Why Municipal Leadership Matters for Veterans | Ottawa Veterans Task Force

By David Hill

As Canadians, we rightly emphasize the federal responsibility to those who serve. Veterans Affairs Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces, and national institutions play indispensable roles. But after 25 years in uniform and now serving at the municipal level, I have come to understand a critical reality: many of the challenges veterans face are not federal in nature. They are local.

That is why the Ottawa Veterans Task Force (OVTF) matters, and why its work extends beyond Ottawa.

The Ottawa Veterans Task Force brings together veterans, civilians, community leaders, and supportive elected officials as volunteers united by a simple objective: improving access. Not creating new programs for the sake of visibility, but connecting existing ones, removing barriers, and ensuring veterans and their families are aware of and can actually navigate the systems meant to support them.

The Task Force focuses on four priorities: access to primary healthcare, access to affordable and supportive housing, access to meaningful career transition support, and access to proper recognition through commemoration. These priorities are informed by data, lived experience, and direct engagement with veterans across the city.

View the full article about the OVTF here:

www.espritdecorps.ca

Why Municipal Leadership Matters for Veterans — espritdecorps

David Hill argues that while Veterans Affairs Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces play vital roles, many veterans’ challenges are local. The Ottawa Veterans Task Force coordinates healthcare, housing, employment, and recognition at the city level—offering a scalable municipal model inspired by Vete