National Defence committee  That's a very good question. That's a very difficult thing to deal with. We understand that. With regard to anybody who has returned from Afghanistan or from any deployment and may be suffering from a mental health illness, we certainly encourage them to come to one of our facilities for assessment and treatment.

National Defence committee  That's a good question. Offhand, I don't know the answer to exactly how we manage that. If they are still reservists, they would be considered on duty for that time, and they would be getting class A reserve pay for that time. If they're now out of the military, they would be falling under the responsibility of Veterans Affairs.

National Defence committee  There are a couple of points. First, if people are still serving and are reservists, they would be paid as reservists for the time they come for care. So there is some form of reimbursement. If not, it would be Veterans Affairs. I believe where you were going is that there is a gap in the system.

National Defence committee  That's really where the Road to Mental Readiness training program is in all of our leadership stages in the Canadian Forces. We've now integrated that into professional development for military members so that they understand what mental health is. Road to Mental Readiness is not just about building resiliency but also educating people on what mental illness is in Canada, as well as in the military, specifically related to operational stress injuries.

National Defence committee  The translation isn't working, but I believe the question is specifically related to access to mental health care for our reserve force when they return from deployment. The reservists who return from deployment and are suffering with a mental health injury have the same access to care as a regular force member.

National Defence committee  I think a pilot project...anything that gathers the information that could prove a therapy for our soldiers, we would support. I mean, we're always looking for ways to improve the health care of any soldier suffering with mental illness, so if there was interest in doing that, we would support that type of pilot project.

National Defence committee  I think the folks who actually do the equine therapy are the experts in that field—

National Defence committee  Yes.

National Defence committee  The U.S. Army, as was pointed out, is actually looking at doing this research now. In fact, I believe they're past the pilot project now and are extending that research. It may be most valuable for us to learn from that study as well, as it's coming out. Colonel Jetly, our senior psychiatrist, has already expressed that interest.

National Defence committee  Absolutely. That's a very enlightened question and lead-on there. It's clear that you have a good understanding of the importance of family in looking after our soldiers. We have a broad variety of different approaches to this. As you mentioned, our education, using Road to Mental Readiness, is a big part of that in educating our family members in not only how to recognize the symptoms but also how to deal with some of their own symptoms that come up when they're dealing with a partner who's suffering with PTSD.

National Defence committee  That is a very good point. It is one of the things that we continue to struggle with. This is what we do. If we can get soldiers into care as soon as possible—to present early with their symptoms—we have a much better chance of getting them back to duty. It's always a challenge, because soldiers fear that if they present, they could be put on temporary categories or restricted service, restricted duties.

National Defence committee  Absolutely.

National Defence committee  I couldn't tell you, to be honest with you. That is purely under another directorate's responsibility.

National Defence committee  To be honest, I couldn't get into the details of that specific arrangement. I'd probably have to refer that to our director of health service delivery, who manages the contract specifically.

National Defence committee  There are two options. All of the psychiatrist positions that we have are public service positions. In that process, our senior psychiatrist would be engaged in reviewing the person's application. That's our primary method of trying to fill our psychiatry spots—through the public service.