This group of 21 diverse organizations was formed in 2015 under the leadership of the National Association of Federal Retirees to advocate against the adoption of Bill C27 by the Government of Canada. That Bill, although not directly affecting most current Government employees, was seen as a first attempt to replace the current Defined Benefit pensions with Targeted Benefit pensions, thus reducing the risk to the government and increasing the risk for a reduction in the pensions earned by our members. The CPVA newsletter, The Blue Beret, included an explanation of these differences in the Spring 2015 edition.

The advocacy of this group and the NAFR resulted in Bill C-27 dying on the order paper when the 2019 election was called. The various member organizations have been standing by should the government again try to raise this issue. While many of the member organizations have a much wider mandate than CPVA, we retain a monitoring presence.

The Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) began a series of informal meetings with a select group of Veterans organizations in 2017. The aim of these meetings was to give VAC an opportunity to update the various groups on the state of Veterans issues within the Department, and to give those groups a venue to raise their concerns in an informal atmosphere. This group usually includes representatives from The Royal Canadian Legion, NATO Veterans Organization of Canada (NATO Vets), CPVA, Canadian Association of Veterans in United Nations Peacekeeping (CAVUNP), Army, Navy & Air Force Veterans in Canada (ANAVETS), Canadian Army Veterans (CAV), Gulf War Veterans Association of Canada, National Association of Federal Retirees (NAFR), the National Council of Veterans Organization, and Aboriginal Veterans Council, along with supporting members of VAC staff.

We find these Deputy Minister informal gatherings to be very useful venues for the exchange of information and concerns, and we are currently represented at them by our Vice-President, Greg Mitchell.

Veterans Affairs Canada maintains six Ministerial Advisory Groups for consultation on issues of importance to Veterans and their families. They are the Advisory Group on Families; the Care and Support Advisory Group; the Advisory Group on Recognition; the Health and Well-being Advisory Group; the Policy Advisory Group; and the Service Excellence and Transition Advisory Group.

Our Past President, Ray Kokkonen, was a long-serving member of the Advisory Group on Recognition.

Over the years, CPVA representatives have testified before Senate and Parliamentary Committees on several occasions. Our former Special Advisor, Advocacy, Lieutenant-General Lou Cuppens (Ret’d), advocated on issues of Veteran wellbeing as well as Canada’s lack of engagement in United Nations peacekeeping. Greg Mitchell spoke about selection of future missions (MINUSMA in Mali was then still under consideration). He also submitted written testimony including substantive recommendation to re-establish Canada’s leadership capabilities.