Veterans Affairs Committee on April 3rd, 2014

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Let's reconvene.

We are continuing our review of the new Veterans Charter. We will have four presentations, and if you agree, I will follow the order in which I have you here. Then we'll begin the round of questions, which could go to any or all of you. We'll try to keep within the time constraints as best we can.

Today we have Thomas MacEachern; Ray Kokkonen, and with him Joseph Gollner; Daniel O'Connor; and Melynda Jarratt and Don Chapman.

So we'll start in that order. Each will get 10 minutes. We never stop a witness from going a little longer, but given our numbers and time constraints, please use that as a target time, if you will.

Mr. MacEachern, we're very pleased you joined us today, and certainly we look forward to hearing your account. Please begin when you're ready.

[Thomas MacEachern, As an Individual]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, honourable members, guests.

I had prepared this statement without knowing the full scope and breadth of the other groups that would be here, including the general at the time, so some of the themes may be repeated. However, you'll certainly be hearing them from the perspective of a surviving family member of a veteran who had some difficulties and had difficulty finding help.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I'm here on behalf of not only my own family but also the families of other veterans in similar issues, similar crises, in the last while who may feel as though they don't have a voice.

As I'm sure you all know, I'm the husband of retired Canadian Forces Corporal Leona MacEachern, a formerly proud 23-year veteran. Last Christmas Day, just a few months ago, she drove her car into a truck. She left a note, and by the time we found it, it was too late. She had specifically listed in that note her ongoing problems with the Department of National Defence and Veterans Affairs over the years.

I'll apologize now for any lapses in emotional composure. There are still several parts of this, and it's relatively recent to us all.

I'm also here on behalf of our nine-year-old daughter and Leona's six surviving brothers and sisters and their families. Corporal MacEachern was the youngest in her family. Three of her four sisters, it's notable, were once or are currently married to Canadian Forces veterans.

In my family, I was the only male in three generations not to serve. Both of my grandfathers were in World War I. My father bore physical and emotional scars from the final days of World War II as the Allies marched into Germany. As well, an uncle, my mother's brother Jack, was killed in Camp Borden training for the RCAF. His name is in a book of remembrance. He was 18 years old. His father, Thomas, after whom I was named, worked as a commissionaire right here in Centre Block from the late fifties until his retirement.

It seemed somewhat an odd situation for me to marry a soldier in 2001, having not carried on the family traditions. For my ancestors, however, those were different times, of course. People fought together and they healed together collectively as a society.

Corporal MacEachern was a military policewoman in a man's army. Those who served with her during two stints between 1980 and 2007 knew her as “Puggy”. This was in reference to her maiden name, Puglak, and a rather prominent genetically influenced proboscis of Polish-Ukrainian origins.

Leona's parents' story is actually quite a unique tale. It begins in Nazi Germany in 1941. Her parents were essentially slave labour co-opted by the Nazis from Ukraine. In Leona's mother's case, she never saw her mother again after she was taken. It would be almost 40 years before Leona was able to get her back into the country to even be able to reunite with any of her remaining family members.

What brought Leona's story to national attention in the first week of January 2014 was not so much her long struggle with a depressive disorder; the reaction was not so pronounced even for the declaration that it was an intentional act as it was for the letter that arrived just a few days after the funeral in Calgary. It offered a simple condolence coupled with a request to send back the unused portion of her temporary earnings loss benefit for the period from December 26 to December 31. There were some worksheets attached showing the meticulous calculations and telling us the collections unit would be in touch shortly.

What is not known, and adds additional aggravation, is that the letter was dated January 9 in Charlottetown. We received it in our regular mail delivery in Calgary the morning of January 10. I'm a strong supporter of Canada Post and home delivery, but I doubt the letter made its way there in under 24 hours. The individual at Veterans Affairs, whose name I won't share but will never soon forget, had postdated that letter. It was likely written and mailed on the day of the funeral.

The disclosure of the facts made public after January 8 were done after consulting with Leona's immediate family, at the funeral in fact. The mere obituary mention that she was a veteran prompted immediate media speculation and phone calls and emails from former serving members who had figured it out.

Originally we were going to let it go and move on, but I received so many stories from both veterans and active members about their experiences, both personal and anecdotal, that it was clear that this was a problem far worse than was known.

There is even an unqualified rumour in the service right now that the number of PTSD/OSI-related suicides in the past 12 years exceeds the numbers of those killed in action in Afghanistan.

As you may recall, there were five suicides in the month before Corporal MacEachern's, and there have been at least four more since that we know about. I point to the key phrase there being “that we know about”. There's a lack of accurate statistics, publicly at least, and while there are numerous unofficial stories on the grapevine about how some service personnel and veterans have met their fate, the surviving families are often just too hurt or too devastated to disclose the actual details.

So it's no real secret that we have a problem. Soldiers are getting hurt physically and mentally, and they always will. The families will always suffer the losses as well, and in the case of children, perhaps more deeply as time wears on.

The question now is, as we seem to be at a crossroads, what are we going to do about it?

Since this happened in my life, I've been extremely touched by the sentiment and words expressed by former fellow soldiers and their families, some who also are victims of PTSD suicides and some who are PTSD sufferers themselves who have reached out, and even by complete strangers who are genuinely concerned at what seems to be happening with the social contract or the social covenant, if you will, with our men and women in uniform. I'm reserving comment today on the DND position as represented through their lawyers, who recently stated that there is no social contract.

I've talked to a lot of people in the past few months who are actively engaged in the betterment of the lot of our veterans, people like Mike Critchley in Can Praxis equine therapy in Alberta and Mike Blais at Veterans Advocacy. I've met Corporal Christian McEachern—no relation—one of the first high-profile PTSD cases in Canada some 22 years ago when he was actually criminally charged for his actions while acting under duress, because at the time he had sunk deeply into the bottle.

You can say and think what you want about some of these people and the dozen or so undertaking some of their programs and adding to the discussion publicly, but at least they're doing something. Sorry to say it, but if we were doing it right all the time, these groups would probably not need to be there for our veterans.

