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Departments of the Government of Canada
Veterans Affairs
Anciens Combattants
Minister	Greg Thompson
Responsibilities	Veterans
Employees	N/A
Department Website

The Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), also referred to as Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), is the department within the government of Canada with responsibility for pensions/benefits and services for war veterans, retired personnel of the Canadian Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, their families, as well as some civilians.

A war veteran's eligibility for certain benefits may depend on his/her "overseas" status, defined by Veterans' Affairs as having served at least two miles offshore from Canada. In the Second World War (1939-45) Canada did not yet include Newfoundland, which became a Canadian province only in 1949. Thus WW2 veterans who served in Newfoundland are considered by Veterans Affairs to be "overseas veterans".

An important division of Veterans Affairs is called "Canada Remembers". This is responsible for all war commemoration activities, such as Remembrance Day, and coordinates and funds various "pilgrimages" for Canadian war veterans to foreign battlefields and international ceremonies (e.g. the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands in early 1995, the 60th anniversary of D Day on June 6, 2004, etc.)

The year 2005 was declared Year of the Veteran in Canada, to teach, remember, thank, honour and celebrate. The image of a poppy overlapping a gold maple leaf became a special symbol during the campaign, on posters, pamphlets, bookmarks and documents. In 2007, the Veterans' Bill of Rights stated that Veterans Affairs Canada must show veterans respect.^[1]

The Minister of Veterans Affairs is The Honourable Greg Thompson.

Current Veterans Affairs Structure

• Minister of Veteran’s Affairs
  • Deputy Minister
    • Associate Deputy Minister Veterans Affairs Canada
      • Assistant Deputy Minister, Veterans Services Branch
      • Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services Branch
      • Assistant Deputy Minister, Public Programs and Communications Branch
      • Director General, Policy Planning and Liaison
      • Director General, Co-ordination and Secretariat

On November 9, 2008, the Honourable Greg Thompson, Minister of Veterans Affairs, attended a Service of Remembrance at the Canada Memorial in Green Park, London, England. Canada recently assumed responsibility for the Memorial, which pays tribute to the nearly one million Canadian men and women who served in the United Kingdom during the First and Second World Wars.

See also

• List of Canadian Ministers of Veterans Affairs

References

1. ^ The Royal Canadian Legion, "VETERANS’ BILL OF RIGHTS," April 3, 2007, URL accessed 3 April 2007.

External links

• Veterans Affairs Canada Official Website
• Canada Remembers
• Watch Fields of Sacrifice, a documentary produced for Department of Veteran Affairs

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