Today Minister Fantino is pleased to announce the appointment of former Naval Officer Thomas Jarmyn to the position of Board Member and Deputy Chairperson at the Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB).

This appointment was made by the Governor in Council through the Board’s merit-based selection process. With this appointment, Minister Fantino is continuing to honour the Government’s commitment to appoint more Board members with military, policing and medical backgrounds.

Thomas Jarmyn is appointed for a three-year term. Mr. Jarmyn spent 12 years as a Naval Officer before practicing law and teaching administrative law at Carleton University. Mr. Jarmyn previously served on the VRAB from 2009-2010, was Counsel to the Minister of Public Safety where he advised on matters related to the RCMP and their disability claims and represented injured workers as a worker’s advisor in Nova Scotia. Mr. Jarmyn holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Royal Military College of Canada, a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University, a Master of Public Ethics from Saint Paul University, and a Master of Laws (Administrative Law) from York University.

VRAB provides Veterans, Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP members, and their families, with an independent appeal program for disability benefits decisions made by Veterans Affairs Canada.

Quick Facts

• Serge Martel is also appointed for a second three-year term in Charlottetown. Mr. Martel has served as a VRAB member since 2011 and has more than 25 years of service with the RCMP and CSIS where he worked on criminal, drug, and national security investigations.
• More than half of the Board’s members now have military, medical or policing experience (12 of 23).
• The last nine new members appointed to the Board have been CAF and RCMP Veterans, and one nurse.
• The Board’s hearing process allows applicants to bring forward new evidence, give oral testimony, and have supporting arguments presented on their behalf at hearings where no one argues against them.

Quote

"Today's appointment shows our Government's commitment to increase the level of military and policing expertise on the Veterans Review and Appeal Board. Thomas Jarmyn's credentials as a former Naval Officer, lawyer, and university lecturer will enable him to take a balanced approach when it comes to the important work being done for Veterans at the Board."

─The Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of Veterans Affairs

"The NATO Veterans Organization of Canada fully supports the VAC appointment of Thomas Jarmyn to the position of Board Member and Deputy Chairperson at the VRAB. It is reassuring to see a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces appointed to such a position and we are certain that Mr Jarmyn will perform his duties to the same degree of professionalism and passion he demonstrated while in uniform."

─Gord Jenkins, President of NATO Veterans Organization of Canada