Guest Opinion
Islanders lucky to have Veterans Affairs: the Only Decentralized Federal Headquarters
One of the constants in Canadian public life is the natural tension between the federal government and the provinces. With continuous friction, it’s often easy over time to take many of Ottawa’s initiatives for granted.
I believe it is important that we continue to recognize the contributions of the federal government to Prince Edward Island – given that our province can learn and benefit from past mistakes and successes.
In the latter category, let us take a moment and review one of the most momentous federal announcements ever to take place on Prince Edward Island. That is the decision made 27 years ago to relocate Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) to our province. This federal initiative has had profound social and economic impacts that are still today and will continue to be felt for many years to come.
In 1976, Jean Chrétien, then president of the federal Treasury Board and the Honourable Dan Macdonald, then minister of Veterans Affairs, announced the federal department would be moving to Charlottetown.
Although, we often take the presence of Veterans Affairs for granted this was certainly not the case in 1976. It’s interesting to recall the intense controversy the move generated in both Ottawa and P.E.I.
For example, the former mayor of Ottawa went so far as to call the relocation a “mindless action”. Even in our province many questions and criticisms were raised: Why this department? What was the department’s future after the inevitable passing of our nation’s veterans?
George Key, then president of the P.E.I. Real Estate Association, summed up popular sentiment at the time. In an interview with The Guardian, Mr. Key said he was “cautiously optimistic but certainly if it does come to pass it is going to be a good thing for the entire province.”
He then went on to question the future of Veterans Affairs: “I just wonder what the size of the complement of the Department of Veterans Affairs Canada will actually be in five years time. Will it in fact be a separate department in government?”
Needless to say, we can look back now after 27 years and only marvel at the wisdom of the decision.
Not only is Veterans Affairs a separate department, it is thriving and evolving to meet the changing needs of the Canadian population.
The primary purpose of the department is to contribute to the financial, physical and social well being of veterans and their dependents while at the same time working to ensure that the memory of veterans and their sacrifices will never be forgotten.
Furthermore, the department is addressing those initial concerns about the future by expanding its client base. The Veterans Affairs portfolio has developed over the years to include: pensions, disability issues, home care and members of both the Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP. Future clients of VA also encompass the increasing number of Canadians involved in overseas conflicts and peacekeeping missions.
As the department changes to reflect the evolution of our society, the employees are responding with determined professionalism.
In my experience with the different federal departments, the employees serving at Veterans Affairs are among the most dedicated in the entire public service. And those dedicated individuals also make a significant contribution to life on Prince Edward Island.
First of all, there is the economic contribution. There are upwards of 1,200 full-time public servants who work at the department’s headquarters in Charlottetown. The salary budget for those 1,200 employees will grow beyond $68 million this year. Annually, up to 100 students obtain much-needed summer jobs at Veterans Affairs. The global budget for the department during the current fiscal year is about $2.5 billion.
To put some of those figures in context – and especially the total budget of the department – the entire provincial government on Prince Edward Island will spend in the vicinity of $1 billion this year.
The overall economic size of the relocation is even more astonishing if we consider that the jobs at Veterans Affairs are among the best in the province. The department’s senior managers are based in Charlottetown. These positions carry a high degree of responsibility and are paid accordingly.
Without doubt these are very good paying and secure positions, which contribute a great deal to our economy. They also offer a potential career path for future generations of Islanders who want to stay in our province and excel in the federal public service.
The second major contribution of the department has been its unexpected social impact. Veterans Affairs has made a significant boost to the local francophone community. In fact, Statistics Canada shows that prince Edward Island has one of the highest provincial proportions of individuals who have knowledge of both official languages in Canada.
To a great extent, I believe that Veterans Affairs has played a significant role in helping the Island achieve this elevated status. The construction of the François-Buote school in the 1990s went a long way in granting adequate language facilities in Charlottetown. The growing status of our francophone community has not only enriched our society but will also continue to attract both business and tourism to our province.
In the years to come, it will be easy to take the evolving and valuable impact of Veterans Affairs for granted. However, Islanders should remember that the intense controversy surrounding the move forced the national decentralization programs to be quietly dropped. When the dust cleared, Veterans Affairs (VA) was the only federal department with its national headquarters located outside of Ottawa.
As Islanders, we were fortunate to be at the top of the list for the decentralization plan since a similar initiative was never tried again. As a result, our province enjoys the social and economic benefits of $1,200 secure and well paying jobs, a payroll of $68 million and the valuable contribution of the men and women both to the national public service and the entire province. |
