You're right. Mental health carries a stigma in Canadian society, as it does within the Canadian Forces. We've recognized that the stigma is one of the many barriers to seeking care that exist for our patients. But it turns out that it's not the most significant barrier to care. We have put a lot of energy into improving the mental health literacy of our members, because we know that when people better understand mental illness, the stigma is reduced. We've also participated in a number of activities designed to reduce stigma, such as discussions at the brigade level or the unit levels, and things like that. We participate annually in Bell's Let's Talk activities, again, with the goal of reducing stigma. We have actually found, from some of our research, that Canadian Forces members are much more likely to speak openly with their supervisors and their colleagues at work about their own mental illness than are civilians.
On November 15th, 2016. See this statement in context.