Veterans Affairs Committee on Nov. 17th, 2011

[LGen Louis Cuppens]

We in the Last Post Fund use the same definition the Government of Canada uses; that is, one who has served his country in the armed forces past the recruit training stage till he's qualified in his trade. For instance, a pilot student who joins the air force and washes out after a year and a half is not a veteran by that classification, the same as a radio repair technician, who may take four years of training to become basically qualified. So we use the same definition as the Government of Canada: one who has served his country in uniform and has been honourably discharged.

[Brian Storseth, Conservative, Westlock—St. Paul, AB]

Would that include reservists?

[LGen Louis Cuppens]

Yes.

[Brian Storseth, Conservative, Westlock—St. Paul, AB]

Excellent.

The last question I have for you is this. And I know this isn't necessarily something that the Last Post Fund would talk about, but I'm asking both of you gentlemen as former military members. The honorary colonel status is often bestowed upon members who were a major or a captain or a lesser rank. When they retire from the forces, they have bestowed upon them the status of honorary colonel for a time. Once that time is up, they go back to their regular rank. Is this a process you guys are comfortable with? Are there problems with that, or do you agree with that process?

[LGen Louis Cuppens]

I'm quite familiar with the program, since I was the one who designed the air force one.

Honorary colonel, or honorary captain in the navy, is a rank that's bestowed upon individuals of Canada—they don't have to be service members—in recognition of their unique contributions to Canada and because of their dedicated involvement in the unit they represent.

For instance, if you're the honorary captain of HMCSHalifax, I suspect you'd be a resident of Halifax. I suspect you would have been involved in some way with the veterans of service of Halifax. Similarly, if you're an honorary colonel of 403 Squadron, you would have been involved in that unit in Gagetown. The notion is that it's an honorary title that's bestowed on you by the Government of Canada, and therefore when your time is up it's removed.

You don't have to be a service member. There are a lot of famous Canadians who have been honorary colonels—Roberta Bondar, for example. I could go through a list of them. I don't find it as dramatic as when I retired I was a lieutenant-general (retired). I can't change that. That's what I was. But for honorary colonels, I don't know. You'd have to ask some of them how they feel about it. I don't have an opinion.

[Brian Storseth, Conservative, Westlock—St. Paul, AB]

That's why I asked you. I've heard both pros and cons from some former honorary colonels.

Do I have two or three minutes left, Mr. Chair?

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

We're up to seven minutes. I'm trying to be as generous as I can with you.

[Brian Storseth, Conservative, Westlock—St. Paul, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

I will allow it, if the colonel would like to answer. It would ensure that this particular committee member has had the most time of anybody.

Colonel, do you want to comment briefly on the same topic?

[Colonel Andrew Nellestyn]

I don't have much more to offer in the way of comment. I think Louis said it quite adequately. I'll just say, as an example, that Senator Pamela Wallin is an honorary colonel of the air force, and Senator Hugh Segal is an honorary captain of the navy. So you will find people from all walks of life being honoured for their contributions, not only to the country but also to the Canadian Forces in general. I'm glad we have them, because in their own right, they're proponents, and they add a certain aura, if you like, to matters military.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Thank you very much.

I think my generosity has come to an end on this particular round.

I do want to point out to the committee and the guests that we have allowed a lot of time this morning on the first round, because there are no guests to follow. We would enter a second round if the committee is in agreement. We can reduce it or keep it going.

We have some public information on questions from the other day that I want to provide before we leave today. We'll have that time.

If it's the will of the committee, we'll go into a second round, unless there's any other comment. Do you want to shorten the time for each one from seven to four or five minutes?

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Make it a couple.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Do you want to carry on as we are?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Okay. We'll go over to Ms. Papillon, for four minutes.

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

First of all, thank you very much for having come here. I also want to thank you for the good work you do with veterans and with the families when veterans have passed away. It is important that someone support them.

I have some questions about the Funeral and Burial Program of Veterans Affairs Canada. I was wondering if the applicants were aware of the eligibility criteria, for instance the $12,000 threshold. Are they aware of that? If their application is denied, are they informed and do they receive sufficiently specific explanations so as not to be left in the dark?

[LGen Louis Cuppens]

Yes, as I said in my testimony, most of the applicants today apply by telephone and have a dialogue with a counsellor. The counsellor can be one of ours, or the person may phone a client service agent at Veterans Affairs to ask the same question. The person would be given an explanation of what the means test is. If the counsellor is on the ball, the next question would be whether the person can supply us with his or her financial information so that we can determine eligibility. Of course, before that, the person has to demonstrate that he or she is, indeed, a veteran of the armed forces.