But contrary to the media spin, this does not mean that I count myself among those who are politicizing or otherwise diminishing the efforts of those in the system, including this committee.

I was recently made aware of a gap analysis to try to close the abyss between DND and VAC when it comes to passing soldiers from active to veteran status. That's a major step in the right direction, as would be making DND resources and OSI clinics available to veterans as well as active members, reservists, full-time...the full gamut. A recent sitting of this committee heard from the NATO veterans group that what we need are crisis response teams. What a great step that would be in the right direction.

Even though there were issues in Corporal MacEachern's case that we know should have been handled better, we really can't fault specific individuals, necessarily. I'm here to urge, however, that the lessons are learned and real solutions applied to improve the process, and as quickly as possible. As much as some would like to put Afghanistan behind us.... I hope I'm wrong, but based on recent past experience with other soldiers in crisis, we could be in for a rude awakening rather quickly.

As a side note, I want to share a comment from a reservist who recently returned from the culture shock that she referred to as Afghanistan. In an offhanded but resigned manner, this member told me, “I know I need to get help. I just don't have the energy to go through all the crap.”

This brings us to the three themes identified as the relevant topics for review since Honourable Minister Fantino's direction to the committee on November 19, 2013. The first point was care and support to seriously injured veterans. The second point was support to families. The third was improvements to the way in which the Department of Veterans Affairs delivers programs, services, and benefits as set out in the charter.

Well, from where I sit, this review obviously did not come soon enough, nor did it for all the other families in the past few years who are still wondering what the heck happened. I submit publicly and for the record that the Veterans Charter failed us on all three counts.

There was no proper identification, referral mechanism, or specialized care available. Her issues and appeals had begun over one year earlier. In fact, through the veterans Pensions Advocates appeal process, we are still debating today as to what the diagnosis was, what caused it, and who should be responsible. This is because her application for a pensionable award was denied. I received that notice a month to the day after the funeral.

Regarding support for families, the only immediate support we received was through the Calgary Military Family Resource Centre. For those who do not know, that's an autonomous non-governmental agency tasked primarily with assisting families in regular force and on contract whose spouses are posted away from home or who are requiring assistance on the home front.

I wish to acknowledge for the record the quick and appreciated response of director Marla Ferg and family liaison officer James Knox in Calgary, himself an active member and Afghanistan veteran.

Eventually we communicated via telephone with Minister Fantino and the deputy minister, and have since met the minister in Calgary, and this afternoon, to have discussions similar to what we're having right now. But with all due respect to the ministry, had the incident not touched the public in the way it did, I question whether that communication would have happened or that I would even be sitting here today, right now, with these esteemed colleagues in our call to action.

As for support, other than having been offered the opportunity to posthumously appeal for a pensionable award, her VIP assistance has been extended until the end of this year. That is very appreciated, this being the longest winter we have ever seen; that includes snow shovelling.

What went wrong? Well, here are the things that went wrong with my wife's case over a period of about 16 months.

I again state that we cannot hold Veterans Affairs solely to blame for the outcome, but I do maintain that the opportunity was there at many touchpoints to make a difference and possibly save a life.

Her initial issues of anxiety were dealt with at a Calgary hospital emergency room. She identified herself as a veteran, but as soon as they determined that she was not in an active battle zone and had been retired for about four years, it was assumed that PTSD could be ruled out. She was in Germany and treated for stress and fatigue during the first Gulf War. Although she never saw combat as a military policewoman, she had attended murders, suicides, and fatal car accidents.

A subsequent visit to an emergency room resulted in a more astute diagnosis, and anti-depressive drugs were prescribed, but the application for a prescription subsidy was denied. It was not on the schedule of accepted medication.

During a career counselling call with a VAC caseworker, when she outlined her anxiety and two other medical issues preventing her from finding work, the counsellor told her, “For God's sake, you're still young. Just get out there and get back at it.”

She applied for assistance for psychological care. This was eventually granted with the caveat that this was to address symptoms—although there was no formal acknowledgement of a problem. The third party private practice psychologist who was referred said, after a few sessions, that it was out of her realm of expertise. She referred her to the only public mental health ward available in Calgary, with violent offenders and those awaiting permanent commitment. Her condition worsened when drugs were prescribed, with side effects that included constant headaches, insomnia, paranoia, and claustrophobia.

By this time she had put an application together seeking a pensionable award for PTSD, but she was certainly in no mental state to do this effectively. She was convinced, though, that she would do it alone, as she had with many other requests and redresses while in the Department of National Defence.

On December 12 she received a letter of apology from her VAC caseworker: while travelling between meetings, he had apparently lost her personnel file. It was found in a snowbank by a faculty member at the University of Calgary, who called Veterans Affairs to ask, “Are you missing something?” We have not filed a Privacy Commissioner complaint, although we were encouraged to do so.

On December 18, after a two-month wait, she was finally admitted to Ponoka, Alberta's only remaining specialized mental health care facility, near Edmonton. We had hoped that she would finally get a diagnosis and a treatment plan, but they removed her from the drugs she had been on for eight months prior and two days later sent her home for the Christmas break.

So from the standpoint of a family impacted by the Veterans Affairs charter and the process, from all I have learned about the process during her ordeal and in conversations I've had with many since, I would have to say the following toward the future of helping our mentally and physically fallen.

I'm employed in the hospitality industry. In progressive customer service, you solve the problem and sort out the details later. So is this a department with a culture of compassion or efficiency? We can't deal with people, especially wounded people, using the same processes we use to procure office supplies, or spend time reinventing procedures that require five levels of approval on the way up and five levels on the way down. General Dallaire referred to that earlier, dealing with the same procurement process for trucks as we do for people.

Veterans need immediate access to properly trained medical or social workers who have experience with the military or who are at least sensitive to the unique aspects of service, who in a crisis can help make the connections required between the veterans, and who can help.

