Evidence of meeting #100 for Veterans Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was research.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:15 p.m.
New Brunswick Southwest, Lib.
Is there a common repository that we can feed the numbers into in order to start collecting them?
4:15 p.m.
Homeless Veterans Representative, Dominion Command, Royal Canadian Legion
I can send you a copy of the stats we keep. That's not a problem. We're the only province that we know of...or the only command that we know of. I can tell you that as of this coming Saturday, that's going to change. We're going to get everybody involved so that we can get it together.
We started keeping stats from day one. I was one of the first people on the committee at Ontario Command to start the program. That's where I'm getting all the numbers.
4:15 p.m.
New Brunswick Southwest, Lib.
From your experience, do you see more supports or fewer for veterans than five years ago?
4:15 p.m.
Chair and Co-founder, VETS Canada
There's definitely more. In some cases, there are too many supports. As I said in my testimony, it has become a very crowded landscape. It seems to be the issue of the day, so to speak. People are coming out of the woodwork trying to offer support. The key is this: Is there actually a service there? It's the credibility.
4:15 p.m.
New Brunswick Southwest, Lib.
What about conflicts? Is there a common conflict, such as a war conflict that the veterans have participated in, or is it just all veterans, from 17 to 92, as you mentioned, Mr. Gordon?
4:15 p.m.
Director, Veterans Services, Dominion Command, Royal Canadian Legion
Yes. A veteran is a veteran is a veteran. I say that and we're honest about that, because there is so much out there where people do not come forward to submit a disability application because somewhere along the line someone told them that for the service they were in there's not an entitlement to apply. It takes a lot of effort to go back. I have a lot of World War II veterans who didn't serve overseas who were told that they couldn't put in a claim. Trying to talk them into submitting a claim at this time in their life when they want to stay at home and get VIP so they don't have to move into long-term care is challenging.
You talked about how there have been changes. Yes, there have been a lot of great changes, but you have to get the veterans in the door. You have to get them in the door to get them the service they need. Once they're in, you can get through the system, and it's pretty good, but you have to get them in.
4:20 p.m.
New Brunswick Southwest, Lib.
Do you also hear from veterans a concern about reporting a medical condition or a mental health condition to the military doctor while they're in service? I've heard from some who suggest that it can be career limiting.
4:20 p.m.
Director, Veterans Services, Dominion Command, Royal Canadian Legion
Well, for folks who are still serving, we don't need medical questionnaires completed, and VAC doesn't require that for a disability application. It has to be in your service health records. For everyone who was in when we're doing a disability claim that is already diagnosed, those are new. You're talking about people who don't want to come forward because, again, it's a stigma issue. I'm not going to say that it has been eradicated, but we're seeing more people coming forward now than ever before, and the favourable rate on mental health claims right now has to be pretty close to 90%.
They've even changed philosophies there on how they're adjudicating claims. No longer are they giving just a 10% minimum on most. If they can give a definitive adjudication entitlement and an assessment at that time so that they don't need to have that person with a mental health condition come back a year or six months later, because that is a problem as well.... People just want to get in, get the treatment and of course get their disability awarded as well.
4:20 p.m.
Director, Veterans Services, Dominion Command, Royal Canadian Legion
They've even changed philosophies there on how they're adjudicating claims. No longer are they giving just a 10% minimum on most. If they can give a definitive adjudication entitlement and an assessment at that time so that they don't need to have that person with a mental health condition come back a year or six months later, because that is a problem as well.... People just want to get in, get the treatment and of course get their disability awarded as well.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
Cathay Wagantall Conservative Yorkton—Melville, SK
Thank you, Chair, and thank you so much, Mr. Gordon, Mr. McInnis and Deb Lowther, for being here today.
I'm going to quote something from another individual who was testifying. Mr. Robert Tomljenovic, area director, Department of Veterans Affairs, was explaining, similar to what you're saying, that veterans, “like the general population, become homeless as a result of complex and interrelated issues such as health status, personal problems, employment instability, poverty, lack of affordable housing, addiction issues and others.” In addition, they have also experienced traumatic scenarios.
I can't help but think that homelessness and all of these things that are mentioned are symptoms of a traumatic experience. Whether you're a veteran or not, something has caused you to go down these paths that make life less positive.
Ms. Lowther, your program, Boots on the Ground, says to me that the majority of people with these traumatic experiences in our armed forces are the people who are the boots on the ground, the ones who face the fire, the explosions and all these kinds of issues. I'm so thankful for what you guys do, all of you, in what is really a crisis management scenario. I'm sure you would love to see circumstances change so that there is no homelessness. That's the ideal. I understand that it's not possible, but we could get much closer to it than we are.
Mr. McInnis, I believe you mentioned something around the issue of their needing to be fit to be transitioned. Our goal here has been to help create this seamless transition from National Defence through VAC to a healthy life as a civilian. Would you say that this area.... I know that VAC is not anxious to allow National Defence to be the ones to determine when you leave—and if you leave with an injury, whether it's service-related or not—in order to not have to go through that whole system again in going through VAC.
