Government Operations Committee on Oct. 6th, 2026

[David Thompson]

Yes.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Wonderful.

We'll now go to Ms. Hirtle, please, for six minutes.

[Alana Hirtle, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, gentlemen, for being with us today, and thank you all for your service.

Let's get back to the topic at hand.

Brigadier-General Ménard, I want to talk about your role in transitioning CAF members out of service. What are some of the pressing needs for members as they start their post-service life?

[BGen Serge Ménard]

As Mr. Thompson alluded to in his opening remarks, the CAF transition group is responsible for providing casualty support and transition services to CAF members and their families to enable a seamless transition and to enhance well-being. While doing that, we pay particular attention to the ill and injured, as well as the families of deceased personnel.

As we support members transitioning through our centres, we use a framework that is based on the seven domains of well-being. Through that framework, we assess the areas related to the sense of purpose, finances, aspects of health, life skills and preparedness, social integration, housing and physical environment, and cultural and social environment. Those domains are all interdependent.

As an example, a housing concern can arise along with some income challenges or uncertainty. We can see health issues and family circumstances leading to limited support or difficulty navigating civilian services. Another example is that a health condition can affect employment, finances and relationships.

We therefore consider all aspects of transition when a person transitions and uses our services rather than looking at the single issue in isolation. There's a broad range of challenges that we can see based on the assessment of those seven domains of well-being.

[Alana Hirtle, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Wonderful. Thank you very much.

You mentioned housing. As has been previously stated, there are more than 460,000 veterans in the country today. Do we have a sense of the rate of homelessness within that population?

[BGen Serge Ménard]

We don't have clear indications, but we have some level of indications. I want to make it clear that one homeless veteran is one too many.

To give some context, there are between 5,500 and 9,000 personnel released each year, depending on whether you look at the regular force members or you include reserve force members as well. For the fiscal year 2025-26, 3,226 members were seen by transition advisers within our transition centres. From that population of a bit more than 3,200 people, 46 releasing members—or 1.4%—were identified as having moderate or lower readiness in terms of the housing domain assessment.

[Alana Hirtle, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

We've been hearing, both here in these last few meetings and at the veterans affairs committee, where I sit as well, about the need for wraparound services and that housing alone won't fix the problem. We need the other services, such as for mental health, physical health and that kind of thing.

Can you speak a bit about what the ideal scenario would look like for having wraparound services as part of a housing program?

[BGen Serge Ménard]

In terms of wraparound, it means that we take care of veterans as they transition out. While doing that, within the transition centres, there are multiple organizations that help us support our transitioning members. As an example, we work with military family services, which supports families during the transition process. We assume that families are part of the military community we need to support along with transitioning members as they transition out of the military.

We also work very closely with the Royal Canadian Legion. As an example, very recently, in January 2026, we signed a memorandum of understanding with the Legion to provide office space within our transition centres to help connect the Legion with members and help the Legion provide the services it delivers to our transitioning members.

[Alana Hirtle, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

I only have eight seconds left, so I'm going to say thank you. We'll speak again.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Did you have a quick question you want to put out? We're okay for time.

[Alana Hirtle, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

No, it's not really quick.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Okay.

We'll go to Madame Gaudreau, please, for six minutes.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to go back to some statistics, and then I need to tell you what I'm going through, because I was a member of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs.

Mr. Thompson, 14 properties have been identified, and nine are under review. As I understand it, none of them have been converted yet, is that right?

[David Thompson]

Thank you for the question.

There's a process that needs to be followed. It's Treasury Board's process, and we're currently completing it.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Is anything missing that would help you complete that process, or do you just need time?

[David Thompson]

There are steps in the process that we can do at the same time, but there are other steps in the process where we have to wait for a previous step to be completed.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

How can this study help you complete that process? That's what we're here for.

[David Thompson]

I'll answer in English.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

No problem.

[David Thompson]

In the divestment process, there's a heritage review, an environmental review, an archaeological review, and surveys. There's a 10-step due diligence process. That then enables us to determine what the potential future uses could be through a circulation process, with federal and provincial...and looking at municipal and indigenous needs at the same time. If there is no take-up from those, then it can go to market as well.

When we follow these steps, it gives us a lot more information to share with these groups.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

So if I understand correctly, a process is already under way, a disposal system that will allow these buildings to be used. Is that correct?

[David Thompson]

There is a process for the disposal of these properties.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

All right.

Mr. Chair, seriously, with all due respect, I'd say that for a long time, I studied this issue with my colleagues, notably with Ms. Hirtle, with whom I sat at the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs. Here's my question. Why are we talking about this here, when this is an issue specific to veterans, and we can see that there are still some connections to be made in terms of coordination and communication?

Mr. Thompson, honestly, I feel we have everything we need from a political strategy perspective. As you know, we're dismantling the entire structure with Bill C‑39. People may not be aware of this, but what's coming is serious. You'll have free rein, but on the other hand, you'll have a directive coming from above, and you won't be able to follow the process you're following now. This is serious.

I get the impression that we're trying to buy time because before long, we'll be facing decisions that have already been made. Ultimately, when it comes to using the land, what's needed is in place, so we're making political gains. Let's be honest, we talked about the Amherst armoury, but we could talk about why so much focus is being placed on it. Technically, if there were any political will to help veterans, we wouldn't be looking at whether we'll be able to use surplus buildings and then be patting ourselves on the back for having done the job. I feel like it would have already been done.

Do you agree? What we're going through won't help you make decisions, because technically, there would have been political will beforehand. I know you can't answer, but I'd like to hear your comments on the subject, so I thought I'd give it a try.

[David Thompson]

I can only speak to the topic at hand today. We've improved the process considerably by collaborating with our Public Services and Procurement Canada colleagues to obtain information.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Chair, I know that we have a few meetings left, but seriously, there is a very simple way forward. I know we still have a few meetings to discuss this motion, but it really should have been addressed by the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs.

Thank you. That's all I have to say.