1985 (internal Departmental publication)
The first disability pensions were introduced in 1866 to further compensate militiamen wounded or disabled as a result of hostile invasion of Canada during the Fenian Raids launched from the United States, as well as to the widows and orphans of those killed in battle.Directorate of Planning and Evaluation, Department of Veterans Affairs, "A History of Veterans Affairs In Canada", Ottawa, 1979 (unpublished) These benefits were subsequently extended to those who took part in quelling the North West Rebellion of 1885.
World War I
The First World War, with its heavy casualties and the need to help over 400,000 returning veterans ease back into civilian life, required a greater degree of government involvement. The first initiative came in 1915. As a result of the lack of any public health system in Canada in the early 20th century, and in order to deal with the growing number of returning wounded Veterans, the Canadian government established the Military Hospitals Commission."Bulletin - Canadian Military Hospitals Commission November 1917(8_06875_1 Library and Archives Canada) In the century following the First World War, a growing list of programs and services have been added to the resources and benefits available to Veterans.
1918 Department of Soldiers' Civil Re-establishment (February 21, 1918 - June 10, 1928)
Responsibility for veterans' issues was given to the Department of Soldiers' Civil Re-establishment.
1919 Right of Appeal
The first right of appeal for Veterans related to their pension decisions came in the Pension Act of 1919 where, pursuant to section 18, "Two or more Commissioners shall sit for the purpose of hearing the appeals of dissatisfied applicants..."The Pension Act, 1919, 9-10 George V, Ch. 43
1922 The Roots of BPA: Royal Commission on Pensions and Re-establishment
In 1922 the Royal Commission on Pensions and Re-establishment noted, "The complaint is made that it has been found necessary for applicants to procure the intervention of some third person or organization in presenting their claims. There is evidence that where the claim has been taken up intelligently and aggressively by an organization, the application which had previously failed finally succeeded ..."(Report, Royal Commission on Pensions and Re-establishment 1922-24, Sessional Paper 154, page 118.) As a result, the Commission recommended that