I think from the RCMP perspective, we don't really have anybody to go to. We have no association other than MPPAC, which is not our approved section yet. We can't go to the force and we can't go to the doctor, so we're kind of left on our own. They send us in the direction of filing grievances. Well, we file grievances, and the earliest, in some cases, that you're going to get first resolution is five years after the fact. You can have grievances when you retire, but again, you have no one to go to. Some of the grievances have been going on for over 12 years, and they're still not resolved. There is no one to go to to deal with those unless you get a lawyer.
I am aware of three members. One in particular has been sitting at home waiting for a decision on a grievance, at full pay, for 16 years. I know another member in Langley who has been sitting at home waiting for a decision on a grievance, with no medical problems or anything like that, while receiving full pay for 10 years. The last one is a staff sergeant out of headquarters in E division, which is British Columbia, and he's been sitting at home with no decision or anything else for five years.
These people are all willing to go back to work and they have no mental problems, but now they're starting to get them. I think it's very important that we have some sort of process through which we can de-escalate and have answers to some of our questions before we retire. Right now, when you retire from the RCMP, you basically sign the paper and you're gone.
I'm well aware that in the NHL they actually have a de-escalation type of debriefing and they teach the people in the NHL how to come back to normal life. That's part of the process in order to save lives and to get these people back into society. There's nothing in the RCMP. We have no oversight committee and no one to take that next step for us. It's very important for someone to help us. We have no one to go to, and that's why guys look to suicide. It's because they feel very lonely. Even as retired members, we have no one to go to.