I will talk about the transition to civilian life.
We work closely with Canadian Forces health professionals to facilitate the transition of members to civilian life. Whether the person has been with the Canadian Forces for two years or 35, when a member has a mental or physical health problem, we are contacted.
The Canadian Forces would of course like to allow the member to continue serving. Their first goal is to reintegrate or retrain that person, because training a soldier is expensive. Regardless of the person's occupation, it is a major investment. The Canadian Forces invest a great deal in their personnel.
Once it has been determined that the member cannot be reintegrated into their unit, we are contacted and we work closely with the member to provide guided support. We have to assist the member and support them throughout the process. This person's goal in life, their career, is to be a member of the Canadian Forces. As a result of psychological or physical injury in combat—there are different kinds of injuries—from one day to the next, the person can no longer be a member of the Canadian Forces. That is traumatic. Suddenly the person has a lot of forms to fill out and has to make some decisions. In addition, their mental health may be suffering. At that point, we work closely with the Canadian Forces to facilitate the member's transition to civilian life. The guided support is a way of working even more closely with that person.
The changes proposed by the committee in the last session have allowed us to intervene much earlier in the process. Thank you for that. Under the previous act, our responsibilities began the day that the member was no longer in uniform. We still work with the Canadian Forces, but as a result of the changes proposed by this committee, we can play a more effective role in this process.
My deputy minister always says not to say six months, but often we become involved from six months to a year before the person leaves the military, working with Canadian Forces health professionals. We work as a team to ensure a smooth transition.