Veterans Affairs Committee on March 11th, 2008

[Brent St. Denis, Liberal, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Continuing that line of thinking, our legions, for historical reasons, tend to be focused on our older veterans from the past—now mostly from the Second World War, Korea, and maybe peacekeeping. Is there a more aggressive or assertive role for our legions in a post-service period, along with Veterans Affairs, along with our family resource centres? In other words, could we better utilize all that corporate knowledge, to use that term, all that knowledge that is extant?

[Colleen Calvert]

I absolutely think so. We've partnered with all the legions in the province, and they have become our source of information. If we need to get something out to the families, we send it to the legions. The legions are posting it and promoting it, and making sure that their community...because they're the ones who know their community best—where people are and how to connect in that community. They are a wealth of knowledge and information, and I think any good partnership would include them.

[Brent St. Denis, Liberal, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Thank you, Colleen. I hope we have a chance to pursue this further.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Anders]

I'm confident you will, sir.

Now over to Monsieur Gaudet, avec le Bloc Québécois, pour cinq minutes.

[Roger Gaudet, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Good afternoon to our witnesses. If I understood you correctly, you are not paid for the work that you do. You do not get any government funding.

[Colleen Calvert]

Yes, we do. About 55% of our funding comes from the department's military family services. That's just my centre. It's different across the country.

[Roger Gaudet, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

How many sailors suffered Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder following the fire on board HMCS Chicoutimi?

[Colleen Calvert]

I'm very aware of the events around the Chicoutimi.

[Roger Gaudet, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

How many sailors suffered Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

[Colleen Calvert]

No, the Canadian Forces health services can't even tell you that, because they haven't tracked the sub crew as a whole. They've gone off; they've been posted; they've broken up; they've gone all over the place. And the Canadian Forces, I don't believe, even knows how many people have PTSD out of the Chicoutimi.

[Roger Gaudet, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

I listened carefully both to your presentation and to the answers you gave my colleagues. Nowadays, our young men and women are prepared before going on a mission. Why is it that we do not prepare service men and women for retirement? As my colleague asked, why do we not inform our service men and women about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

As you said earlier, there are no childcare facilities. Members of the Canadian Forces on mission abroad obviously think about their families and children back here in Canada. Why is nothing done to prepare them? Nowadays, we prepare children for starting school: we are attentive to their needs and we give them advice. Why is it that the army is incapable of doing the same? Why can it not prepare our service men and women for retirement?

[Colleen Calvert]

I think the Canadian Forces is doing a good job in preparing the member. They're not doing a good job of educating the family. I think the serving member is getting the information. I don't think the families are.

[Roger Gaudet, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

I agree that service men and women are married to their country, but they also have spouses and families of their own. Listening to you this afternoon, I get the impression that families are overlooked by the army, although perhaps that is just my imagination getting away with me.

I would like to hear your view on the matter.

[Colleen Calvert]

I certainly do have an opinion.

The navy and the air force are incredibly good at engaging the families, educating, and making sure the families get all the information. The army hasn't come quite as far, and they still believe they need to control all the information a family receives. They're getting a little bit better at it, but it's not there yet. A lot of the army units haven't engaged their military family resource centres and accessed the services and resources that are available to support them in their leadership role—support them, support the families. We need our senior army to start engaging and promoting the services and resources that are available to the family, so that the family is educated for when the member retires or releases.

[Roger Gaudet, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

And you, Ms. Purcell, what is your opinion?

[Wendy Purcell]

I think the Canadian Forces themselves have to take a stand in educating the whole family. We can do only what we can do. But I think because the members are going to get the information first-hand, they have to be educated to pass it along to their family, or somehow, as Colleen has suggested, bring the family along into certain things, so that they can be more aware of it, because absolutely we're not getting that information.

I am the spouse of a member of the military for 25 years, and there have been many instances of things going on that I don't know anything about, only because, maybe, it's information the member doesn't think is that important to share. But it really does affect the whole family, and it's important that everybody be involved and treated holistically, as Colleen said—as a family, as a whole—because it's not just the one person going through it; it's the whole family.

I think it's a responsibility for all of these pieces to be involved to educate the families and the general public. It really needs to be put out there, I think.

[Roger Gaudet, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Anders]

Thank you very much.

Now we go to Mr. Shipley, with the Conservative Party, for five minutes.

[Bev Shipley, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Thank you very much for coming out again. I think all of us want to thank you always—for the past, present, and future—who are serving our country and who make us proud of the services we have.

You made a comment about the total lack of services for family. I'm assuming you're talking about the Canadian Forces, and particularly, you just now clarified, maybe the army.

Do you have the same comments about VAC?

[Colleen Calvert]

When I said total lack of services, I meant total lack of education on the services that are available. There is a huge array of programs and services available through VAC, through the Canadian Forces—all through the Government of Canada—for our families. It's just the lack of education.

[Bev Shipley, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

So it isn't a lack of services; it's the lack of education itself.

[Colleen Calvert]

Nobody knows they're there, and if I don't know it's there.... I don't know what I don't know, so I don't know to ask for it.

[Bev Shipley, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

We've heard that likely 50 times, from every group that's been here. You're part of the solution. What are you doing to help us with veterans? I want to pull back to veterans.

[Colleen Calvert]

Yes.

[Bev Shipley, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

What can you do to help us in the veterans area to solve that problem?