Veterans Affairs Committee on Feb. 26th, 2015

[Michel D. Doiron]

I do not want to talk for my friends at CAF because it was aimed at them, but at Veterans Affairs we firmly believe it's a good thing when they have their medical file and that people like Mélanie can review the file with the member while they're still receiving a salary from CAF.

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

Thank you for your indulgence.

[The Chair, Conservative, Royal Galipeau]

Mr. Lemieux, you have the floor.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Thank you very much.

Thank you for the presentation.

Mélanie, you're quite right. It's a stressful event to leave the military. I served for 20 years.

I think particularly the longer you're in, the more comfort you find in the environment you know so well. You understand the military back to front, up and down. It's a very specialized calling to be in the military. Your skill set, you think, is quite narrow. As you're leaving you're wondering if you'll make it, if you'll get a job, if your skill sets are transferable, what's the impact on your family. As you said, you're also leaving this network. I call it a finely tuned network that's provided for almost your every need medically, as well as your training, your pay, everything. And now you're going to be stepping out on your own. It is quite stressful.

First I'd like to know if this is available to all members of DND. Whether they have one year of service, six months, three years, ten years, they are all entitled to go to a SCAN seminar.

[Mélanie Witty]

If you've served?

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Yes.

[Mélanie Witty]

And you're released. You've completed basic training?

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Yes.

[Mélanie Witty]

It's yours.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Okay. Thank you.

I'm trying to recollect. When I left I attended the SCAN seminars. I thought DND was running it at the time. Has there been a transfer of responsibility from DND to Veterans Affairs or has it always been with Veterans Affairs?

[Mélanie Witty]

DND is the one running it. We're a guest. We're one of the speakers. We don't run the SCAN.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Okay.

[Mélanie Witty]

DND is the one making sure that all our partners are there, whether it's Manulife, Helmets to Hardhats, us, the Legion. They will decide in light of the need of the clientele, who the partners presenting at the panel should be.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Okay. So the SCAN seminar run by DND is a much larger, more comprehensive affair. You're an element of it and you've briefed us on the Veterans Affairs component of the SCAN seminar.

[Mélanie Witty]

That's right. A volunteering SCAN takes place over two days at the Archives. Many people talk. The member knows which presentation he wants to attend or not. A medically releasing SCAN is condensed into one day, and we are back-to-back, so by 3 o'clock nobody pays attention anymore.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Can spouses attend SCAN seminars?

[Mélanie Witty]

They're always invited.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

That's good. It's open to spouses so they also get to hear what's going on.

[Mélanie Witty]

Memory and concentration are among the biggest challenges for someone medically releasing for psychological conditions. By having the spouse there, the information sometimes is retained a bit more.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

I think that's excellent. I think it's as you said. The family has been part of the soldier's life throughout his career and they very much need to be part of his or her life as they are transitioning out. It just makes perfect sense.

Do you keep records on what percentage of DND...? I guess you wouldn't. You're just an invited guest. You're saying it's voluntary. Is there a high percentage or low percentage, 50-50 percentage of people leaving who attend the SCAN seminars or portions of it?

[Mélanie Witty]

It's not uncommon that a member is on a temporary category or a permanent category, and I tell them I'm going to talk at a SCAN next month at the Archives. Take part in the French SCAN because I'll be presenting. They're francophone. They're asking what a SCAN is.

I think there's a bit of a lack in disseminating the information about SCAN. Being front line, we are often the ones informing the members. There'll be a lot coming up. We know them a year in advance. Sign up, raise your hand. We connect them to the members.

I can't tell you who doesn't and who does, but I can tell you that for someone with post-traumatic stress to be in a room full of people, that doesn't work and they will tell me they won't last.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

I see. That's interesting.

[Mélanie Witty]

Sometimes it's the injury that makes it so that you just cannot take part.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Right. You mentioned a few times that we're fortunate here in Ottawa to have A or to have B or to have C. But there are bases and military people serving across the country. Just from the experience of VAC and how SCANs are organized, do SCANs...? I imagine they're at big bases like Petawawa and Edmonton. But there are lots of smaller bases too. Are there SCAN seminars there and does VAC plug into these smaller locations?

[Michel D. Doiron]

We are plugged into every location that has a SCAN. We have either a case manager or a CSTM who will provide our part of the session.