Veterans Affairs Committee on Feb. 7th, 2012

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

Thank you very much for coming here. In particular I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your service to our nation and to our fellow Canadians. We have an inordinate amount of respect for the work you do every day.

Could you perhaps expand on the types of services that are available to some of our most seriously injured veterans coming out of Afghanistan?

[RAdm Andrew Smith]

Certainly. That really falls into the two categories of physical and mental injuries.

I will deal first with the physical injuries, and specifically with injuries suffered by those who have been unfortunate enough to have lost limbs.

The government has recently purchased two computed-assisted rehabilitation networks. This is a 3D artificial environment rehabilitation network to assist people to learn how to deal with the loss of their limb or limbs. There is one in Edmonton in the Glenrose facility, and there's another one here in Ottawa. Those were bought specifically to assist people as they try to figuratively and literally get back on their feet.

We have the whole system of integrated personnel support centres that Colonel Blais runs across the country. They are specifically a one-stop shopping network providing support services for the member and the family. There are medical caseworkers, and Veterans Affairs is totally linked in there. One of the key principles of the new Veterans Charter was a focus on early intervention, so having the Veterans Affairs staff in the integrated personnel centres across the country enables them to be there from the beginning to help people.

With respect to mental health--and in fairness, a significant number of people who have physical injuries will also present with mental health issues at some point as well--we have the operational trauma and stress support centres. We have seven of those across the country. There is a focus on clinical assistance as well as non-clinical health through the operational stress injury social support program, again run by Colonel Blais. As we have come to appreciate, successful treatment of mental health injuries in many cases involves both clinical and non-clinical treatment modalities coming together to provide holistic support.

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

Thank you, and thank you for your particular attention to amputees. Actually, my father is a double amputee--not through his service, but through medical conditions. You're quite correct that the loss of limbs does pose an enormous psychological weight for the individual and for the families.

[RAdm Andrew Smith]

As people look to get back on their feet, we also have an ability to modify homes and vehicles, at public expense, for people who have amputations to help them lead as typical as possible a life as they would have previously. I should say there's both a public and a non-public ability to provide support there.

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

In the last little while, we have doubled the number of operational stress injury clinics. Can you expand further on the types of success stories you've been seeing coming out of those?

[RAdm Andrew Smith]

I would go back to my earlier comments related to the third-location decompression on Cyprus. I was fortunate enough to witness this first-hand just over a year ago. Young men and women getting off the plane from Kandahar to Cyprus were not allowed to go their room, to the pool, or to the beach; they were taken right into a series of briefings on some of the impacts or aspects they might face coming out of theatre. As a result of those briefings given by OSSIS peer counsellors, some people put up a hand, right then and there, saying that they thought they might need to see a specialist.

The same thing happens in some of the OSI clinics across the country. When I look at that, I would say it is a real success story. It shows we have started to break through the unfortunate stigma that is far too many times associated with those who have mental health injuries. That's a road we continue to travel, but there is progress being made on that path.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Thank you very much, Ms. Adams.

We'll now go to Mr. Lizon for five minutes.

[Wladyslaw Lizon, Conservative, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much, gentlemen, for coming this afternoon, and thank you for your great service to our great country.

The transition to civilian life is a very complicated and complex issue, and I imagine it needs assessment in every case. You have people leaving the military who earn a full pension, and whether they decide to continue working as civilians is really their choice. However, you also have people who are serving and for one reason or another decide to leave, whether for a health reason or for other reasons. Perhaps they served and were sometimes deployed, but they decide not to serve anymore and leave the military early, before earning a pension. What services are available to help them transition to civilian life?

[RAdm Andrew Smith]

I take it by your question that these are able-bodied people who are not necessarily ill or injured but who elect to transition to civilian life prior to a full 35-year career.

[Wladyslaw Lizon, Conservative, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

That's correct.

[RAdm Andrew Smith]

The primary service and support available to those people is the second career assistance network that I spoke of. These are transition seminars, sessions, and symposiums that are regularly scheduled across the country by a cadre of specialists to help people understand the various benefit and allowance entitlements they're allowed on transition. There are also sessions on how to prepare a resumé and how to prepare for job interviews. Often social scientists are there to assist people in making the mental transition from the rather well-structured environment of the military to civilian life. Those are run frequently throughout the year. That's really the primary support mechanism in place.

[Wladyslaw Lizon, Conservative, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

When people choose a career, whether military or any other, generally speaking I would say they do not prepare themselves, at the very start of the career, for that career eventually coming to an end.

In military settings, when a person joins the Canadian armed forces, you know the date the person joined and you know that eventually his or her career will come to an end. How do you prepare them for that moment? Is there any early preparation? I know the army always plans very well ahead and is organized. Do you do anything in the course of their service to make them aware of certain issues they'll have to face when they end their career, whether they end it early or after the full time of service?

[RAdm Andrew Smith]

I would offer a few comments.