Did I answer your question?

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

In that process, do they receive an explanation of why the application is rejected?

[LGen Louis Cuppens]

Yes. In the dialogue they have with the counsellor, that's clearly explained to them. The counsellors are there as a service to them. They would be very inquisitive and would ask if the person understands. If the person still does not understand, we mail to them all the information relevant to the program and ask them to complete the financial analysis. Then we respond to them, either in writing or by telephone, to tell them whether they are eligible or not.

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

Thank you.

I also wanted to go back to the question my colleague raised with regard to the health problems veterans grapple with, and sometimes they are very young when they do so. In light of all of your experience and expertise, what would you suggest be done to help these young people? How can we ensure that health care specialists are helping them, and above all, prevent their being alone to deal with their problems?

[LGen Louis Cuppens]

Thank you for your question. It's one that would be more appropriately addressed to the Legion or to Veteran Affairs Canada. I will attempt to answer your question.

I was active with the Legion on the national level from about 1999. There was an amendment passed to the benefits program, wherein a serving member could start to obtain disability benefits while still serving. I can't remember the timeframe. It was early in the year 2000, but I just don't remember the time.

We went across Canada, a team of us. We went to all the military bases and explained not only the benefits that were available to serving members and veterans, but also the benefits that would be available to them upon release. We stressed the whole notion of keeping medical records, getting witnesses written down, so that when their time comes to apply for a disability benefit such as the loss of hearing or the loss of motion of a shoulder they would have the required information. After all, they have to convince the Veterans Affairs officials that this injury was service-related. This was all explained to the soldiers when we went around to all the bases. Today, when a soldier, a sailor, or airman is releasing, they go through a release interview some six months prior to their discharge. They are counselled by a new group of centres all across Canada at the various bases that are manned by Veterans Affairs people and military people and health care people. They tell them what their opportunities are and what their rights are with regard to disability benefits and pensions.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Ms. Adams.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Thanks very much.

I have to thank you. You have an immense pride in the work you're doing and in the work that the Last Post Fund and the Power Workers' Union have done. I know that our government shares your passion for commemorating the great work of our veterans and our armed forces. So, truly, thank you.

This past week was pretty busy. You are quite right on Remembrance Week. I know at the True Patriot Love dinner in Toronto, I had the great honour of meeting our highest-ranking South Asian officer. There were an awful lot of folks who came up to make sure that he had been profiled. So there's quite a bit of pride in the community.

Later on that week, as I attended Remembrance Day ceremonies in Brampton, I had the great honour of catching up with some folks, who through an amateur historian's research work, had found out that one of the first Sikh soldiers who had served for Canada in World War I is buried in southwestern Ontario. They just found that out about three years ago. It was this Brampton resident who had purchased a medal at a thrift shop and then wanted to hunt down the person who actually won it. His research took him to southwestern Ontario and he discovered this extraordinary life of a young South Asian who had served our country in World War I.

I know that our commemoration study is looking at extending and reaching out to folks who don't traditionally commemorate Remembrance Day. We're focused on youth. We're focused on ensuring that we begin remembering the good work of those who have served for us in Afghanistan. And we're also concerned about reaching out to new Canadians.

Could you provide some commentary on the type of work that you are doing to reach out to those groups and what more we could do?

[LGen Louis Cuppens]

I'll try to give you a short picture. My comment is not intended to demean any race or any nationality in our country. I took my wife, when I got re-married, over to Holland and showed her a cemetery outside my hometown where some 2,700 Canadians are interred, and she was quite taken by the way it was maintained. I showed her a number of cemeteries in the Netherlands and in Belgium. As we were driving back to where I was born, we were close to the German border and we went into Germany and she asked me whether the Germans had similar commemoration sites. I had to tell her no. She asked why not. I told her it was because they lost. They are properly interred, but their gravesites are replete with bizarre markings, probably because the people of the time were quite upset over what took place. I would expect the same. I've been to Japan. These cultural differences also exist in how people are buried and how they are commemorated. So I don't know how folks reach out to new Canadians. I know how they reached out to me. I've taken part in citizenship ceremonies and we take great pride in presenting our military history to them.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Your hometown is just so wonderfully supportive. I know that a number of Canadians will do the march through the summer. We've had a number of members of Parliament go--this summer MP Laurie Hawn went--and they talk about the tears as they enter your hometown and the incredibly warm reception that the local townsfolk provide. It really is an incredible experience, they say.