Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, good afternoon.
I am the director of the Centre for the Support of Injured and Retired Members and their Families, commonly referred to as the Centre, which is a joint effort of the Department of National Defence and Veterans Affairs Canada. Part of this mandate includes acting as the director of casualty support and administration for the Canadian Forces. The centre provides information, advocacy, and referral services for ill and injured regular force and reserve force members and veterans, their families, and the chain of command. All services are available in both official languages.
The Centre provides a range of administrative support measures to injured Members, manages a variety of programs and offers many services, including:
provision of a 1-800 help line; searching for service records and other information; investigating files and documentation related to pension or disability award entitlement; guidance and approval of reserve disability compensation and the extension of class C service for reservists injured in a theatre of operation; providing information and assistance on Veterans Affairs services and benefits; coordinating requests for one-time financial assistance and support to provide for aids to daily living in urgent circumstances through the use of a contingency fund; providing emergency funding for travel from isolated areas to be with sick and injured family members; approval and payment of funeral benefits and family travel to funerals, memorials, and the bedside of ill and injured members; and counselling members on their entitlement to CF transition programs, including the vocational rehabilitation program for serving members;
authenticating the eligibility of medically released members for the Public Service Commission Hiring Priority Program; assisting medically released members in finding employment through the Transition Assistance Program; facilitating the interdepartmental transfer of security clearances; providing information and applications for the National Military Cemetery in Ottawa; providing pastoral assistance to veterans and their families through the Pastoral Outreach Program.
We develop and regularly update reference material and publications such as The Death and Disability Handbook, The Commanding Officer Guide to Casualty Support and Administration and The Assisting Officer Guide. We provide training and 24/7 assistance to assisting officers of injured members and the next of kin of members who are killed or who pass away while serving. Through the operational stress injury social support program, where military personnel are suffering from an operational stress injury, we offer information and support to them and their families. And through the speakers bureau, we provide awareness training pertaining to operational stress injuries.
Thank you. I would be pleased to answer any and all questions.