Robert, I guess I'm going to get into some gossip here. You can either confirm or contradict what I say. I think there are some serious problems. I have been interested in post-traumatic stress disorder since 1998.
I want to say something to Ms. Hinton. Yes, there are a lot of older veterans, the ones who fought in World War II and the Korean War, who have serious problems. Since 1998, every year, on November 11, I attend the ceremony marking the end of the First World War. When you see men 85 and 90 years of age crying, it's because they have problems—mental problems. This is not the kind of event that should move people to tears. If a veteran cries, if he trembles, it's because he has problems.
The other thing that happens with our older veterans—and Pierre, who is here today, can confirm this—is that they get together at the Canadian Legion. I have nothing against that organization, but the guys deal with their post-traumatic stress by knocking back the gin. That's what they've been doing ever since they came home from the war, because before the war, they didn't have a problem with alcohol.
The wife of the President of the Canadian Legion in Deux-Montagnes, Victor Smart, told him that he was a good guy, but that his way of dealing with his mental problems was to knock back the gin. The way to treat post-traumatic stress is to change the attitude that is prevalent in both new and older veterans, which is that a soldier or a guy who has been to war and has mental problems is weak, a nobody. At Valcartier, psychologists work on the second floor: soldiers call it the “stairs of shame”. They climb the stairs to the second floor to meet with someone who is going to check to see whether they have problems—between the ears, that is. I have to apologize for using such a vulgar term, but the fact is they are considered to be fags. We must try to get rid of their fear of receiving treatment.
There's another problem I'd like to raise—I have no experience in this area—and you can tell me whether I'm right or not. Towards the mid- or late-1990s, people began to take an interest in post-traumatic stress. I'm wondering whether we currently have enough psychologists with training in that area, or in something similar, to identify people with the disorder and provide the appropriate care. Should we not be training more of them? I get the feeling that it may be a new science or a new disorder for them as well. Could we not do something to try and train more of them?
I also want to answer David. In the Canadian Armed Forces, as Ms. Brillon pointed out—and she does deal with Valcartier, Quebec—there are no psychologists.