The government is announcing a new plan to address long-standing delays and backlogs for processing disability benefits for retired soldiers.

The measure was announced Monday as new figures showed almost 50,000 claims for disability benefits were sitting in the queue at Veterans Affairs Canada at the end of March

It was confirmed that 95 applications for disability benefits were withdrawn in the last fiscal year when the military veteran or retired RCMP officer had died without an eligible surviving spouse or dependant child.

Veterans Affairs Canada is reinstating funding of mental health services after a government policy change meant family members were denied benefits.

Veterans Affairs meets or exceeds its own 16-week standard for processing disability and health-care benefit applications in just one-third of cases, according to government data.

Retired corporal Shane Jones says he's been fighting Veterans Affairs Canada for benefits for more than a decade, and has launched a human rights complaint.

Health and Wellness Minister Randy Delorey says couples should be able to be together even if one person may need a different level of care.

Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay says eliminating the backlog is his top priority and the department is trying to move files along faster.

There is a huge gap between what the government is promising Canadian veterans and what is being delivered, Bill Kelly says.

The Liberal government has broken a promise and defied Parliament by allowing $105 million earmarked for Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) to go unspent.