Caseworkers need to have sensitivity training regarding how and when to identify a potential larger problem and how to get help right away. Again, get the treatment now, and worry about the process later. At least in the short term, connect with approved third party veteran support groups if required, and refer as required. Some of this is happening now; some is not.

Find places where sufferers can connect and restore together with treatment. Public health care has enough problems already, and they're not equipped, apparently, to deal with cases like this. Doctors and front-line psychologists need help to identify potential problem cases and know where to refer them.

In instances of urgency, can we streamline and modernize communication methods? Currently only faxes, letters, and phone calls are permitted. Can Skype-like technologies and the use of email not be relied upon at least for some routine inquiries if a face-to-face meeting cannot be arranged? After all, it's 2014 now.

I think we can all agree that the military culture, with its lifestyle, is unlike any other. My wife loved it. It was her life, her identity. But along the way, things went wrong; they compounded; and she just could not get over it. She did not know what to do with herself in civilian life. Her situation was different from that of many others. Her operational stressors were from things that happened as part of the military process and not on the battlefield per se. But once someone is psychologically wounded, the paradox is that only those who understand that culture can help.

I've used this analogy before, and I'll use it again today. Some people resist it, but most of the members I've presented it to have at least gotten it immediately: military life is almost like being in a cult. You're trained. You're programmed. You're told you're part of something bigger than yourself, and you will do what you're told no matter what. In return, we will feed you and we will be your family, and this is your life.

Well, people who leave cults require careful deprogramming, sometimes for months and years afterwards. As we heard earlier today, when you leave the military, if you're lucky, you get a pension on the way out the door. After 23 years of service, Corporal MacEachern was receiving $172.05 a month.

Mr. Chairman, I thank you for the committee's time today, and I thank all the members and the other groups here today for their continued work on behalf of all veterans. There are so many programs that are done right within Veterans Affairs and that do make a difference. This is one that just needs to be addressed as quickly as possible.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Thank you very much, Mr. MacEachern.

Now we go to Ray Kokkonen from the Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association.

It's good to have you here. Please, go ahead if you will.

[Ray Kokkonen, National President, Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association]

Mr. Chair, I should tell you a little story. My brother calls himself KO-kko-nen, and I use Ko-KKO-nen, so go figure.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Okay.

[Ray Kokkonen]

Mr. Chair, members of this vital committee, good afternoon. Thank you for this opportunity to present to you the views of the Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association, or CPVA for short, on the enhanced new Veterans Charter. With me, of course, is Joseph Gollner, our patron.

The CPVA, founded in 1991, is a national all-veteran, all-volunteer, not-for-profit apolitical organization with chapters from Vancouver Island to St. John's, Newfoundland. We receive no public funding. Our mission statement is to be a strong and leading advocate for all veterans and to provide a forum of comradeship for veterans. Our association is open to all veterans. Its membership includes World War II, Korean War, peacekeeping, NATO, Balkan, and Afghanistan campaigns, and RCMP, civilian police, and other veterans, with some international members.

The CPVA has been instrumental in such veterans issues as the start-up of the 1-800 VAC assistance line, the creation of the position of the Veterans Ombudsman, the initiation of the August 9 National Peacekeepers' Day, and the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal. CPVA also was active in the workup of the NVC, the Veterans Bill of Rights, and the development of the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman. Our members have served on numerous committees related to the NVC and other VAC committees.

One fundamental issue sets veterans in a unique place in Canadian society. They have served their country under the unlimited liability clause that commits them, if necessary, to lay down their lives as the ultimate sacrifice. They have served under a legal obligation to obey all lawful commands, regardless of consequence to themselves. The significance of this commitment and obligation is something that most Canadian citizens do not fully comprehend.

In return for their service, Canada has a duty to provide adequate and appropriate care for its wounded, injured, and sick veterans and their families so that they can live out their lives with dignity. VAC is the vehicle by which Canada meets it duty to veterans. By and large the department does a reasonable job, although it is seldom given credit for doing so. To that end, CPVA has had an awards program for several years at both national and regional levels to recognize outstanding VAC employees and/or their offices. The last recipient of our award was the Veterans Ombudsman and his staff.

We recognize that you have received numerous presentations from other veterans organizations. For that reason, our intention today is to focus on reinforcing the key or core issues only. In essence, as a member of the veterans consultation group of 20 veterans organizations, the CPVA fully agrees with and strongly supports the three priority issues about the NVC identified by the veterans consultation group. Those priorities were unanimously accepted by the group and were made known to the Minister of Veterans Affairs in May 2013 and October 2013.

The priority issues are as follows: the earnings loss benefit must be improved to provide 100% of pre-release income and be continued for life; the maximum disability award must be increased consistent with what is provided to injured civilian workers who received general damages in law court; and the current inequity with regard to the earnings loss benefit for class A and class B, which is less than 180 days' service, for reserve force members for service-attributable injuries must cease.

Although these are the clearly identified priority issues, as they impact on our most severely wounded, the CPVA has numerous other concerns with the NVC. CPVA had serious doubts leading up to the enactment of the NVC given its content and its shift to an insurance-based philosophy. We have made our concerns known over both the speedy passage of the NVC and the attendant lack of the usual parliamentary scrutiny during its passage.

Canadians, and especially the veterans community, were assured that the NVC is a living charter. This assurance, often repeated, led us to believe that the deficiencies of the charter would be addressed in a timely manner. Regrettably, our confidence was misplaced, because except for the passage of Bill C-55 in 2010, the many deficiencies in the NVC identified by this committee, the Veterans Ombudsman, various VAC advisory committees, and numerous veterans organizations still remain unresolved.

The three priority corrections to the NVC are the most important elements of progress toward an acceptable level of benefits for our most seriously injured veterans. However, there are related matters that need addressing as well. I have three of those, and I will detail them.

First, this is about the social covenant. In the NVC, the Government of Canada needs to clearly reaffirm to the public and to its veterans that it has a duty to its veterans and their families to look after their needs, with special emphasis on those who have been seriously injured as a result of their service.

