Veterans Affairs Committee on Feb. 9th, 2012

[Bill Foster]

That's a great question.

Right Management is a career transition firm. We are not in the area of vocational rehab. I might be casting you in the wrong light here, and I hope I'm not, but we have no intention of starting to occupy that business space. They do a fantastic job, and we have our own world in career transition.

I hope that answers your question.

[Tricia Gueulette]

With respect to moving back and forth, in our world it's up to the VAC case manager; it's their decision where that client should best be served.

[Carol Hurst]

To add to that, we do have individuals who are anticipating medically releasing, so instead of waiting for I believe it's at least six months prior to their release, they come into Career Transition Services to get a head start on their career transition process and work with a coach. When their eligibility comes through for medically releasing, then they complete our program and move over into a vocational rehabilitation program. So we do complement each other, and there's absolutely no competition. It's a very robust service offering across the board.

[Réjean Genest, NDP, Shefford, QC]

Thank you.

That answers my question exactly, in other words, whether the government made companies compete against one another or whether it improved service quality for veterans by choosing companies with different specialities.

That is the case. At the municipal level, it is possible to use ten different companies that each contribute a piece of the puzzle. The same applies here.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

I must say, everybody very much appreciated the question.

You still have some time left on that side.

Mr. Genest, do you have another question?

[Réjean Genest, NDP, Shefford, QC]

No. I appreciate short questions and answers. When I am satisfied with the information, enough said. I'm not one for elaborating just for the sake of it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

If only you could give seminars to Mr. Stoffer, we'd all love it.

Mr. Stoffer, you still have over a minute left.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

I just want to say thank you very much for the great work you do and I wish you continued success. Keeping an eye on our veterans and their families is a good thing.

If you are talking to DVA, I would only ask that you maybe allow the family members assistance as well, not just the spouses of the deceased members or the very seriously ill, but the regular family members. Under the new Veterans Charter, children and spouses do have some opportunities for education. We're finding that if the family is involved in the rehabilitation and the reintegration, the veteran himself or herself ends up becoming much better adjusted in that regard. So if you are talking about that, good.

Thank you very much for your service.

[Bill Foster]

I want to answer your earlier question about our program. Yes, if they're honourably discharged, they have access to our services. My brain wasn't working at that point.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Thank you very much.

Now, for the last time slot, Ms. Adams, we're over to your side for four minutes.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Following up on that great question, could you expand on how families are assisted through your program? They obviously are a critical part of the veteran's rehabilitation. Perhaps you can talk about the types of services you provide to families.

[Tricia Gueulette]

Our contract allows us to serve spouses of totally and permanently incapacitated members, or those who have passed away. Those are the only services we are allowed to provide at this time under the terms of our contract.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

What are your success stories, obviously without naming names? Could you give us a general overview of some of the stories you're most proud of?

[Tricia Gueulette]

One sticks in my head, because I just talked to this client. He was a security expert in the military. We helped him through a pipeline security course in Edmonton, and he just finished. It was a very short program, but he used the extensive skills he obviously had in the military. The company that trained him was so pleased and so excited by the work he did that they hired him right on the spot, as soon as he finished. So that's just an example of the skill sets that can be transferred from the military into the civilian world. It comes to mind because I spoke to him this morning.

[Bill Foster]

I have a good example. Recently we had an individual who was working with one of our coaches in Ontario and she was really interested in aerospace. She came from the air force. She was working with a coach. She came across a job posting and the individual was wondering whether or not we could provide some connections to an employer. We had a relationship on our civilian side and also through CTS with a major aerospace company that does simulators and we approached the organization. They set up an interview.

The person got hired, and she's living in her community, working in an industry that's really taking off--to excuse the pun--and just absolutely head over heels in love with her job. And that's exactly the type of thing....

I think both organizations, if the committee wants this, can give you some testimonials. We'd be happy to do that, to give you some real-life experiences of people who have surmounted the challenges and been successful.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

I think intuitively Canadians would feel that members of the Canadian armed forces are unbelievably disciplined and they all have an incredibly strong work ethic, and that just about any Canadian employer would be lucky to have them on board. It's a message that we need to get out there. They've certainly served our country, and any employer would be so fortunate to be able to make use of those skill sets.

[Carol Hurst]

Many hiring organizations are aware of those skill sets. We've had corporations approach us, and because those skill sets are part of the military picture and not necessarily part of the civilian side, corporations are prepared to pay relocation fees to provide all the training, because the core foundation of what they're looking for is there. It's just on-the-job skills that the veterans don't have. The corporations are prepared to train them, to give them that skill set and that behaviour.

[Bill Foster]

Yes, it's about the attitude. You can't train attitude. It's impossible.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

That does conclude both rounds of questions and answers.

We have really appreciated your presentations today and your candid answers. Obviously there's a lot to what you do and what you provide for veterans, so we appreciate that very much. On behalf of the committee, I'd just like to--

[Wladyslaw Lizon, Conservative, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Mr. Chair, I'm sorry, I have one quick question. I need clarification on something, on the contracts that these people have--

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

What I would suggest--

[Wladyslaw Lizon, Conservative, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

--if that's permissible.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

The committee would have to agree that you can ask another question, because we've gone beyond our time.

Does everybody agree?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.