2026-27 Departmental Plan at a glance
This departmental plan details the Veterans Review and Appeal Board’s (VRAB’s) priorities, plans, and associated costs for the upcoming three fiscal years.
These plans align with the priorities outlined in the Mandate Letter as well as VRAB’s Vision, mission, raison d’être and operating context.
Key priorities
VRAB identified the following key priorities for 2026-27:
- Access to Justice
- Productivity
- Innovation
- People
Comprehensive Expenditure Review
The government is committed to restraining the growth of day-to-day operational spending to make investments that will grow the economy and benefit Canadians.
VRAB does not have planned reductions under the Comprehensive Expenditure Review.
VRAB will, however, respect the spirit of the exercise by doing the following:
- Limit hiring by carefully assessing the need to fill vacancies.
- Evaluate the operational impact of allowing term positions to lapse at contract end.
- Assess the necessity of internal and external acting assignments, approving them when they are critical to maintaining core operations.
- Prioritize essential training initiatives that deliver the greatest value to the Board.
This departmental plan reflects these measures.
Highlights for VRAB in 2026-27
Guided by these key priorities, the Board strives to provide Veterans and their families with high-quality, timely hearings and decisions. In 2026-27, the Board will implement the following new initiatives that address these priorities:
- Including a new Departmental Results Indicator to measure turnaround times for Reconsideration decisions, reinforcing the Board’s commitment to transparency.
- Seek to create a digital resource hub to ensure all Members have access to pertinent information in a centralized location, minimizing search times and increasing productivity.
In 2026-27, total planned spending (including internal services) for VRAB is $23,079,330 and total planned full-time equivalent staff (including internal services) is 200.
Summary of planned results
The following provides a summary of the results the department plans to achieve in 2026-27 under its main areas of activity, called “core responsibilities.”
Core responsibility: Appeals
Everything the Board does under its core responsibility aims to provide Veterans and their families with high-quality, timely hearings and decisions. In 2026-27, the Board will focus on the following priorities to achieve these results:
- Ensuring hearings and decisions are accessible to all in a timely manner;
- Delivering high-quality and effective hearings;
- Maintaining a culture of innovation and continuous improvement; and
- Fostering a healthy and safe organization that considers diversity and inclusion.
Planned spending: $23,079,330
Planned human resources: 200
More information about Appeals can be found in the full plan.
For complete information on VRAB’s total planned spending and human resources, see Planned spending and human resources.