As you know, I'm Lieutenant-General Lise Bourgon. I'm the acting chief of military personnel and commander of military personnel command.
First this morning, I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the traditional unceded territory of the Anishinabe people.
As Acting Chief of Military Personnel, I am responsible for recruitment, training, retention, education, career management, policy, pay and benefits, health services, military career transition, morale and welfare programs, and a host of other corporate and personnel support services. It is a very broad mandate.
I am joined here today by three of my senior commanders.
First, to my right, is Major-General Marc Bilodeau, the surgeon general, who is the medical adviser to the chief of the defence staff and to the Minister of National Defence. He's also the functional authority for the professional and technical aspects of the medical and the dental care to our members.
I'm also joined by Brigadier-General Scott Malcolm, commander of the health services division, whose responsibility it is to deliver health care to CAF personnel to ensure their readiness and enable CAF operational success through the provision of agile health service capabilities around the world.
To my left is Commodore Daniel Bouchard, Commander of the Canadian Armed Forces Transition Group that provides military career transition services to serving or retired members, including active, retired, healthy, ill and injured members, and families of deceased members.
I would like to thank the committee for its interest in better understanding our military health system, the provision of health services and the transition support to our members. These are indeed important topics, because, first and foremost, we have a duty to take care of our people who put service before self.
Unlike any other institution, the provision of health care to our members is the responsibility of the CAF, and not the province or territory where they reside.
Together, all of us here today are focused on providing the required supports and services to our members through all aspects of their military careers, whether they are healthy, ill or injured, transitioning to civilian status or deployed on operations.
Our priority is the long-term health and wellness of our military members and the provision of high-standard and quality health care to the full diversity of the CAF. This is achieved primarily through the Canadian Forces Health Services Group, which is responsible for the care and well-being of about 64,000 regular forces members as well as our reserve forces members on operations or in full-time service.
Canadian Forces Health Services, or CFHS, is a key enabler to our military missions around the world through pre-hospital, primary, surgical and specialized care.
Here at home, CFHS provides health services through 37 primary care clinics across the country, and 31 of those offer specialized in-house mental health care. The multidisciplinary teams of mental health care providers include social workers, mental health nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists, addiction counsellors and mental health chaplains.
The CAF’s mental health program has been recognized by our NATO allies and civilian organizations for its robust approach to mental health care, stigma reduction initiatives, and mental health research, training and awareness programs.
For example, the road to mental readiness program, launched in 2007, helps promote mental resilience and improves mental health awareness.
We also have a special program called “Resilience Plus” created specifically for military college students.
Given the unique nature of our jobs, sometimes our members become significantly ill and injured. Whether their injury is physical or mental, they may require enhanced support through a return-to-work program or to transition within the CAF or, sadly, to post-military life.
That is one of the reasons why Canada’s 2017 defence policy Strong, Secure, Engaged directed us to create the CAF Transition Group. In close collaboration with Veterans Affairs Canada and other valued partners, we now have 32 transition centres at bases and wings across Canada.
CAF Transition Group staff work to offer the best possible service and support to all CAF personnel and their families to prepare for and, at the appropriate time, complete a seamless and successful transition to civilian life.
It is important to note that transition does not automatically mean leaving the forces. CAF TG—transition group—offers services and programs to support, first and foremost, the return to duty of our members, whether that is by reintegrating them into their home units or helping them transfer their skills and experience to new career paths within the CAF, such as through occupational transfer.