Second, to make the NVC a truly living charter, a legislative process involving regular critical reviews of the NVC is required, reviews done with the goal of initiating necessary and timely changes to the NVC as and when required.

Third, much of the confusion, frustration, and animosity surrounding the NVC in the veterans community is caused by veterans not understanding the charter, with its often complicated regulations and attendant policies. It is incumbent on VAC to provide information about the NVC to veterans and their families in a form and with content that they can understand.

Three primary issues in the NVC need immediate corrective action in order to allow our most seriously wounded and injured veterans to live with dignity. The need to correct the ELB, the maximum disability award, and the inequity to injured reservists has been reinforced here today. It is clear from presentations made by most of the veterans organizations that the concerns expressed here today by the CPVA have a real consensus in the veterans community. With such strong collective agreement among veterans about these priorities, we strongly urge this committee, VAC, and the government to heed our call to action.

As well, the three related matters—Canada's duty to its veterans, the living charter, and understandable information about the NVC—cannot be ignored, as they are the basis for the operation of the charter and for ensuring it remains relevant.

The CPVA calls upon this committee, with its mandate, proven competency, and genuine concern for the welfare of Canada's veterans, to vigorously pursue the necessary steps required to bring about the essential changes to the NVC, changes that will allow Canada to fully meet its duty to treat our injured veterans fairly and to enable them to live with the dignity which they so richly deserve and which they have earned.

The CPVA is grateful for this opportunity to present its views on the NVC to this committee. We thank and commend this committee for all of its caring, dedicated, responsible, and extremely important and valuable work on behalf of veterans.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Thank you very much. We appreciate the input.

Now we will turn to Mr. Daniel O'Connor, please, of the Last Post Fund.

[Col Daniel O'Connor, National President, Last Post Fund]

Mr. Chairman, lady and gentleman, members of the committee, I'd like to thank you for this opportunity to speak to you briefly this afternoon concerning the new Veterans Charter, and in particular the Last Post Fund in relation to the new Veterans Charter.

I speak to you in my capacity as the national president of the Last Post Fund, of which I've been a member for the past 20 years, serving first as a director then as president as well of the Quebec branch. The last four years I've been on the national executive and am now completing two years as the national president.

My military career spans 30 years, both in the regular and the reserve forces. I hold a degree in electrical engineering from the Royal Military College in Kingston. I've been a member of the Quebec bar since 1990 and I have an M.B.A. from McGill University in Montreal. I've been privileged through my career and my life in all those ways. There are others who have suffered significantly, as we've heard some of this afternoon.

I'd like to give you a brief history of the Last Post Fund. That's one of our many challenges; most Canadians and indeed most military unfortunately are not aware of exactly what the Last Post Fund is and what we do.

Allow me to recall the origins of the Last Post Fund.

Our history started in December 1908 when an unconscious man was found and taken to the Montreal General Hospital. He was found on the street. Arthur Hair was the head orderly at the Montreal General Hospital and he found an envelope in the poor man's pocket. It was issued by Britain's war office. The envelope contained the honourable discharge certificate for trooper James Daly, who had served the Empire for 21 years. He was suffering from hypothermia and malnutrition. He died several days later at the age of 53. His remains were to be sent to the morgue for disposal but Mr. Hair raised money privately to give the soldier a dignified funeral. He was then buried in Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery on Mount Royal in Montreal. That started the work of the Last Post Fund and its mission, which is to provide a dignified funeral and burial to every military veteran who dies impoverished.

The early work of the fund was exclusively supported by private donations. However, in 1921 when the fund was federally incorporated, the Last Post Fund began to receive regular government financial support, as indeed we believe was entirely appropriate, but as I'll recount in a minute, has suffered somewhat in recent decades.

The organization then expanded its operations in 1921 to cover the entire country, and so it has done. In 1995 it was mandated to deliver the funeral and burial program, as we know it today, that's run by Veteran Affairs Canada. We have an agreement with Veterans Affairs Canada to run that funeral and burial program.

Since 1909 hundreds of dedicated men and women have ensured that deceased veterans receive the respectful recognition they have earned through their service and sacrifices. Consequently, impoverished veterans are guaranteed a dignified burial, as they fully deserve.

The mandate of the Last Post Fund is a non-profit organization, as mentioned, founded in Montreal in 1909. Throughout the course of its history the organization has arranged funerals, and where necessary, burial and grave markers for more than 150,000 veterans from Canada, Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Belgium, France, Poland, South Africa, and other allied nations.

In addition to delivering the funeral and burial program on behalf of Veteran Affairs, the Last Post Fund supports other initiatives aimed at keeping alive the memory of Canadian veterans. These include our own military cemetery; a beautiful place in Pointe-Claire, Quebec. I would encourage you to stop by there at some point if you've never been. The National Field of Honour in Pointe-Claire was named a National Historic Site about six years ago. I had the privilege of preparing that application and submitting it to Parks Canada, and we're delighted to be recognized as a National Historic Site, as indeed it is. That cemetery has been in operation since approximately 1930.

Our burials include at our own military cemetery in Pointe-Claire, as mentioned, where more than 21,000 burials of veterans have been performed since 1930. The fund also supports other local fields of honour and is present in more than 2,900 cemeteries throughout the country. The Last Post Fund recognizes the importance of honouring those who served our nation.

Every year, the first Sunday in June—June 1 this year—it holds commemorative ceremonies on the St. Lawrence River for those from the naval services who have perished in war. At the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges and Mount Royal cemeteries in Montreal, and in the afternoon on that Sunday, at the National Field of Honour in Pointe-Claire.

Other activities include the grave marking program, through which the Last Post Fund provides military markers for veterans who lie in unmarked graves. We also work in conjunction with the Department of National Defence to provide markers for members of the Canadian Forces.

I'd like to address the recent improvements to the funeral and burial program, which are very significant and have occurred only in the last year or so.

