Evidence of meeting #12 for National Defence in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was medical.
A recording is available from Parliament.
NDP
Dawn Black NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
I mentioned to you earlier that I had been approached by a couple of family members of Canadian Forces personnel who had returned from Afghanistan. They expressed some frustration with going through the system. One in particular would like to come and testify, and perhaps another one.
So should I give those names to the clerk so they can participate in this?
Conservative
Conservative
Laurie Hawn Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
With the greatest respect for the people who are going through that, sometimes they don't make the best, most objective witnesses, because obviously they're focused on their situation and can tend to get fairly emotional and a little off track. I understand where they're coming from. Perhaps a good summary of their situation in their own words, and then present that to some people who would be equipped to answer those kinds of concerns.... We'd feel free to challenge them on it, and so on. It might be a little easier to get good answers if it isn't what might turn out to be fairly emotional and not very objective.
That's just a suggestion. Those kind of stories do have a place.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rick Casson
Yes, the successes and failures are important to hear about.
I'm concerned, too, about making sure we can do it in an objective way. I mentioned this to Ms. Black before we started. I hope they would be prepared for what could happen in this situation, under the microscope they'd be under if they came here, and the attention that would be drawn to them. We all have cases that have been brought to us of this person or that person. It would be really something to get it opened up if it got out of hand on us, so I think we have to be really careful how we deal with it.
Liberal
Denis Coderre Liberal Bourassa, QC
But I would suggest, too, that it's important to see if some people live with the problem. If you want to cure it, it's important to do so.
So I would suggest that some associations already exist, and maybe both those families are part of that. I know that in Quebec, specifically in the Outaouais, there is one. Of course they have grievances, but what I believe, though, is that we should do it in a manner that does not get too emotional, because we don't know how that will end. But I think it's important for the record to share their experiences, to see if they're suffering, because it's not just prevention. If you want to cure a situation, it's important to understand it.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rick Casson
It's just been brought to my attention that we should be in camera for this discussion. What I'd like to--
NDP
Dawn Black NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
Can I respond, though, since I raised it?
It's very important that we hear from the people who are faced with this right now. If they're willing to come...I don't think we should be afraid of emotion, for heaven's sake. People are getting hurt, and getting seriously hurt. We can't run away from that.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rick Casson
I think the indication is that we need to have a bit of a discussion, but we already have the witnesses lined up for Thursday, and I don't want to cancel them. Possibly it can be next week. I'll discuss this with the clerk and see what we have lined up. For the people who are coming, I hate to say no.
It seems to me that we need to have further discussion on this issue alone, and we'd like to do that in camera at some point in time. But I'd like to do it with a notice going out. So possibly next Tuesday, if we don't have a full witness list, we will have time to flesh this out and get it sorted and see who we want.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rick Casson
Yes, it's not next week but the week after, as we move forward. As a committee, I know that all of us want to do the best job we can, and we want to make sure we get the right information.
We'll conclude this meeting. The meeting is adjourned.