Oh, oh!
Evidence of meeting #17 for Veterans Affairs in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was military.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #17 for Veterans Affairs in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was military.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:20 p.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Greg Kerr
All you have to do is run for elected office and you'll get a chance to be on this wonderful committee.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Greg Kerr
If the public wants you here, absolutely.
I just want to clarify that we have a notice of motion. Our rules state that we will deal with that once the time allotment has gone by, so we'll be able to deal with that in two days' time.
Thank you very much. We'll move on.
4:20 p.m.
NDP
Sylvain Chicoine NDP Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
In that case, I will ask the following question.
4:20 p.m.
NDP
Sylvain Chicoine NDP Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
Wives of veterans have told us that there wasn't really any assistance for veterans' families.
Do you agree that much more assistance could be provided?
4:20 p.m.
National Ambassador, Wounded Warriors Canada
Yes, thank you.
I was impacted by PTSD 20 years ago this summer. I was on the same mission that Senator Dallaire was on in Rwanda. It took me 18 years to figure out it wasn't all about me. The impact on my family, my wife, my children was profound. They are now all in care for themselves, finally.
The Veterans Charter needs to address that. It did not escape me that when I was going through therapy for PTSD, when it finally clicked in my head that my family had been affected and I started to open that dialogue with my family and they started to get help, their voices were heard for the first time by me and by the local medical community. As they finally felt safe to go forward and get help, my health increased incredibly, my health. When my relationships with my wife and kids started to improve, that saved my life, literally. I'm not being dramatic. It saved my life to have those relationships saved.
It would be incumbent on me and important for VAC, for the Veterans Charter, to address that particular issue in depth and very clearly that care for the family is as important as care for the veteran. We can no longer treat the veteran in isolation.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Greg Kerr
Well said. Thank you very much.
We now go to Mr. Hawn, please, for six minutes.
March 25th, 2014 / 4:25 p.m.
Conservative
Laurie Hawn Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you all for being here. I echo what you just said, Chris.
I want to start with Dr. Aiken. Following up on your research on the support for families, do you have any specific recommendations for measures in the Veterans Charter in relation to the whole concept?
4:25 p.m.
Director, Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research
One of the specific recommendations about the Veterans Charter is that families only have access to any of the programs in it via the veteran. If the veteran has not identified as having a problem, but the family knows it—as I'm sure many people will tell you, the family recognizes it first—they have no way of accessing Veterans Affairs.
To start with, it's an issue of access. The programs that can be transferred from veteran to family are a fabulous idea. That's a great idea; there's no question about it. But if you can't access it until the person who was serving accesses Veterans Affairs, you may never have access to that. I think access is a big issue.
We've started studies now with regard to the mental health of children of military families. We know that in centres that have specific children outpatient centres, children of military families present more frequently than children of non-military families with stress-related symptoms: headaches, stomach aches, and mild stress-related symptoms. We now have research teams right across the country looking at that and seeing what they can do.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
Laurie Hawn Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
I may be wrong in this, but I was of the understanding that a spouse could approach VAC directly with an issue. If that's not correct, then obviously—
4:25 p.m.
Director, Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research
No, they can't—
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
4:25 p.m.
Director, Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research
—because there's no file number. The only way you can contact VAC is with a file number, so if the person has not identified to VAC, the family can't access it.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
Laurie Hawn Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
I wanted to go back to this. One of the big challenges is access. It's access, it's communications, and it's burden of proof. It's a whole bunch of things. We have a private member's bill in the works that hopefully will address some of that. It's to do a couple of things.
One is to break down the communication barrier between DND and VAC, which is neither department's fault. It's the Privacy Act that gets in the way. The essence of the private member's bill is to take away that barrier so that DND can transfer and must transfer information directly to VAC, so you don't have to wait and go through the access to information office to get your own information.
The other thing we're trying to put in there is that the member must get, if he asks for it, a copy of his medical file. DND can keep the original, which they have to for a variety of reasons, such as archive purposes and so on. If the member has a copy of his or her medical file, then obviously it speeds up their transition to VAC. Or if they're not a VAC client and they're just going out into civvy street and seeking out a GP, having their own medical file obviously would make that transition much easier, I would think.
4:25 p.m.
Director, Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research
One of the things that all provinces now have—General Natynczyk ensured that this happened—is that as a member of military, when you release from service, you don't have the three-month waiting period to get your health card in going to a new province. They all have access to provincial health systems, and we actually know that veterans are better at finding family doctors—
4:25 p.m.
Director, Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research
—than the general public.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
4:25 p.m.
Director, Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research
You know, I got out healthy, and my medical file was that thick—
4:25 p.m.
Director, Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research
I'm pretty sure my family doctor never read it.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
Laurie Hawn Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
No, maybe not, and I was in the same boat, but they accidentally gave me mine so I kept it.
Obviously, having your own medical file would be helpful.