Veterans Affairs Committee on Feb. 6th, 2018

[Cmdre Sean Cantelon]

I'll just add to that from a CAF perspective so that there's not a misrepresentation here.

This work has been ongoing for several years now, so we're into a new phase of it. Brigadier-General Misener will be able to touch on that, but the example of the increased medical releases and awareness is one of the things the Canadian Armed Forces is working very hard on. We want to make sure people are aware.

Going back to your earlier question about releasing, we know that the average non-commissioned member will serve about 12 years. They need to know while they're in uniform that should a psychosocial injury show up later on, after an initial successful transition, they can call My VAC. That's a large part of making sure people are aware of what's out there to help them, and that's a team effort.

[Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Liberal, Saint-Laurent, QC]

I feel that even though it may happen 30 years afterwards, they might still not reach out. It might be something that's embarrassing to reach out about, especially if it's PTSD.

In previous studies we've mentioned how maybe the two departments should be more linked in terms of sharing information, having people transfer right away, or creating a My VAC account immediately after release.

[The Chair, Liberal, Neil Ellis]

Thank you.

Mrs. Wagantall, you have five minutes.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Thank you.

Ms. Douglas, in your briefing notes at the beginning, you said, “In response to the June 2014 report of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, in 2016 we launched the CAF VAC enhanced transition services.” What was the date of that announcement? Are you familiar with when it was introduced?

[Elizabeth Douglas]

I'm sorry, but I'd have to check back to find the actual date. I can certainly do so.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

That would be great. Thank you.

[Elizabeth Douglas]

We'll have to get you the date.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

That's fine.

Our committee had a report in June 2015, “Continuum of Transition Services”. It made it clear that it can be very difficult to reach reservists after their service has come to an end. In June 2016, in response to a question our colleague Ms. Romanado posed, this answer was stated by a co-witness of yours, Ms. Pellerin, who said:

The group we're not so successful with in terms of reach is the non-medically releasing reservist group. As part of this seamless transition task force work that is just getting under way, that is one group we will be focusing on in terms of how we can better reach and serve them and make sure they are successful in their transition.

That was in the beginning of June.

Approximately 5,000 reservists leave each year. Can you tell me currently how many you are contacting per year for a transition review?

[Elizabeth Douglas]

Again, I would have to find out the number of reservists that we are contacting. I can get back to you with that.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

That would be great.

[Elizabeth Douglas]

Again, this is one of the reasons we are really concerned around awareness and outreach of using—

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

That's great. Thank you. I have just a few more questions I want to get to, but I appreciate what you're saying, and outreach is very important.

In your preamble as well, you indicated that the life after service survey conducted by VAC identified that 52% report easy or moderately easy adjustment to civilian life, which is good, but that means 48% would be poorly or very poorly transitioning. I'm just wondering if within that report there is clarity on which service members are in which group. Is rank a factor at play? If they were combat boots on the ground or air force, is information available to know which ones are responding well to transition and which ones are not?

[Elizabeth Douglas]

Yes. The LASS studies were looking at rank. For example, we do know that the younger members without any type of education are having more difficulty. We know, for example, that women may be having more difficulty. We also know the physical conditions that show up more in the LASS studies, which were, for example, arthritis, depression, PTSD, and anxiety.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Would you say that rank plays a role in that?

[Elizabeth Douglas]

I don't want to come to that conclusion about rank playing a role, but we do know—

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Would that not be important to know?

[Elizabeth Douglas]

Well, we could look at those through the LASS studies, and what the LASS study is indeed showing is that junior non-commissioned members are having more difficulty.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Thank you.

Also, you mentioned on page 3 of your report that:

Participants in the rehabilitation program often have complex needs in a number of areas requiring medical, psychosocial and/or vocational services. As of June 30, 2017, 12,245 Veterans and 196 spouses/survivors benefited from rehabilitation services.

You used the word “benefit”. I just wonder if you could elaborate on that. Does that mean benefited as in applied for and received services, or does that mean you have done follow-up and have confirmed that there were positive outcomes from being part of that program?

[Elizabeth Douglas]

The 12,000 number is currently the number of veterans we have had in the program, so that would be who benefited. What's really unique about our case management program and rehabilitation is that we do an assessment. Once they meet with the case manager, there is an assessment. We also do evaluation and we do monitoring, so we have to follow up with those veterans or the spouses and survivors, and we do so. That could be a face-to-face meeting. That could be a meeting with the contractor who's reviewing how they're doing with their training. That is what's going on, and we do have service standards around that.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Out of those evaluations, do you have reports that show what's working well and what isn't, as information that could be applied to making these transitions better?

[Elizabeth Douglas]

I'm going to turn that over to Susan.

[Susan Baglole]

At the completion of the rehabilitation program, we look at program outcomes for things like that. For example, 83% of participants demonstrate that they have improved physical or psychological function; 84% have improved independent functioning or social adjustment; 68% who completed services were more employable at closure; and 77% of participants had improved role performance at home or in the community. In the whole of the rehabilitation program with the three components, our goal is to improve that level of functioning at home, at work, and in the community.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Neil Ellis]

Mr. Johns, you have three minutes.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

I'll switch gears a little bit, for a more positive note.

Mr. Cantelon, maybe you could speak about some of the programs that are working, some of the success stories that you're seeing, and how we can take the lessons learned from those success stories and use those to plug the gap on transition in areas where we have holes.