First of all, there is ongoing awareness that Veterans Affairs Canada is there. We are meant to have a seamless transition to Veterans Affairs should they need the services of Veterans Affairs. That's one aspect.

There's also the SISIP financial services program, which is resident on every base and wing across the country. There's an ability to assist people with financial planning, to invite them to think ahead, to plan for their future.

We also have, for many of the technical trades, an ability to cite civilian equivalency for much of the training we provide in terms of having equivalency to a provincially certified technology body to help them transition on completion.

[Wladyslaw Lizon, Conservative, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Okay.

In your presentation, you mention on page 6 that the program assists personnel who wish to apply for priority placement in the public service. Can you elaborate a little bit?

[RAdm Andrew Smith]

Certainly.

In a moment I'll ask Colonel Blais to fill in any holes I may leave, but those people who are medically releasing from the Canadian Forces are eligible for priority hiring within the public service, as long as they meet the qualification criteria for the particular job they are applying for.

As well, as people are medically releasing, the integrated personnel support unit staff will work with them to orient them and help them apply for those positions.

Colonel Blais, would you care to add to that?

[Col Gerry Blais]

Certainly.

A person is advised that they're going to be released for medical reasons six months prior to the point of release. A person can only apply for a priority hire position once he or she is released from the forces, but during that six-month lead-up, as soon as we receive the knowledge that the person will be released, we send them a letter with all of the programs that are available to them.

We include priority hiring and we give them a detailed explanation of what they're eligible for. We help them prepare for the interviews and any training they may need in order to qualify for an area of interest. We also assist them with the application process once the moment of release arrives.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Thank you very much, gentlemen.

Now we will go to Ms. Papillon for five minutes.

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

First of all I would like to thank our witnesses for having come here to speak to us today.

This issue of transition to civilian life is very interesting. The Valcartier military base is located quite near where I live. I went to this base to meet with people a few times. Several times they mentioned the clear lack of resources for the military. What's more when they're released from service and they return to this military base to the places they know, it often happens that they cannot be relocated because they've become veterans and resources are hard to come by. This is what I was told by people on the military base. Also, as reported on the television show Enquête, there is a deplorable lack of human resources on military bases.

I would like to hear your comments about the lack of collaboration and coordination between the transition services programs offered by the Department of National Defence and Veterans Affairs Canada.

[RAdm Andrew Smith]

Mr. Chairman, as I mentioned before, we work very closely with the Department of Veterans Affairs, both strategically and tactically.

I disagree with the notion that the two are in conflict. We work extremely well together. As an example, I would tell you that within all of the integrated staff support units across the country, there are members of the Veterans Affairs Department who are completely integrated into the JCSP's staff.

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

More specifically, we are already short of health care specialists for the military just as there are also shortages in the health care system for the Canadian public. It is therefore certain and understandable that we are also short of such personnel on military bases, but it's also obvious that there are repercussions for veterans. If resources are further cut back, how will you be able to guarantee these services for our veterans?

[RAdm Andrew Smith]

If I take the specific case of mental health specialists, we know that there is a lack of those across Canada. We have the same challenges as other communities when it comes to finding mental health specialists.

That's one of those questions that is not easily solved, even if you have money, because there is a lack of mental health specialists across this country. We continue to work on a daily basis to fill that void.

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

It is certainly true that there are problems that affect the entire population. However, in the case of the military, we know that after the experiences they've been through, these risks are even higher and this may be a problem. In fact, a case comes to mind I heard of at the Valcartier base in which a young man was unable to access the necessary resources, and unfortunately committed suicide. I have to wonder at which point we're going to start investing in resources, specifically mental health care for veterans? We just visited Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Hospital and we could see that there was a waiting list for people who needed mental health care. I think that that would be a very useful investment.

[RAdm Andrew Smith]

First of all Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Hospital is a hospital managed by Veterans Affairs and not by the Canadian Forces.

If people present at the operational trauma and stress support centre here in Ottawa with mental health conditions for which they need assistance, they'll get to see a specialist within six to eight weeks. In the general population in Canada, people can wait 12 to 18 months to see the same specialist. I am here to tell you that the medical care provided to Canadian Forces personnel is second to none in this country. I'm happy to go on record in that regard.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Thank you very much, Ms. Papillon.

Mr. Anders is next. You have five minutes.

[Rob Anders, Conservative, Calgary West, AB]

Every now and again we hear talk of setting up the federal government so that as veterans leave the armed forces and are looking for other work to do, they can have priority for postings in the federal government. For years we've had affirmative action programs that promote others because we were trying to advance their careers or provide visible representation of people who were not previously in large numbers in the civil service. In the halls of this place I've heard the idea many times that people leaving the forces would have first crack at getting jobs in the bureaucracy or in the civil service here in Ottawa or across the country. I think it's an innovative, interesting idea. Veterans have put their lives on the line and sacrificed time, blood, sweat, and tears for this country, and I think it makes a lot of sense.

I'd like to get your perspective on what you think of having a first crack, top-of-the-line opportunity for veterans to get access to those government jobs.