I do acknowledge the policy disparity related to the accidental dismemberment insurance program. I say with confidence that we have been aggressively pursuing changes to the program to correct that.
I will also say, in the next breath, that I do not have the authority to make those changes.
As is standard practice on compensation and benefit issues, my job is to recommend and staff advice forward. I note the strong support of the Minister of National Defence in that regard, which, for the record, was provided to me well in advance of the tabling of the ombudsman's report yesterday. That will cycle through the machinery of government on its way for consideration. That's with respect to the ADIP piece.
With respect to mental health, I'll take an opportunity to ensure that we are all aware that notwithstanding that operational stress injuries and PTSD itself tend to be what everybody associates with mental health, the overwhelming percentage of people who have mental health illnesses in the Canadian Forces are not related to OSIs. They are related to depression, anxiety disorders and others, acknowledging that there is a clear need to address those with PTSD as well. That's my first point.
With respect to the follow-up piece, all people who have been deployed to Afghanistan go through the road to mental readiness training, where they get a pre-deployment briefing, as do their families. They are given techniques to assist them in dealing with stressful situations in theatre. They all get a post-deployment follow-up some three to six months after they come back from deployment. Their families are also invited to have input into that post-deployment follow-up.
Although I do acknowledge that there can be an issue with reservists who deploy to a mission like Afghanistan, they would be on full-time service at that point. When they come home, and if they go back to part-time service, they are in far less of an obligatory service state, so making sure we maintain contact with them can sometimes be an issue.
With respect to your last question about turning reservists away from medical clinics, I acknowledge that has happened on occasion. We're not perfect. That shouldn't happen. The surgeon general and I have had a chat about this and he has provided clear direction that it is not to happen in the medical clinics across the country.