In recent years, Veterans Affairs asked that we reduce our administrative budget by nearly a million dollars. The rationale for this was the decline in “traditional” veterans of the Second World War and Korea; traditional veterans are what they're known as. The fact is that we have more than 600,000 of what are sometimes termed as “modern-day” veterans, who were not covered by this program at all.

We're losing about 10,000 to 15,000 of the traditional veterans every year. There only remain fewer than 100,000 in Canada today. Because of that decline, we were forced to reduce our budget for the funeral and burial program—which had some logic to it—and we closed many of our offices across the country; we have branches in every province.

But the logic was flawed because of the 600,000 modern-day veterans who were not covered, indeed, since beginning of the program. Of those 600,000 modern-day veterans, Veterans Affairs Canada has compiled the statistics and estimates that 400 per year die in impoverished circumstances. They were all ineligible for the funeral and burial program.

All through these tough times, we continued to advocate for changes to the program, namely, on the issue of increasing the maximum allowance payable to funeral homes, which hadn't changed in decades. The amount allowed was $3,600, whereas the average cost of a funeral in Canada was between $6,000 and $8,000. Fortunately, in the federal government's 2013 economic action plan, our advocacy paid off. Last year, the maximum allowance payable to funeral homes was increased to $7,376, which is much more in line with the realities of the cost of a funeral. This was one of the most significant efforts of the Last Post Fund, but not the most significant.

The big issue was the eligibility for the funeral and burial program, which we wanted to extend to all Canadian Forces veterans in financial need at the time of their death. In 1921, the Government of Canada first recognized its obligation, on behalf of all Canadians, to provide funding for the dignified funeral and burial of all Canadian veterans who pass away with limited or no financial resources. However, in recent decades, the regulations governing the funeral and burial program have stipulated that only Second World War and Korean War veterans, and those in receipt of a disability pension, would be eligible for the program.

In recent years, because of this, and because of the aging population of modern-day veterans, the Last Post Fund publicized the fact that our mission includes those ineligible members. In the last two years, we spent $98,000 of our approximately $120,000 in donated funds—that's all we have—to bury 31 veterans, because they were ineligible for the program. Our funds were virtually depleted, and donations are hard to come by. That's why we were so delighted that in the 2014 economic action plan the government of the day recognized this obligation of all Canadians and made the modern-day veterans eligible for the funeral and burial program. It was an enormous relief to the Last Post Fund. We will continue our mission indefinitely with those funds in support of Veterans Affairs Canada and the program.

There remains a little bit of work to be done—and I say “a little bit” in terms of the enormous benefit of this past budget—but it's not insignificant. In 1995, the estate exemption for eligibility for this program was $24,000. Because of the fiscal difficulties at that time and the attempt to reach a zero deficit in the federal government program review, that amount was reduced to $12,000.

Just briefly, the estate exemption means that if a veteran dies and if his estate has more than that amount, then that veteran and that veteran's family are not eligible for the program. I would point out, to be transparent on this, that the eligibility and that threshold exempts the house, the principal residence of the veteran, and the car. So other than the house and the car, if veterans had, in those days, $24,000 or more, they were not eligible. That's not very much money, particularly if one wants to leave a little bit for the children, etc., in one's will.

That amount was reduced to $12,000 in 1995 and has not changed since. Today, if a veteran dies with $12,000 or more, that veteran and that veteran's family are not eligible for the program. I find that a travesty. I find it illogical. If the right number in 1995 was $24,000, why is that not the right number today? And that number today, according to the inflation calculator of the Bank of Canada, is $37,000. There's been 42% inflation loss since 1995, so the right number today would be $37,000 rationally looking at this. That is the biggest problem we have today, and what it means is that many of our veterans who pass away with very limited financial resources are not caught. Their family must come up with the $7,000 to $10,000 for the funeral and burial out of the very limited means that remain in the veteran's estate. I don't think, and we don't think, that is right or fair.

The exemption for the estate must be increased to $37,000, which I think would be fair, and the second element of this is that it should be indexed because we got ourselves into this problem over many years, and $12,000 hasn't changed since 1995. What a travesty. How can that be supported? In any event, it has to be increased to $37,000 to be back to where it was in 1995, and indexed from here on so we don't get into that problem again.

To summarize, what the Last Post Fund would like to see is the inclusion of the funeral and burial program in the new Veterans Charter. In a certain sense, administratively or bureaucratically, it doesn't really matter whether it's in the new Veterans Charter of independently legislated, as long as the program gets delivered. That much I grant, but I'm thinking that it falls within the parameters of the new Veterans Charter for benefits to veterans and their families, and that's exactly what it is. For historical reasons that I don't fully understand, it was not exactly relegated but put into the commemorative side of Veterans Affairs, and that's where it is today. Really, it is a service to veterans and should probably be part of the new Veterans Charter and the benefit to families. That should be given good consideration by this committee.

Second, the estate exemption, as I mentioned, should be increased to $37,000 as of today, and finally, it should be indexed. The state exemption should be indexed from here on forward, but also the benefit that I mentioned of $7,600 for the funeral itself so that again we don't lose through the erosion of inflation over time.

Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. I commend the committee for its work and I look forward to responding as best I can to any questions you may have concerning the Last Post Fund or the administration of the funeral and burial program.

Thank you, sir.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Thank you very much, Mr. O'Connor.

Now we go to Canadian War Brides, Melynda Jarratt, please.

[Melynda Jarratt, Historian, Canadian War Brides]

Thank you very much.

I am Melynda Jarratt and I am an historian of the Canadian war brides. I've been doing research, writing, and documenting the Canadian war bride experience for more than 25 years. I'm here today to speak about the Veterans Charter because I believe it is important for you as parliamentarians to understand the similarities between the veterans of the Second World War and the Korean War and the modern-day veterans, for although they may seem very different, they are in fact very similar. These are the veterans of the Afghanistan, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Somalia conflicts.

The pain that the World War II veterans suffered and the lessons that they learned about pensions, services, and the support for physical and mental injuries that they suffered, including undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder, are things that I sincerely hope are not lost on this committee as it reviews the Veterans Charter and Bill C-55.

