Thank you for the question.
As you say, the transitioning piece is very difficult at times, especially when the end of a career is not your choice, and you have to leave because of a medical reason.
I think that because of the process we have in place, we aggravate that whole episode. If someone has had to leave the military and doesn't understand what the financial support is going to be or what the medical support looks like, then that adds an extra burden of stress. If I lay that over an operational stress injury, then I can see where I'm very quickly creating a formula where there could be problems. The fallout of that is that these things are usually felt on the home front long before even the ombudsman's office hears about them.
When members are releasing, I think that they need to have stability. They need to know what the future looks like, and they can go home and have those conversations with their families of what the new world order will be for them all. That's a major concern for me.
The Canadian Armed Forces has total responsibility for providing medical health care for a member. We know when, where, and how a soldier has become injured. If we know when, where, and how, that's adjudication. It's already been determined. I struggle a little with why we have to take a medical file that's been managed over the career of the member and then send that medical file to an outside organization, Veterans Affairs Canada, and have them adjudicate. That's my problem, and I've been pushing hard on this point.
I think we can really make the member understand what the future looks like if we do the adjudication. Before the release, if a member knows everything is in place, then I think that brings stability to the member and that helps ease transition. More importantly, it gives stability to the family, and I think that's a very important piece that we sometimes do not pay close attention to.