National Defence Committee on April 1st, 2014

[Col Gerry Blais]

No, they have not. We have spoken with some. The form is there more for the protection of the individuals, because unfortunately there are occasions when people, especially when they're suffering from mental health issues, will make comments or become involved in discussions that later on in the full light of day they would probably prefer they had not been involved in. That is what we're trying to protect.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Are non-military personnel who work at the JPS units being required to sign this form as well, or is it just the members of the military?

[Col Gerry Blais]

It's a different circumstance because the staff who work there are not subject to the code of service discipline or to Canadian Forces policy—the civilians are not—so they would not be asked to sign it.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Are members of the Canadian Armed Forces who are not posted to JPSU required to sign this form as well?

[Col Gerry Blais]

In some cases they are. You would have seen media reports earlier this year where the Canadian Army has instituted the same policy in their units.

If they are not signing a form, it is definitely part of their briefings and the orders appear in Canadian Forces documentation.

In the JPSU, it's just since we have people who are unwell, who are less likely to go read those documents, we want to inform them for their own protection.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Some of the armed forces members and their representatives are not of the view that you have about this. They view this as over the top and it's an attempt to shut people up.

I'm hearing that it's not the case; that it's a general practice in the Canadian Armed Forces to be required to sign this. It is the case in the JPSU, just for the military.

In your comments you talk about peer support around sharing and helping peers connect with others, about “peer support to those making the first steps in re-establishing a social connection in both one-on-one and group formats”. Would you see social media like Facebook and Twitter as being consistent with what you think is a critical therapeutic pathway for the wounded veterans, the wounded soldiers?

[Col Gerry Blais]

Anything that helps someone communicate is a positive, there's no doubt about that, because we don't want those with PTSD to be in their homes barricaded, not communicating with anyone. And if that first step is to a computer, that's just wonderful.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

But to force them to sign a form that says they're not going to say anything critical or discouraging—

[Col Gerry Blais]

That's not what the form says, ma'am.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

So could you tell me the exact wording of the restriction?

[Col Gerry Blais]

It is not restrictive per se, it is guidance. It's Canadian Forces policy in dealing with the media in general. What we ask people to do in dealing with the media is to respect their areas of expertise. So if it's something that's not in your area, you should not be discussing it because you do not have the knowledge to do so.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

I'd like to ask quickly some questions on the shortage of staffing and the JPSUs. Were you aware of the briefing note that the chief of mental health, Scott McLeod, sent to the minister a year ago asking for the ability to hire uniformed clinical psychologists?

[Col Gerry Blais]

Again ma'am, the medical component of the armed forces has nothing to do with the JPSU. We work together, but we are distinct.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

So you don't have clinical psychologists who work through the JPSU?

[Col Gerry Blais]

We do not.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

So they're not on the mental health team at the JPSU?

[Col Gerry Blais]

There is no mental health team in the JPSU. The Canadian Forces health services provide the mental health services and the joint personnel support unit, through the integrated personnel support centres, provides all the social support for military personnel.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Okay, so there are other staff—

[The Chair, Conservative, Peter Kent]

You have 30 seconds.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

So the other staff who were not the mental health staff that were short...where are you at with respect to that shortage of personnel?

[Col Gerry Blais]

I believe at last count we had four vacant military positions and I believe six civilian positions, but those are not shortages per se. They are the usual rotation as people leave and are replaced.

We also have a number of other initiatives in place to bolster the staff as we have a fulsome review of the JPSU and where the staffing levels need to be in the future.

[The Chair, Conservative, Peter Kent]

Thank you very much, Colonel.

Mr. Williamson, please.

Second round of questioning, five minutes please.

[John Williamson, Conservative, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

Thank you, Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Peter Kent]

And if I could just remind members. the surgeon general will be before committee on Tuesday, April 8, to answer questions of that sort.

[John Williamson, Conservative, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Colonel Blais, thank you for being here today.

I'd like to go back to something that Mr. Harris was talking about. It's something that we hear about when CF members are discharged; we see these news stories where benefits were denied. You touched on that, I think, and in fact you highlighted that it's because they're eligible for Veterans Affairs programs, which in many cases are more generous.

Could you just touch on that a little bit? That, I think, is where we as members don't always see this or don't always hear about in the news, for example. We are dealing with two different departments here. I think this is where the public misses it a little bit as well. I think Canadians do want to know that veterans who are injured while on duty do have programs accessible to them and will be treated well.