I'm particularly interested in the issue of PTSD because it's something that I have heard a lot about in the course of my research. It's not something I really expected to hear, but it keeps on coming up. Whenever I hear about PTSD, I'm immediately brought back to a war bride who I met a very long time ago—one of the very first war brides I met in my research—who told me about the story of her arrival in Canada in 1946. Her husband had served in England first, and then he was sent over to the Normandy landings, Belgium, Holland, and then into Germany. His service was fraught with unspeakable horrors that no human should have to see or expect to live through, yet he did. He survived and he was shipped back to Canada.

He was given a prescription for his nerves and expected to return to civilian life, to a job and to his family who were soon coming over; the war bride was coming over with her little baby. Within a year he was dead. He killed himself as the pressure was too much for him. He committed suicide, leaving her a widow with a small child and with no skills really. At that time it was traditional that women did not work. There was no social support system. There was no social welfare system here in Canada at that time. She had no family so she returned to Britain. Here was a family devastated by the legacy of war. His pain was over but hers was just beginning.

She's one of many, many women and children who I have met in the course of the last 25 years as I have worked on the issue of Canadian war brides.

Other Canadian veterans of the Second World War, their wives, and their families suffered in silence with undiagnosed PTSD for years. It was not clinically recognized. I know you've heard this before. So what ended up happening is when you had a problem, they'd ship you off to the psychiatrist, say for example at Lancaster Hospital in Saint John, which was for veterans. They gave you a prescription and sent you back home where you immediately went to the Legion or out in the woods with your buddies and spent a lot of time drinking to dull the pain. It was an all too familiar story for many children of Canadian veterans whose alcoholic fathers spent more time at the Legion with their army buddies than they did at home with their families.

Another war bride tells me of the day her husband arrived from overseas in their tiny village in northern New Brunswick in June 1945. She had arrived about a year before him on an earlier draft of war brides in 1944. She landed in this little town with her 18-month-old daughter, and they happily anticipated the return of her husband, who had been awarded a military medal for bravery; he had saved a comrade in Italy. He had gone on after Italy to Holland and through to Germany until the end of the war and came back. He was a wreck. Of course she didn't know that because she was in Canada, so they happily anticipated the day of his return.

Well, on the day of his return in June 1945, they went to the bus stop to wait for him and he never showed up. Two days later he arrived drunk, dishevelled, and abusive. That was basically the rest of her life in Canada. She's still alive now; she is 92 years old. His drinking continued and worsened. He wasn't the same man that she had met in England and fallen in love with.

He lost his job. He had nightmares, kicking his legs at night. They couldn't sleep together anymore. He was always kicking her and hitting her, screaming, fighting with his friends at the Legion, where he'd get drunk and then get kicked out. He finally got a part-time job working in the woods, and he found peace in the woods. That was the place he really loved, but he never had a full-time job. She had to go to work. He never killed himself either, but he put his family through hell. The wounds went down through the family, through the generations, to her daughter and then their grandchildren.

I could go on and on with cases like this from World War II.

Another fellow, a World War II veteran, in an alcoholic rage threatened to kill all his children with a shotgun. He chased them down a rural road outside of Fredericton, taking potshots at them. He physically abused his wife. He pushed her down when she was seven months pregnant. He knocked out her front teeth. He kicked her in the stomach. He caused her to go into premature labour. I met one of the babies who survived that kicking. She cried, and I cried too, because it was a terrible story.

I also heard of wives who hid from their husbands at their friends' homes, their black eyes covered with glasses and makeup. I heard of wives who left with the children, eking out an existence in poverty in New Brunswick, or who left to go back to Britain, Holland, or France, all of the different countries where the war brides came from, because they just could not stand the abuse.

These are memories that die very, very hard. In fact, they don't die; they live on in the minds of the people who were affected by it.

I am here today to tell you that 75 years after the declaration of the Second World War, which we are commemorating with great fanfare, there are thousands of Canadians whose World War II fathers suffered from undiagnosed PTSD and put their families through hell. These children are still suffering from it. This is quantifiable pain with quantifiable suffering. It can be measured. It is not a fairy tale or an excuse for bad behaviour. It is real, and it is caused by the horrors of the Second World War.

This brings me to today's veterans of the Afghanistan, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Somalia conflicts. I live in Fredericton, next door to Canada's largest military training base in Gagetown. Soldiers have been part of the life of Fredericton for nearly 200 years, and I dare say more than 200 years. I see soldiers in uniform in the city all the time, but it's the ones I don't see who I worry about, the ones who have disappeared into poverty, who have turned to drugs and alcohol, and who have, worse, killed themselves, leaving a crushing void behind.

There have been several suicides recently of New Brunswick soldiers. Every time I hear about another soldier who has killed themselves, I think of the war brides. I wonder what they think when they read these articles in the newspaper or listen to the television and hear about these suicide stories. I wonder how these women managed with so much suffering in their lives for 30, 40, 50, 60 years. Granted, it was a different time, with a different way of thinking. There were the traditional values and attitudes towards marriage: you made your bed, you had to lie in it; divorce was unacceptable; and marriage was forever, the phrase I often heard.

Today's wives are different. They have a modern way of thinking about relationships. Divorce is not so unthinkable today. They have the Internet, which allows them to explore the resources they have available. There's a social safety net for them. There are also social support services, transition houses where they can go to for their safety, which the war brides of World War II did not have. Our society no longer turns a blind eye to that kind of abuse, shushing it up like they used to.

Most importantly, with all the suicides there has been a greater focus on the causes of PTSD. Canadians have a greater understanding of the issues. Talk to anybody on the streets—anybody—and you will hear a lot of sympathy for today's veterans. Canadians have connected the dots between modern soldiers' service in conflict zones and the combat injuries such as PTSD. It may be too late for those veterans of World War II and the Korean War, but it is not too late for today's veterans. They need our support, and so do their wives and their children.

