Evidence of meeting #74 for National Defence in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chaplain.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:25 p.m.
Conservative
Rick Norlock Conservative Northumberland—Quinte West, ON
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Through you to the witnesses, thank you for attending today.
Exposure, for most people, to what chaplains do comes from M*A*S*H. I can remember Father Mulcahy and a lot of the things he did.
5:25 p.m.
Conservative
Rick Norlock Conservative Northumberland—Quinte West, ON
They are reruns.
The question was whether you are serving other faiths. If I remember correctly, having spoken to some of the chaplains in Trenton, you are fully capable of conducting.... A Roman Catholic priest might perhaps know, because it's so close, the Anglican faith. And the United Church minister would know a Lutheran service or have a connection. So I want to thank you for that. I know you answered that partly.
I have a couple of really quick questions, because time is running short.
In times of need, even people who really don't believe in God sometimes—I'm told—go to see a chaplain because they just need a shoulder in order to express their isolation and despair, or they just need somebody to talk to who they know won't rebuff them because they don't believe. They know they will receive a welcoming ear. I wonder if you could talk about that as well as about your methodology in dealing with the isolation, loneliness, and despair, and talk about some of the mechanics.
By the way, I understand fully, having done 30 years of police work, how terrible it is when you have to tell somebody that someone really close—a son, daughter, or father—has died in a traffic accident, and when you're a young officer it really does help when you have the local priest or minister there to do that.
5:30 p.m.
Col John Fletcher
You are absolutely right. A good chunk of folks who come to see us aren't coming because they have what they would identify in any way as being a religious question or a spiritual question. They're coming because they see the chaplain as an easy resource to access, because the chaplain is where they are. They don't actually have to go to a medical clinic or to the chapel even to find the chaplain, because the chaplain is in their unit lines. Seeking the chaplain out and having that first conversation there is just easier for people to do, and we hope to then make it easier to get them to a resource that might be more appropriate.
One of the important things for every chaplain to know is the limit of their competency and ability to care. I have to know when somebody needs something that I can't provide, and my job is to not just send them there but to actually take them there and to journey with them. That's vital.
We also do some of what Father Mulcahy did. We might call a bingo game or do that sort of thing as well.
With regard to isolation, I've often said that I get paid to have coffee. Chaplains wander around. We spend a lot of time, kind of like a beat cop, in a sense. We wander. We loiter with intent.
5:30 p.m.
Some hon. members
Oh, oh!
5:30 p.m.
Col John Fletcher
That could be dangerous. But we seek people out and we ask them those questions. You might have to ask them two or three times, “How are you doing?” Because the first time you'll just get the answer. You look them in the eye, and you spend time connecting with them. You will identify folks who have retreated into themselves, who have maybe just got something on their heart or their mind that has shut them down a bit or cut them off a bit. We encourage buddy care—to go out and do that among themselves.
Asking tough questions or heartfelt questions can be tough, but it's better than not asking the question, even if it's, “Are you thinking of killing yourself or doing harm to yourself?” We're afraid to ask that question, because we think we might give somebody the idea to do it. You never will, but you might give them permission to really say what's going on.
It's old-fashioned wandering around and meeting people and spending time with them that will overcome a good deal of that sense of isolation and will build community. I don't think there's any shortcut to that.
5:30 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative James Bezan
Thank you.
Our time has expired. It's been a very interesting meeting.
I want to thank all of you, as padres, for the service you are providing to the members of the Canadian Forces and to their families. You are a blessing to everyone who serves this nation as members of our military. I want to thank you for that as you continue on with your good works.
5:30 p.m.
Col John Fletcher
Thank you very much.
5:30 p.m.
Conservative
5:30 p.m.
An hon. member
I so move.
5:30 p.m.
Conservative
