Veterans Affairs Committee on Sept. 26th, 2017

[Alexandre Coyo]

If I may, I would add that there are soldiers with a prosthesis who are continuing to serve in military uniform within their regiment. In keeping with this esprit de corps, in early 2017, we created what we call leave for the wounded. This leave is given specifically to soldiers injured on external and domestic operations. It allows them to remain with their regiments for two years, despite an injury. They are attached to their regiments and can continue to follow regimental life.

We realized that it was essential, especially with regard to psychological injuries, to keep this fraternal bond between the unit and the injured individual. In addition, this leave allows injured individuals to retain their salaries for two years.

[Doug Eyolfson, Liberal, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Thank you.

Further to that, we've heard some testimony regarding our universality of service requirement. Some veterans have stated that they noticed they were becoming injured. For example, there were paratroopers who were starting to develop back pain, or active duty soldiers who were starting to get symptoms of PTSD, and they were afraid to report their symptoms, because if they were deemed not fit for the battlefield, they would be out of the military.

Would you agree that soldiers would be much more likely to report symptoms of injury if they knew that doing so would not end their military career?

[Alexandre Coyo]

I'm not sure I understood the question.

[Frédéric Charlet]

I think so. They might talk more about their injuries, which may or may not be obvious, if they were sure they wouldn't be forced to leave the service.

[Alexandre Coyo]

I would like to add that there is a network within the regiments. This basically concerns the army. They have appointed first contact people, such as senior non-commissioned officers, or people with some seniority, to identify behavioural changes in young soldiers. They are identified from very low in the chain of command.

Culturally, I also believe that there is more recognition that soldiers can suffer psychological injuries. Military leaders are aware of this risk, and there has been great change in this area. So, people probably speak more freely.

[Doug Eyolfson, Liberal, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Thank you very much.

How much time do I have?

[The Chair, Liberal, Neil Ellis]

You have one minute.

[Doug Eyolfson, Liberal, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Thank you.

I'd like to change direction a bit.

With regard to service delivery, you have local offices. Wherever veterans are living in the country, they can go to a local office. We have geographic challenges in Canada. Our population density is much lower. We have about half your population, spread out over an area roughly the size of China, and most of our citizens live in cities. So we have vast areas where people live, where it's very difficult to provide any sort of service, not just military.

Again, this may not be relevant to France, but are there areas in France that are geographically isolated, and where it's difficult to provide local service for veterans?

[Frédéric Charlet]

I spoke earlier about the office's territorial network. It has a service in all the regions that, I think, were established at the time of the French Revolution, so some time ago. The principle was, if I'm not mistaken, that anyone could cross the department on horseback in one day. That gives you an idea of the size of the departments. In practical terms, it means that it is fairly easy to access the services of the nearest Office national des anciens combattants in half a day, at the most. Having said that, I don't think you could reproduce it in Canada.

[Doug Eyolfson, Liberal, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Neil Ellis]

Ms. Mathyssen.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Thank you very much.

I want to come back to a question that was asked previously with regard to modified duty, and I want to be clear. You said that efforts are made to retain an injured soldier in a civilian capacity. What kind of jobs would that mean? I also wonder about the statement that a soldier stays in his or her regiment for two years on the same salary. What happens if that individual is unable to deploy? In Canada, if you're unable to deploy after two years, you're moved toward a medical release. Is it the same in France?

[Alexandre Coyo]

As for the last point about leave for the wounded, needless to say, the injured person isn't within the regiment, but at home, for instance. We protect them by paying them a salary for two years. That's the key point.

Excuse me, but the first question—

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

You said that soldiers are often in a civilian capacity.

[Frédéric Charlet]

Actually, in military training many soldiers may be deployed. So they must be able to take part in an external operation. There are also a number of civilians who are generally assigned support tasks, like fixing or maintaining equipment, for instance. With any military training, there is always a need for a civilian workforce, for people who can't be deployed abroad. Soldiers who have been injured and who can't be deployed elsewhere could therefore take jobs like these.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Okay. Is there difficulty in terms of the individual soldier who cannot be deployed? There doesn't seem to be a place for them within the organization, and they are simply no longer part of the military force.

Here in Canada there's been a lot of angst among those who want to stay in but who can't be deployed, and they're very unhappy about being forced out. Does that kind of situation arise within your ranks?

[Alexandre Coyo]

Local commanders have the very big responsibility of supporting injured soldiers, which may be done by rehabilitation through sports. This is an essential point for which we've created a real policy.

Finally, there will always be what you mention, which is the risk of a gap between those who are deployed on an external operation and those who remain. We try to support those who remain as much as possible.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Okay, thank you.

We talked about long-term care and the fact that injuries are dealt with in medical centres or clinics. I wondered why the ONACVG decided to close the rehabilitation centres that it did administer. What were the reasons behind that decision? They were administered until January of this year and apparently now have been disposed of. I'm wondering why that decision was made.

[Jean-Rodrigue Paré, Committee Researcher]

There was a translation problem.

Ms. Mathyssen mentioned the retraining schools that were transferred to the office.

[Frédéric Charlet]

Right.

The office had 10 vocational retraining schools. These schools were created immediately after the First World War to enable disabled veterans to learn a new trade.

We have seen that, for years, these vocational retraining schools were no longer receiving soldiers or veterans. Most of the people using these schools were disabled individuals who were in no way connected with defence or the armed forces.

The Ministère de la Défense, now the Ministère des Armées, decided not to close these vocational retraining schools, but simply to transfer them. These schools still exist, but they now come under the Ministère des Solidarités et de la Santé. I repeat that, for a very long time, these schools haven't received veterans or disabled veterans.

[The Chair, Liberal, Neil Ellis]

Mr. Bratina, we'll close with you for six minutes.

[Bob Bratina, Liberal, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Thank you.

At what point during active service are soldiers made aware of the benefits they might receive as veterans? Is there any discussion with active service soldiers during their period of service about the veterans benefits, or does that come upon their departure?

[Frédéric Charlet]

As for the veteran's card, ONACVG's mission is to go to the regiments, the military training, to explain to those being deployed on an external operation that they can request this card. As I have already said, they can do so as soon as they have accumulated 120 days of external operations. At that time, their rights they get by having the card are explained to them.

[Bob Bratina, Liberal, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Okay.

Are there issues specific to female veterans? The French military has a proud history of participation by females. Are there any specific issues that come to mind with regard to women veterans?

[Alexandre Coyo]

Not to our knowledge. There are no particular issues. The symptoms and proportions are the same. There haven't been any studies specifically on that.