Veterans Affairs Committee on March 25th, 2014

[Dr. Alice Aiken]

Certainly.

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

In terms of access and families, all of my questions are on families, actually, and I'd like to get to them if I can.

There's also another private member's bill coming to the House shortly that will essentially say that for two years after release from the armed forces, that service person and their family will have access to military health services as they get resettled wherever they are, if they need that. I just wonder, quickly, if I could have your thoughts on that, because you're not the first group of witnesses who have talked about families and how they're neglected, really, and it's unfortunate.

[Chris Linford]

I'd be happy to answer that one.

I worked for the last 25 years in health services. We gave up—well, it was dropped from our mandate—dependant care, years ago. Almost 25 years ago it was dropped because it was not sustainable from an operational perspective. To think now that we would have to go to a model of where we would take on dependant care post-service, it's not feasible. We're not prepared for it.

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Are you talking about financially feasible, or feasible for the family?

[Chris Linford]

Operationally feasible. We don't have the personnel. We barely have the personnel now. After eight or nine years of kicking up the sand in Afghanistan, the sharp edges of Canadian Forces health services are all broken off, let me tell you. It's a very, very tired service after multiple tours in war zones with a lot of broken people. Merely, they are actually part of the bow wave of PTSD and other operational stress injuries that we'll be talking about for a decade to come.

If you try to mandate them to take on dependant care at that point, I think you're looking at a titanic situation.

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

I wasn't really suggesting mandating. I was just simply suggesting that if it's needed, that service would be there.

[Ronald Cundell]

There'd be a heavy reluctance by military members. They'd say no, because if the spouse could go in and get the help and complain about her husband, and he's still serving, his career would be in jeopardy. Now you might possibly have an abuse situation in hand, because the husband would be upset that the wife said, “My husband has signs of PTSD, but he's still in the military.”

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

I was talking about after leaving the service.

[Dr. Alice Aiken]

I don't think the system is actually set up for that. I think their operational focus has to be on the serving member, because their mandate is to provide the exact same quality of health care, whether in garrison or deployed. Once you dilute it by adding in families, I think that is well outside their mandate.

[Ronald Cundell]

Also, beyond retirement, if you take care of the veteran in that two-year period, your fallout will be a better, open conversation between spouse and spouse. They'll be able to talk about the situation without the pressures of the job, and all that. It will open up communication lines between the two. But take care of the one who served first, and see the ripple effect.

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

If I read you correctly, then, access to health services for two years after leaving the service for the member would be a worthwhile—

[Ronald Cundell]

Personally, I think it should be 20 or 30 years, for life. You have to remember in the military—

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Before using provincial services and other services....

[Ronald Cundell]

They're closing down all the hospitals. There are no real military hospitals left. Ste. Anne's closed. About the only one that's left is.... There are very few. You're closing them down because of cost. As great as you might think it would be, it's a hard endeavour.

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Thank you.

[Chris Linford]

If we're into problem solving here, I think a better solution is to create a more streamlined transition between Canadian Forces health services and Veterans Affairs Canada for the services that can be provided. Right now it is not that streamlined.

Canadian Forces health services have lots of clinical resources that they can implement at any given time.

Take my own case for PTSD. I had the best care available in Canada at a mental health clinic in Victoria, B.C. Transferring over to VAC now, they have to contract for everything, so what are the chances that the quality of the therapy that I would receive is adequate? They'd like to think it is, but in reality, it just might not be.

You said you were concerned about the family. My family was entitled to some care through health services while I was being seen for PTSD, but now that I am through to VAC, it is a different set of rules. They also have accepted and registered therapists who can be accessed. If my family was already in therapy with me through health services and I transfer over to VAC there's a good chance I can no longer use the therapist I've been using for my family for two years. Imagine the stress of that if all of a sudden you have to start over.

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Having to start all over again, sure....

[Chris Linford]

That needs to be streamlined.

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Do I still have some time?

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

No. Thank you very much.

We'll go now to Mr. Galipeau, please, for six minutes.

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Most people at this table are much more deserving than I am.

I want to thank you all for being here. I want to thank you mostly for what you did before you got here. If we had time, I'd ask you to describe all those medals. I hope that I would learn from that.

[Ronald Cundell]

I'm available afterwards.

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

I'm not a veteran. I'm just the son of a veteran.

I've only been here for six months and for a time part-time.

I well understand my role at the end of the line here, so I'm not going to use the few minutes that I have to score points, but to learn more from you.

There was a bit of a tug on the issue of anonymity. I listened to you, Mr. Cundell, very carefully, about the protection of anonymity for people who confide on your website.

When you see that a correspondent is in particular distress, are you equipped to help that person, or does it just stay there?

[Ronald Cundell]

One thread is called Therapy Corner.

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

Yes.