The petition 

The proposed petition reads as follows:

The Education and Training Benefit (ETB) is earned through military service and is intended to assist Canadian Armed Forces Veterans in pursuing education, training and post-service opportunities;

The current ETB framework can restrict access to legitimate technical, vocational, professional and industry training through distinctions between Formal Programs and Short Courses, provider and credential requirements, and substantially different funding limits;

Veterans may also face barriers arising from taxation of ETB payments, application and approval timelines, and the loss of usable eligibility time while participating in VAC rehabilitation; and

Military service affects Veterans and their families, while unused ETB entitlement currently cannot be transferred to a spouse, common-law partner or child.

"We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to reform the Education and Training Benefit to:

  1. Establish one flexible entitlement allowing approved formal, technical, vocational, professional, certified and industry-recognized education and training, including multiple programs or courses, to draw from a Veteran’s available ETB entitlement;
  2. Permit Veterans to transfer unused ETB entitlement to an eligible spouse, common-law partner or child for approved education and training;
  3. Make ETB education and training payments non-taxable and, where federally possible, exclude them from unrelated income-tested federal calculations;
  4. Ensure a substantially complete application submitted before training begins preserves eligibility while VAC adjudicates it, with reasonable exceptions for circumstances outside the Veteran’s control; and
  5. Protect usable ETB eligibility time where participation in VAC rehabilitation prevents reasonable use of the benefit."

Signing the official e-petition

Current Status:
The petition is currently being prepared for parliamentary sponsorship and House of Commons review. It is not yet open for signatures. This page will be updated with the official parliamentary petition link once it is published.

Once the petition has been authorized, reviewed and published through the House of Commons e-petition system, the official petition will be available for Canadians to sign online.

Canadian citizens and residents may sign the petition through the official House of Commons website. Once the petition receives at least 500 valid signatures, it can be certified and presented to the House of Commons.

How you can take action today

While the petition is being prepared for publication, you can help build support for ETB reform by sharing this proposal with Veterans, military families and Veterans organizations. You can also contact your Member of Parliament and ask them to review the proposed reforms.


Once the official House of Commons petition is published, the most important step will be signing it through the parliamentary e-petition system and encouraging other Canadians to do the same.