As Ms. Ramsay said, we're not responsible for treating families. It is important to make that point. I would like to treat families, but then I would have to treat the children, the wife, the husband, and there are already clinics to do that. Treating someone is not just a matter of treating his or her mental health. We also have to take into account the biological, psychological and social aspects involved. We are not equipped to do that at present.
Some services are provided for families, however. Each base has a family support centre. Frequently, those centres provide the services you mentioned—in Valcartier, for example—and they work very closely with us.
Here is what we can do with regard to treating the family. If a military person experiences operational stress and might benefit from our seeing his spouse or children so that they can understand what he is going through, then we will do that to the extent that we can.
But you will understand that I have to tell my staff to give priority to forces personnel coming back to Canada. I do recognize, however, that treating a member of the forces also means treating his family and those around him. If we cannot treat them ourselves on site, we make sure that we route them to appropriate resources, such as the family centre where psychologists and social workers are available, or to some centres in town.
Briefing sessions are provided for all spouses before forces members leave, in cooperation with the family centre. Unfortunately, family members are not all military personnel and we cannot force them to attend. Frequently, they don't show up to the briefing sessions.
There are Internet sites available for them as well, with Web cams and all kinds of things. Between the time I was first deployed and today, there are much greater possibilities for armed forces members to talk to their families. There are a number of services, but the members and their families do have to use them.