Evidence of meeting #17 for Veterans Affairs in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was families.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Executive Director, Military Family Resource Centre, Halifax and Region
Absolutely, and they see the benefit in it.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
Of course, you repeatedly said one of the major problems is that people don't know what they don't know, and there are services out there. Are you suggesting that maybe one of the things that could be done is direct outreach, in other words, a phone call to the home to say, “Hey, by the way, you have this available, you can go to this website, you can do this”, that kind of thing?
Executive Director, Military Family Resource Centre, Halifax and Region
That would be absolutely wonderful. As I said, one of the problems we have right now, and we've been.... The Vice Chief of the Defence Staff has written a message to everybody saying he will provide the MFRC with information on the family when a member is deploying. Half the time we can't even get that information. To get additional information about...well, we're supposed to get information when somebody is injured or killed. We don't even get that information, so we can't make that connection to the family.
It would be phenomenal for somebody to phone these families and say, “By the way, you have this service.”
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
Are some of the issues you're running into just administrative bottlenecks, or are there some around the privacy legislation?
Executive Director, Military Family Resource Centre, Halifax and Region
It's not around privacy. National Defence has come down with a ruling. We have our own privacy codes. So it's not a privacy issue; it's already been ruled on. I really believe it's an issue of will. As I said, the navy and the air force have wholly engaged, and that's not always the case--sometimes it is--with the army.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
You've shown enough energy here that I'd certainly want to make sure you're always on my side, that there isn't some issue that has to be dealt with that I'm holding back on.
How many families do you actually assist per year? Do you have an idea?
Executive Director, Military Family Resource Centre, Halifax and Region
I can tell you last year we had over 62,000 contacts with family members just in Halifax, within the area that I serve.
Conservative
Executive Director, Military Family Resource Centre, Halifax and Region
I have three centres. My office in Cape Breton is quite small, but as you know, we had Task Force 107. We had a large number of people who deployed out of there.
There were about 62,000 contacts with families last year.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
Wow.
Regarding your road shows, and this is strictly for my interest, do you have an equal amount of outreach--I'm certain you try--to all three branches of the service, or do you find some more difficult?
Executive Director, Military Family Resource Centre, Halifax and Region
Actually, no, we've been really lucky in Nova Scotia that we have a commitment right from the top of the chain of command of the army, the navy, and the air force. They've been incredibly supportive, so we've had just tremendous success by all elements in doing this.
Conservative
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
You said you've been communicating quite profusely with the legions, and they've been posting your information, etc. Are you finding that generates inquiries from veterans you'd never had any dealings with when they were in the regular service?
Executive Director, Military Family Resource Centre, Halifax and Region
Absolutely, because they have a son, daughter, niece, or nephew, and they want to know what's out there. It could be a simple thing; they may want to send somebody a care package, so they make the connection. It's information they never would have had before. They can now connect.
Many of our vets are the fathers and grandfathers of many of our serving members now, so it's been tremendously beneficial.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Anders
Thank you, Mr. Sweet.
Monsieur Perron, you were up before, and now is your time.
Bloc
Gilles-A. Perron Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Earlier, you raised my hackles when you said that members of the Canadian Forces ought to receive special treatment from the provincial healthcare services because they put their lives on the line for Canada. I could not disagree more and I am going to explain why this is so.
I have a good example to share with you, although I appreciate that you probably see many good examples of your own on a daily basis. My father died in 1999. He worked underground in the Noranda mine in Abitibi for fifty-five years, mining copper for electric wires, electric conduits and everything else that is made from copper. He risked his life on a daily basis. When he began working at the Noranda mine almost one miner died every week, although safety standards did improve over time. My mother cried every morning when her husband—or her old man, as she called him—went to work as she feared for his life. Are you trying to tell me that he did nothing for Canada?
He did not get any special treatment from the Canadian or Quebec healthcare systems. He died of asbestosis, a disease he contracted as a result of working in the Noranda mine. It rendered him unable to breathe. Do not try to tell me that he did not contribute as much, if not more, to the Canadian economy and the wellbeing of Canadians as those in the Canadian Forces. You should not ask for special treatment for service men and women. Let us not forget that there are also many people who lose their lives in jobs that are every bit as dangerous—if not more so—as the jobs of those in uniform.
That was just a comment that I wanted to make. Feel free to respond, although I will understand if you chose not to do so. It was something I needed to get off my chest.
Executive Director, Military Family Resource Centre, Halifax and Region
First of all, Monsieur, I'm sorry for the loss of your father.
It's the Department of National Defence that moves the military member. The family, by default, is forced to move as well. The point I was trying to make is that these military families should have some assistance from the federal government to ensure they're not giving up a family physician and going to a place where they cannot get one. They're being asked to make an additional sacrifice. They are moved through the will of the government essentially. Provide them with access to a family physician is all I am saying. Get them a doctor. Don't make them give up what they already have in the province they are in. Get them access to a doctor. That's it.
Bloc
Gilles-A. Perron Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
This is something that happens on a daily basis. If a miner from Abitibi goes to work in the Elliot Lake uranium mine, his new job will be just as dangerous as his old one. When he starts work at Elliot Lake, nobody will offer him a special doctor or any other special treatment. He will just have to get by as best he can and so too will his family.
Executive Director, Military Family Resource Centre, Halifax and Region
He has the choice to live there. He has a choice to move. Canadian Forces families have no choice in the matter.
Executive Director, Military Family Resource Centre, Halifax and Region
The military family doesn't.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Anders
So that committee members are aware, we only have two more speakers on our list: Mr. St. Denis and Ms. Hinton.
The bells for votes will be coming up shortly.
Go ahead.
Liberal
Brent St. Denis Liberal Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
I have a very short question, Mr. Chair, to follow up on the discussion. It's something Colleen mentioned in her initial presentation about access to doctors. We heard in Shearwater from Dr. MacKinnon, who retired as a military doctor, but her private practice involves veterans. Leaving aside the issue of resources for the moment, she made the compelling point that there should be a transition period when someone leaves the military so they still have access to the military medical facilities. Do you have any comment on that?
I took it for granted, obviously incorrectly, that the military family does have access to military doctors, but on the issue of post-service access, at least by the service person, for a period of six months, a year, two years or whatever, your comment would be appreciated.
Executive Director, Military Family Resource Centre, Halifax and Region
I don't know what all the legal liabilities are, but I do know that, as civilians, military families cannot access military physicians. I suspect that once a military member is retired or released from the Canadian Forces he wouldn't be able to see a military doctor. I imagine it has to do with liabilities, etc., around accessing military physicians. I know that our military members getting out for medical reasons are all of a sudden left doctorless. So you have all these people releasing and they can't get a physician. It is a problem.