BackOn 4 September 2025, the Office of the Veterans Ombud (OVO) released its annual publication Spotlight 2025: Progress Update on OVO Recommendations to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC).
The OVO addresses systemic gaps and barriers to fair access by Veterans and their families to VAC services and benefits and makes recommendations to resolve the unfairness. With Spotlight, the OVO assesses the progress made by VAC on these recommendations and determines the status of each recommendation as “Implemented,” “Partially Implemented,” “Not Implemented,” or “In Progress.” “Not yet Tracked” describes recommendations made within the last fiscal year.
Mental health support for Veterans’ families remains a key advocacy priority. For the fifth consecutive year, the Veterans Ombud is urging the government to provide access to mental health treatment benefits for family members of Canadian Armed Forces Veterans in their own right. This is a recommendation that dates back to the 2021 report, Mental Health Treatment Benefits for Family Members, in their Own Right, for Conditions related to Military Service (2021).
“We are encouraged that VAC has made significant progress in implementing all of our recommendations relating to gender equity in the adjudication of sexual dysfunction. However, there is still much to do on a number of outstanding recommendations, and we will continue to call on VAC for action in addressing fairness issues affecting the Veteran community.”
- Colonel (Ret’d) Nishika Jardine, Veterans Ombud.
The Veterans Ombud acknowledges that implementing some of our recommendations takes time but believes that reporting on the progress of recommendations, or lack thereof, is an important indicator to demonstrate transparency and responsiveness to the Veteran community.
Kindly click here to read the full report.
Source: The Office of the Veterans Ombuds, Canada
