Thank you.
From Statistics Canada epidemiological studies that were done on Canada Armed Forces members in 2002 and 2013, we know that Canadian Armed Forces members are impacted by mental illness and mental injuries at relatively the same rates as our counterparts in the Canadian general population, with a couple of exceptions.
We do know that our rates of depression within the Canadian Forces have been consistently higher than among the general population since at least 2002, and then the 2013 survey indicated that our rates of post-traumatic stress disorder—while they can't be compared with those in the Canadian general population because the same survey instruments were not used—have increased between 2002 and 2013, likely with some of that increase due to a decade of combat in Afghanistan.
We know that Canadian Armed Forces members are affected by other mental illnesses as well, such as anxiety disorder, panic disorder and alcohol abuse. Obviously, we can expect that these impact not only the members themselves but also their families. The consistent numbers indicate that in any one year about 16.5% of Canadian Armed Forces members can be expected to meet the criteria for at least one mental illness. This will affect how they perceive themselves, how they perceive others and how they interact with their families.
A large part of my role in the last several years has been, first of all, making sure that we have services and supports in place for those who do reach out for care. We have over 450 mental health clinicians in 31 different clinics. We have 37 clinics across the country, but 31 of those have specialized mental health care, so we have more than 450 mental health professionals offering multidisciplinary, evidence-based care to support those members, and we also—