Veterans Affairs committee  I think that measure is extremely detrimental. It does not fit the needs of the individual and their family. It's said that this amount is supposed to help an individual recover, but it's insufficient for that purpose. Someone may have purchased a first home or made investments and, after 2008, lost two-thirds of their investments, so nothing would remain of that amount.

Veterans Affairs committee  In 1997, when I was assistant to the assistant deputy minister, we carried out a study on the condition of the troops, in terms of their morale and their quality of life. Two of the five pre-eminent scholars who were involved in this study recommended, as the best solution, that the Canadian Armed Forces establish a union.

Veterans Affairs committee  I am ready.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you very much, Chair. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, of this committee of enormous significance to so many people. Thank you for having the patience of inviting an older vet, a retired general who is busy at times on the other side of this Hill. I am here very much to speak as a veteran, as a retired general officer, and a bit in my duties as a senator.

Veterans Affairs committee  The same debate takes place in the civilian world: people don't want to talk about suicide because they are afraid that this will generate more suicides. So the reporting of suicides is censored. Within the armed forces, for several years there was a terrible stigma attached to the individuals from a regiment who had committed suicide.

Veterans Affairs committee  I have a final statement, sir. I don't think there's a more magnificent time to serve than now, because the missions are just. But those in uniform who I've spoken to across the country ask two things of their leaders. One, when you commit them to a mission, then you give them the tools to win.

Veterans Affairs committee  I won't talk about the charter, because I'm the chair of the veterans subcommittee. We've been studying it for the last eight months, and we hope to continue to study it and get into the nuts and bolts of not only the charter but how it's being applied and interpreted in the regulations.

Veterans Affairs committee  You've managed to insert 15 questions in one. I congratulate you, that is clever. First of all, what I had recommended in 1998, and this was done, was that the individual seek therapy voluntarily. Without therapy, those who are affected by operational stress will not be able to recover.

Veterans Affairs committee  The serving member--they can be serving and a veteran also, as you know--although not necessarily overtly conscious of it, is expecting that the social contract of the unlimited liability clause between the individual and the people of this country is forever. It is not a short-term contract, such as an insurance policy.

Veterans Affairs committee  I live in Quebec and I have seen men come back alone from Afghanistan, but they weren't alone. A chaplain or family members were waiting for them as they got off the plane, and the regiment took care of them. However, it is different for those who are not members of a regiment, for instance.

Veterans Affairs committee  In 1971 they had a plan called “Restore”. That was when we massively cut, hugely cut, the forces. We offered people a golden handshake, even people who had been Korean vets, and we let them go, like that. Within three years, we were getting reports that a lot of them had died.

Veterans Affairs committee  You have put your finger on the difference. In a theatre of operations, there is constant follow-up for people. There is a whole structure in place to ensure that they are ready to conduct operations, and they are monitored. In spite of that, there were two suicides on the base, but both were quite particular cases.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'll try to shorten my answers.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'll respond with a couple of points. For those who remain in the forces and go through a process of follow-up at three months and six months--my son came back six months after a tour of duty in Sierra Leone and went through the process--although they may be identified with PTSD at a different level, which is essential to identify early, the availability of care is not necessarily immediately there.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To speak of a topic as weighty as operational stress injuries in a brief ten-minute span is not an easy thing, especially for a former general who has now become a fledgling politician. I'm going to do a quick overview in order to leave the time needed for questions, when the topics of particular interest to you can be broached in greater detail.