You were talking about needing more case managers. Can you talk a bit about that? If those circumstances were different, would those symptoms that our veterans face be different, the ones who are truly injured and struggle with these issues, with PTSD and whatnot?
4:20 p.m.
Director, Veterans Services, Dominion Command, Royal Canadian Legion
Yes, it's very important, but I don't like the term “seamless transition”. There's nothing seamless about it. “Smooth transition” would be a better term to use—
4:20 p.m.
Director, Veterans Services, Dominion Command, Royal Canadian Legion
—because even the people who are not injured when they leave the military still have a difficult time with transition to the civilian world.
Not to take away from all the civilians in the room, but the health care system is not as nice as it was when we served in the military. In the military, we were taken care of. You go in one door in the morning and you come out in the afternoon and everything was taken care of for you. You didn't know what you had—it was that good.
To me, transition is extremely key. If the Canadian Forces are going to have a mandate to keep you in longer to ensure that when you do transition over you're handed off and in a better state of mind mentally, physically and financially, then yes, a lot of problems will go away.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
Cathay Wagantall Conservative Yorkton—Melville, SK
If we're going to talk dollars, do you think if we invested more in maintaining their salaries until all of these things were dealt with further down the road we would actually, in the long run, end up spending less and having healthier citizens?
I'd like a quick yes or no because I have lots of questions.
4:25 p.m.
Director, Veterans Services, Dominion Command, Royal Canadian Legion
That's a yes from me, as long as they're in the military and they're in this. That's why they are going for the additional positions because then they're going to be paid, and that's what the transition groups are supposed to be for.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
Cathay Wagantall Conservative Yorkton—Melville, SK
Okay. Thank you.
Ms. Lowther, I've been to the new drop-in centre. It is phenomenal, very exciting. I had the opportunity to meet Gary Davis in Victoria last week. Your services, as well as the Legion's, are very commendable. Thank you for what you're doing.
I know that in your first two months with the centre here you received over 60 referrals from case managers, in fact, to deal with emergency circumstances. What were their explanations for sending them to you?
With the emergency fund, what is the most effective way to use those dollars when we're dealing with veterans in emergency circumstances, through VAC or through veterans who are assisting veterans?
4:25 p.m.
Chair and Co-founder, VETS Canada
Honestly, when the emergency fund was announced, we had several case managers who told us they don't want to be responsible for administering this fund. They would rather see the department give the money to VETS Canada and let VETS Canada do it.
What are the scenarios in which case managers are referring veterans to us or to our drop-in centre? They're varied, but one common theme is that we have the ability to provide immediate support.
To be very clear, the front-line staff at Veterans Affairs Canada are kind, caring people, and they are doing a wonderful job with the ability they have. They do deal with legislation and very restrictive policies and procedures, whereas we have the ability to be an outside-the-box organization. We don't have to have somebody sign off on a briefing note to expend some money, so we have the ability to be more responsive quickly.
Case managers know that, so I think....
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
Cathay Wagantall Conservative Yorkton—Melville, SK
Thank you. Yes.
It's clear that you are doing a good job, Mr. Gordon, in regard to the database and information, something, quite honestly, we find there is not enough of, which I don't understand.
If you are doing that, do you see that it would be advantageous for groups that are succeeding in serving veterans if you share that information? You said there are really too many. Is Ms. Lowther aware of which ones you are serving in certain areas and whether there is overlap?
My husband was in the ministry and there were many times when people would come who truly needed help, but if you communicated throughout the area you would know that they had been to multiple areas and had not necessarily taken advantage of the assistance needed.
Do you see that database needing to be more comprehensive?
4:25 p.m.
Homeless Veterans Representative, Dominion Command, Royal Canadian Legion
That's a good question.
We support and work with all the other organizations—VETS Canada. We've assisted them, and with department kits, and help if they come to us. Any organization that comes to us and has a homeless veteran who needs help, we're there.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
Cathay Wagantall Conservative Yorkton—Melville, SK
Do you both know who you are serving?
Are you serving the same people? I guess that's what I'm asking.
4:25 p.m.
Director, Veterans Services, Dominion Command, Royal Canadian Legion
We're not double-dipping.
4:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Neil Ellis
Okay. Thank you.
Sorry, that ends the panel today. I know that hour went very quickly.
On behalf of the committee, I'd like to thank all three of you very much for appearing today, and for all you do for the men and women who serve.
We will recess to clear the room. We'll start momentarily with our other panel.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Neil Ellis
Order, please. Could everyone take their seats.
This is the study on medical cannabis.
We're pleased to welcome, by video conference from Hamilton, Dr. Jason Busse, associate professor and associate director of the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research, McMaster University.
With us in Ottawa we have Dr. Zhang, assistant professor, psychiatry department, University of Saskatchewan; and Mr. Cohen, master of science student and combat veteran, department of pharmacology and psychiatry, University of Saskatchewan.
We'll start with 10 minutes from each of you for opening statements, and we'll start with the video conference with Dr. Busse.