Thank you, Madam Chair and honourable members. I thank you as well for inviting me to discuss the very important subject of suicide prevention. In my remarks today, I will provide an overview on the issue of suicide in our veteran population and address suicide prevention efforts under way at Veterans Affairs Canada.
Canada's veterans and their families are not immune to the problem of suicide. With the increased tempo of military operations in the 1990s and onward, Canadian military personnel veterans have been deployed to hot spots around the globe and have been increasingly exposed to operational stress, which has led to mental health problems on the part of some.
Of the approximately 700,000 veterans in Canada, more than 200,000 are Veterans Affairs clients. Most telling is that since the year 2000, the number of individuals who have received a disability benefit for a mental health condition has increased from 2,000 to approximately 15,000. Of those, 71% are receiving benefits related to post-traumatic stress disorder, and 17% have served in Afghanistan.
Determining accurate suicide rates in the Canadian veteran population is difficult. Because of the stigma, it is under-reported. But I think we can all agree that one suicide is too many, and research indicates that veterans are vulnerable. Suicide prevention is a challenge for all involved in mental health treatment and prevention.
In an effort to be more informed on the issue of suicide in the military and veteran population, Veterans Affairs Canada and National Defence recently requested that veterans, as well as Canadian Forces members, be highlighted in the cancer and mortality study conducted by Statistics Canada. Released on May 31, 2011, this study analyzed mortality data for CF members and veterans who enrolled in the Canadian Forces between 1972 and 2006.
The study reported that persons with a history of military service, who enrolled between those years, had the same overall risk of suicide as the general population. However, released male veterans had a 1.5 higher risk of suicide than men in the Canadian population. Released female veterans had the same overall risk of suicide as the general female population.
The problem of suicide is complex and multifactorial. We work closely with National Defence to ensure an effective transition from military service to civilian life, and intervene early with injured or ill releasing members. This early intervention is greatly aided by the recent co-location of Veterans Affairs and National Defence staff at integrated personnel support centres located on or near major CF bases.
Every releasing member participates in a transition interview, often with their family included, to help identify needs, both physical and mental health, related to their re-establishment in civilian life. We connect them to a range of programs and services available from Veterans Affairs Canada as well as from provincial governments and community organizations.
The new Veterans Charter was implemented in 2006 to help meet the transition needs of releasing Canadian Forces members and their families. It provides individualized programs and services designed to support their wellness, and physical and mental health, including suicide prevention. Its features include a focus on the achievement and maintenance of wellness for the veteran and his or her family; provision of comprehensive medical, psychosocial, and vocational rehabilitation; application of modern disability management principles; provision of disability benefits for service-related injuries; and a whole suite of programs and services supported by individual case management and mental health services.
Veterans Affairs Canada's mental health strategy focuses on promoting the mental health and recovery of veterans and their families. Its goals are to ensure access to a comprehensive continuum of programs and services to meet the mental health needs of veterans and their families, to build capacity across the country to provide specialized care to veterans with mental health conditions, and to strengthen the role of Veterans Affairs as a leader in the area of mental health.
It is based on determinants of health such as economic, social, personal, physical, and health services, and promotes positive veteran and family well-being. These include case management for clients with client needs. We have a specialized network between Veterans Affairs and National Defence, with 17 mental health clinics across the country. We have a crisis 24-7 assistance service to provide short-term, professional counselling. We have a specialized clinical care manager service, which makes a professional clinician—psychologist, nurse, or occupational therapist—available when and where needed for at-risk clients and clients with complex mental health needs.
In terms of VAC's initiatives in the area of suicide, we have been very active in suicide prevention among veteran clients.
Together with the Canadian Forces we share an integrated suicide prevention approach. The VAC suicide prevention framework that was implemented in 2010 is an evidence-based suicide pathway framework for suicide prevention at VAC, developed by both VAC and CF health services. It includes components such as knowledge exchange to raise awareness of VAC mental health services and supports, and how to access them, and improvements in screening, assessment, and crisis intervention. Front-line staff situated in 60 points of service across the country have been trained in suicide intervention using the applied suicide intervention skills training model.
Protocols consist of cues for referral and suicide screening questions. They're also in place for front-line staff to assist veterans and other clients who may be at risk of suicide.