Canadian soldiers of the Second World War didn't have everything they needed, especially when it came to undiagnosed PTSD, but they had one thing they could count on and that was a pension. One 91-year-old war bride whose late husband served overseas for nearly six years, from December 1939—so that meant he was with the first troops who landed on December 17, 1939—to June 1945, two of those years as a prisoner of war in Germany, and who suffered undiagnosed PTSD their entire married life, told me the other day that she didn't really have anything to complain about in terms of money, and she felt that she was well taken care of. She did have this to say, and, let me tell you, the wisdom of these old ladies just never fails to amaze me. She said a widow is only as good as her husband's pension, which is precisely the problem.

She has his pension. It is guaranteed.

She has the VIP, of course, and help with assisted devices such as walkers or chairs, and even an adapted potato peeler if she needs it, because many years ago, she applied for and received assistance as a British veteran, when this was offered to Canadian war brides and apparently to males as well who were British veterans. You could get the same types of services that Canadian veterans were getting, not a pension per se but VIP services. So she gets those things. Meanwhile, she has a friend down the street who's also a war bride, who also served in World War II in Kenley. She's a 92-year-old war bride. She's a veteran of the British WAAFs. She survived the bombing of the Kenley air force base in Britain in 1941, during the Battle of Britain. She did not apply for those services before they cut them off, and consequently she does not get them.

These two women live in the same area. One gets perks and the other doesn't. That's not fair, if you ask me. I am sure there are hundreds of other people just like them. It's an example to me of the inequality that is rife across the system because of arbitrary deadlines and decisions that are made in offices by faceless bureaucrats and politicians who have no idea how their actions affect the quality of people's lives. As was the case with the Veterans Charter, decisions affecting the quality of people's lives have been made. I agree with the testimony that has been given here as recently as last week by Canadian veterans advocate Michael Blais, who said that Canadian soldiers, their wives, and their children should have a choice as to whether they want a lump sum payment or a pension.

These war brides,who are 91, 89, 92, or 93 years old, most of them having outlived their husbands, are living proof that these benefits they receive, uneven as they may be, give them a quality of life that others do not have. They can live independently in their homes. They can get a little bit of help with their housekeeping or snow shovelling or lawn mowing. It's the kind of assistance that improves the quality of their lives. That new generation we're talking about, the modern-day veterans, are young and they have their life ahead of them, and I suppose that's what worries the government. It's thinking, “Oh, my God. Look, we have another 75 years ahead of us with these people.”

My war bride friend and her husband, who was captured in Sicily and who served two years in a prisoner of war camp, were also young 75 years ago. They had a life ahead of them. They were promised a sacred trust. It is an obligation. What is so different between a human being who gave their youth and their life for their country 75 years ago and the young men and women who are coming up through the Canadian military today? I see no difference whatsoever. The sacred trust cannot be broken. If it is broken, then all the stickers and the buttons and the flag-waving and the mantra about save our troops is meaningless pablum.

If you disagree with supporting our troops, then somehow you are unpatriotic, and you in fact may even be considered treasonous. However, if you talk to some of these people today who have been speaking before you about the treatment they've been receiving, they do feel they have been abandoned. They do not feel that the government supports our troops. So it shouldn't come as any surprise that the Department of Veterans Affairs hasn't always done what was right, and they should be admonished for it.

I recall a story told to me by the daughter of a Japanese prisoner of war who, after having survived the torture, the barbarity, and the malnutrition of four years as a prisoner of war came back to Canada to be reunited with his war bride. The only job he could get—because he had no education and he was just a private when he was captured in Hong Kong—was as an orderly in a mental hospital in Saint John, New Brunswick. That was a tough job for a prisoner of war coming back from four years in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. He was on his feet a lot in the hospital, and he had trouble walking.

That suffering was the result of his torturers taking glee in beating him on the soles of his feet. When he applied for orthotic inserts, he was told that it was not connected to his war service. He was furious. He went into a ballistic rage at the DVA office in Saint John. He could not believe that they would deny him this measly assistance.

He never got his orthotics. It changed him, his daughter told me. He lost faith.

The family suffered because of his father's service. It's an insult that rings loud and clear all the way through to the third generation of that man's family. Talk about Veterans Affairs and that's the story you're going to hear about 75 years after the beginning of the Second World War, about how badly he was treated. They don't have fond memories of their father's treatment by the DVA. When his daughter tells that story I cry, because she cries. It's a terrible thing to hear.

I don't want to cry anymore with veterans' wives and children. I beg of you to do the right thing for veterans and widows and give them a choice as to whether they want the lump sum payment or a pension. It is the right thing to do, and it will restore Canadians' faith in the sacred trust between veterans and government. It is, as Senator Dallaire said, “a philosophical framework”, a set of values that will guide how we deal with veterans over the next 75 years.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Thank you, Ms. Jarratt.

We'll now begin our round of questions.

We'll begin with Mr. Chicoine, please, for six minutes.

[Sylvain Chicoine, NDP, Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here. This will definitely help us with our study on the review of the New Veterans Charter.

I would like to thank you in particular, Mr. MacEachern. Just the fact that you are here today and the composure you have shown in your testimony are evidence of a great strength of character, especially since you are probably still in mourning. I want to use this opportunity to express my deepest condolences to you.

Mr. MacEachern, you talked about this briefly in your opening remarks, but especially in the testimony broadcast on television earlier today. You mentioned that your wife submitted claims for benefits and health care that, I assume, were related to her mental health issue. Unless I am mistaken, her two claims were rejected. She did not continue her process because she was swamped in paperwork.

Could you describe the difficulties she faced in obtaining benefits and mental health care, and tell us whether this played a role in her decision to end her life?

[Thomas MacEachern]

I believe it was certainly a factor. The issues that were plaguing her over time stemmed back quite a few years, actually, but had been brought to the forefront again as she was having difficulty readjusting to civilian life. After a couple of years, she needed to try to find a career or a way to get income, and she had come to the conclusion that she needed some kind of benefit or help.

