Good afternoon, Mr. Daigle. I am pleased to hear you speak both French and English. It's interesting, because this sometimes helps us understand better.
I have a few questions with regard to some of the testimony the committee has already heard.
Take the case of Frédéric Couture. This young man came back from Afghanistan, where unfortunately one of his limbs had to be amputated. He tried to commit suicide in the theatre of operations, when he was with a few of his colleagues. After that incident, he was hospitalized.
Last week, we learned that he had come back to Quebec without having received any psychological treatment in the theatre of operations. I imagine that you know the story. His mother, who is looking after him, never really found out what had happened. He ultimately took his own life.
I imagine that, in your capacity as ombudsman of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces, you have heard this kind of testimony many times.
It is often the case that those who suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome do not readily reveal their symptoms. It's not like a pimple appearing at the end of your nose overnight. The process involves therapy to screen out the condition in a person. Generally speaking, men are the ones who are afflicted with PTSD, and we know that they are less inclined to seek treatment than women are.
I would like to know what you think about this matter, even though we have heard others speak to the issue several times. When people are in the armed forces, we look after them. However when a person leaves the armed forces, it's as if they cease to exist, they do not have access to services anymore, they are ignored, as are their needs, especially the psychological ones.
Have you received many complaints about this type of thing?