By Canadian Press

Feds asked to automatically approve veterans’ claims backlog amid COVID-19 fears

Apr 2, 2020 | 2:04 AM

OTTAWA — One of Canada’s largest veterans’ organizations is urging the federal government to automatically approve roughly 44,000 outstanding applications for disability benefits to help injured veterans better deal with the COVID-19 crisis.

The call from the National Council of Veteran Associations, which represents more than 60 groups, comes amid fears about the financial and emotional toll the pandemic is having on veterans with mental and physical wounds.

Veterans’ council chairman Brian Forbes says the COVID-19 crisis presents yet another barrier for veterans to get their applications approved, citing as one hurdle doctors’ refusal to meet with and assess former service members’ injuries.

Without a doctor’s assessment, applications are deemed incomplete and cannot proceed to a formal decision.

Veterans Affairs Canada says it is trying to get more staff working on processing claims while reaching out personally to veterans who have been identified as particularly vulnerable.

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The department says there are no immediate plans to automatically approve the backlog.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2020.

The Canadian Press