The more it spun out of control, the more she felt as though she needed to find something to do. She couldn't grasp what she could do because she only had these skills; she had been a soldier her whole life, and she was too old at that point.... She was a policewoman, originally, but by that time she was in her mid to late forties and was too old to go back to that again. So then she started a process of trying to, initially.... There were other things that are not in the document or in the statement that had to do with medical issues that she had tried to address and get a pension for. These were all summarily denied.

That created the stress and the anxiety situation. Eventually that led to the point where a doctor said, “You know, we think...we're going to call it a delayed PTSD.” But it's such a vague and general term.... That's part of this whole issue that I find problematic. It's that it's such a vague term, and no one can really nail down specifically what it is. It seems to encompass many different things. Certain things can trigger it.

In her case, at the time of her death, the actual appeal was on the table, as it were, for a pensionable award, and we did not receive the denial until after her death. It is now being appealed.

[Sylvain Chicoine, NDP, Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC]

You also mentioned that she made a list of the battles in which she participated. I understand that justice for all was important to her and that she identified some of the issues with Veterans Affairs Canada. Can you tell us whether this is the case?

[Thomas MacEachern]

As I stated in the statement, it outlines certain touchpoints along in the process where she didn't really get too much sympathy, certainly, and there was no direction to.... We always felt as though, at some point, someone might be able to identify and hear what she was saying, and see that there was a problem here a little deeper than just someone applying for a pension, that if someone is applying—and especially when you get to the stage of applying for a pension for a stress disorder—we need to have some kind of specialized care. What they said was that they had a list of approved psychologists, that she should go ahead and see them, and then they would see where things were at and make an assessment from there. They did, in fact, subsidize those sessions. Unfortunately, the person she saw found it to be out of her realm of expertise.

[Sylvain Chicoine, NDP, Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC]

Thank you.

A month ago, veterans' spouses came to testify before the committee. They said that they did not feel very supported, were not receiving any assistance and often had to leave work to take care of their husband.

What is your situation in this regard? Would you have needed help, as well? I assume that you did not have time to ask for it, as you obviously had to obtain a diagnosis in order to be eligible for benefits. Would you have needed assistance to deal with your problems?

[Thomas MacEachern]

That I saw personally, after the fact?

[Sylvain Chicoine, NDP, Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC]

Yes, I am talking about you, personally, after or even during the fact. Some of the women told us that they had to leave their job, that they could not have one anyway. Was that the case for you?

[Thomas MacEachern]

No, I guess I could say I had a fairly stable job and position that I was able to manage. It wasn't easy. This was an ongoing process leading up to her death.

This whole process lasted about a year and a half. At times, you would think things were levelling or getting better, and then there would be crashes again. I have a sympathetic employer.

One of the difficult things—and I've had some discussion with other people about this—and something that's unique about this is, let's face it, that I'm a male. Usually, it's the other way around. It's usually a male soldier, and a female dealing with that and having to take care of the children. I can say that—let's face it—women have more of a maternal instinct than men do. So the mere fact of having to take on now, on top of my job, the responsibility role and the care of our daughter is a completely new challenge.

In that regard, when I referenced in my statement the Military Family Resource Centre,those people have been absolutely fabulous about finding programs, resources, and in one case even some financial assistance to get a day care program so I could continue to work. I would think a lot of people might be in a situation where they might find themselves unable to work, because you can't afford to work and pay day care in some cases, depending on how many children you have. Some women may be in that situation.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Lizon, for six minutes.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Also, thank you very much to all the witnesses for coming here this afternoon, especially Mr. MacEachern. My best condolences, and I understand everything is still very fresh, and I don't think any words can bring any relief to you or your daughter. I can't find words to describe how bad I feel in hearing your story.

I have one request and one question. Down the road, if you would like or if you can, list some recommendations—and I don't want to put you on the spot now—that you think would be useful for us when we complete the study, do a report, and recommend changes to the charter, it would be appreciated.

But the question I want to ask is this. In all of these several years after your wife left the army and was trying to adjust to civilian life, was there any beacon of hope at some point that you or she did get some understanding, or did get some hope that she would be okay?

[Thomas MacEachern]

Not really. I should say that initially, after she was out of service for a few years, things were quite good. She was engaged with a home business. She ran a day care in the neighbourhood and took care of other children. But after a while that in itself became quite a stressful situation. She said that running a day care was worse than any duty she'd ever been given in the military.

That said, after she finished that, she said she couldn't do it anymore, that she was tired of changing diapers and running the little gaffers around the house, there was a period from that point—and I want to say it was probably four years from that point to where we ended up last Christmas—in which there would be relapses, if you will, in the positive sense. She would be on a slide, things would get a little better, a little beacon of hope, words of encouragement. She did a lot of volunteering. She'd go out and work at food banks and churches and things just to try to keep engaged and keep active. But whatever that problem was, it just kept coming back.

I have to say as a spouse—and anyone else in the room who has experienced something like this—you feel helpless. I didn't know what to say. I could try to encourage. I could say let's go see the doctor, let's get help. But at the end of the day, you're just left...not knowing. It's a difficult situation.

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

Thank you.

I was listening to you, Madam Jarratt. I was born nine years after the war, and I grew up in a community where everybody was affected by war. My relatives were either fighting in the army or forced to go to Germany and work in forced labour camps and farms. My father was in the resistance movement, or as we called it “in the forest”. I grew up among people who were affected not only by the fact that their relatives were in the military or were fighting, but also by the war itself. There were bombings, shellings, and atrocities, because there were armies moving back and forth. I understand very well what you're talking about. This is something that was part of the life of very many people after the war.

I have a general question for everybody, because we hear different witnesses and organizations here talking about the charter. Were any of the organizations here this afternoon part of the consultations pre-2005?

[Ray Kokkonen]

We certainly were, the CPVA.

[Col Daniel O'Connor]

The Last Post Fund, to my knowledge, was not.