Veterans Affairs Committee on March 13th, 2012

[Robert Blakely]

No, it'll probably cost more like $350,000.

[Ben Lobb, Conservative, Huron—Bruce, ON]

Are there any other similar websites you can work together with, moving forward?

[Robert Blakely]

The short answer is no.

There is a similar one in the United States that was built at the cost of about $1 million. It has a number of features that would allow a Canadian Forces member, deployed anywhere in the world, to access material in a confidential way. It could help them see, if they were going to leave, what opportunities they could apply for. It would let us take what they've learned in the Canadian Forces and see what we can do to match them to a good occupation or an occupation that would be suited to them.

[Ben Lobb, Conservative, Huron—Bruce, ON]

So this website is kind of a portal, like Monster?

[Robert Blakely]

The people from Monster talked to us. It is not unlike Monster's, but it has security features built into it that Monster's doesn't have.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Okay.

We're at the time, Mr. Lobb. Thank you.

Ms. Papillon, you have four minutes, please.

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

Thank you very much. I want to begin by thanking you all for joining us today to talk about what you can do.

I greatly appreciate the efforts you are making to help our veterans make the transition to civilian life. I would like to know what you have to offer, specifically, to our review of front-line health care and well-being services for veterans.

[Capt(N) Paul Guindon]

It is very difficult to give you a specific answer. So I will be more general. The Canadian Corps of Commissionaires provides a family environment, given the large number of veterans in our ranks.

As Bill was saying earlier, that atmosphere is well-known and veterans are very comfortable, not only in terms of social interaction, but also in terms of the way things are done. We are talking about a structure. In the past, we have been accused of being a paramilitary organization, which is not what we are. We are a private, non-profit organization, but we still have that side veterans are comfortable with.

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

So the front-line service primarily consists of the atmosphere you can offer them.

[Capt(N) Paul Guindon]

It's the atmosphere, the work environment, leadership and management at all levels.

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

Very well, thank you.

I have a few questions on the concerns voiced by veterans from my riding. They talked to me a lot about the Helmets to Hardhats Canada program. That program helps some veterans enter the labour market, more particularly the construction labour market. Knowing that an average of 2,000 Canadian Forces veterans have been released for medical reasons over the last few years, I was wondering how many of them you think will be able to find a job in the construction industry thanks to that initiative.

[Robert Blakely]

We expect that we're going to need 240,000 people over the next eight years. In that set of circumstances, finding spots for a couple of thousand veterans shouldn't be a problem.

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

Okay, but how many of those 2,000 veterans could be integrated into the construction industry? We know that's a difficult task.

[Robert Blakely]

Do you mean of those 2,000?

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

There are 2,000 veterans who could be asked to integrate the construction industry. That industry requires physical abilities that those veterans may no longer have or have never had. How many veterans are expected be hired, through this new program, in the very specific and demanding construction labour market?

[Robert Blakely]

Each person and each case would be matched on its own basis. Presently we do a significant amount to modify the work for people who have been in the construction industry for a number of years. If someone can no longer climb or has some difficulty with balance or has other issues, we can modify the workplace. We can modify how the work is done. We can find equipment and tools that will allow the worker to do it. I wouldn't see it being any different for veterans.

The issue for the 2,000, I suppose, revolves around first, whether they're interested in working in the construction industry. If they are, are they prepared to work in an industry that's mobile? There are people who would love to have a job at home, without travel. Our business requires travel.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Thank you very much. Your time is up.

We'll now go to Mr. Harris for four minutes.

[Dick Harris, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Congratulations, as well, for the different roles you're playing in transitioning our vets into private life and the workforce.

It appears that you've all achieved a measure of success, and you should be proud of that, but you can't be successful by standing still. Could you maybe briefly outline how you think you could build on the success you have now over, say, the next five to ten years so that you're always on an upward path? Let's start with the public service.

[Anne-Marie Robinson]

Thank you very much for that question.

I think the study we did on the three cohorts was important. We looked at what has happened with the members since 2005, since we've had the larger entitlement. I think the more hands-on approach, which I discussed in terms of case management, will make a big difference.

I obviously have an important role to play inside the public service to ensure that departments are informed about this program and about their obligations. As the new president, I intend to take up that role very actively.

I can also say that I think we understand a little bit better from this study the types of professions people are being appointed to. There is a broad variety across the country. I think the better we can take that analysis and match it to the front end of the system, where people are being counselled and trained, the better we can increase our placement rate over time.

[Dick Harris, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Thank you.

Mr. Blakely.

[Robert Blakely]

I'm a veteran, like my colleagues from the Commissionaires.

One of the things that is really meaningful to people who have served is the camaraderie and the closed-loop system—you know somebody who knows somebody. You know that someone is the salt of the earth, and if that person likes someone, then he or she must be good.

Our industry is a lot like that. There are a lot of people in it, but it is a closed-loop system, and people, like in the Forces, move from job to job to job to job, because that's the only way we build things.

I think once people in the Canadian Forces understand that there is another regiment they can belong to, we will have a significant amount of success and will employ a number of our veterans in very good jobs.

[Dick Harris, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Thank you.

Commissionaires...?

[Col Bill Sutherland]

To begin with, we recognize that we're part of a continuum of service to veterans, whatever that might be. We're fully focused on the idea that gainful employment has been widely recognized as being probably the best thing we can do for the health and wellness of veterans on an ongoing basis.

We have to remain competitive in a competitive environment, so we have to constantly adapt and change to the changing needs of the environment in which we compete. That means we are constantly searching for different sorts of employment that better match the skills of the young veterans who are coming out of the service now, the more high-tech-savvy types of veterans. Traditional guarding—the commissionaire who is doing pass control on a building—is changing to remote monitoring and that kind of thing. We're constantly trying to find new ways to match the skill sets of veterans who are coming out of the forces with what we can offer them.

We're also constantly trying to find a way to better connect at the appropriate time of a veteran's transition from full-time military employment to their transition out of the forces and how best to plug into or work closely with the Department of National Defence, with Veterans Affairs, and with organizations such as those of my colleagues here, to provide this spectrum of opportunity.

We also need to get our message out that we are good value. We're self-sustaining, we cost no money, and we're the largest employer of veterans—and this provides something valuable.

[Dick Harris, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Thank you.

Now, Mr. Storseth, you have more or less four minutes. I was going to give it to Mr. Allison, but it's all yours.