Veterans Affairs committee  Perhaps I could give a recommendation. I mentioned that when I released from the military, somebody sat down with me and said that this was what they were going to submit to Veterans Affairs and they would help me get this done. The transition centres don't exactly do that. As m

Veterans Affairs committee  I didn't have a problem moving forward with my life. I would say that I've stayed intimately tied to the military because I want to see change. I devoted my entire research career to the military. I'm an honorary naval captain. I'm part of the Order of St. George. I really try to

Veterans Affairs committee  I would like to thank the committee for your work. Please don't underestimate the seriousness of the suffering of some of my sisters in arms. This is important work you're doing; it's not political. Please take it seriously.

Veterans Affairs committee  I would say that my husband probably was asked as many ridiculous questions as I was. The difference is that I'm really mouthy, and he spent longer in the military and really believed the system would take care of him. In the military you actually get great medical care. People

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes. I would say that when I released from service I did so for several reasons. They weren't going to post my husband and me together. I had a good job opportunity on the outside. There were a number of reasons for my releasing. Despite women being treated differently, and ove

Veterans Affairs committee  Well, it is an insurance company, so yes, I would.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I definitely would agree with that. I will say that I was actually on a committee for Veterans Affairs in 2006-07. It was to look at seriously injured veterans. It was chaired by Bruce Henwood. I'm sure that name is familiar to all of you. There were no veterans working at

Veterans Affairs committee  This was the first iteration of SHARP training. Several of my friends were pulled in to teach it. It was developed at that time. I am certain it's been upgraded since then—at least, I would hope it has been. I don't think any of the messaging was bad. I think we just have a bet

Veterans Affairs committee  No problem. I'd agree. When I was released in 1998.... I don't know if Nicole had the same experience, but at the base in Kingston, somebody actually sat down with me, went through my medical file and said, “Okay, you had these injuries. We're going to put in a claim to Veterans

Veterans Affairs committee  Veterans Affairs has actually done, I think, quite a bit of work in that regard. I suffered two physical injuries while I was in. I'm a client of Veterans Affairs, and I'm under the old Pension Act. When the new veterans charter came in, they made some improvements around program

Veterans Affairs committee  I was a bit surprised when the class action suit came out. First of all, I do have a very close group of seven women. We all went through navy training together; none of us stayed in. We're very close, to this day. We all said, “Let's become part of the suit to tell our story.”

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you for inviting me to be here today. My name is Alice Aiken. I served in the Canadian navy, first in the naval reserve and then in the regular force, from 1984 until 1998. When I got out of the military, I was a naval lieutenant. When I