Evidence of meeting #77 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 families.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:50 p.m.
NDP
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
Then what can we do better in terms of dealing with it, in terms of what you would like to see—
12:50 p.m.
As an Individual
There's one thing. We need someone to stand up in the House and say, “We may have poisoned our soldiers.” That's it. Then what will happen from there is the provincial health care systems, and the funding agencies for research.... Because right now funding agencies will not give money to any mefloquine research because they don't want to go against the government and get their funding cut. That is the problem. We just need one individual to say, “We may have poisoned our soldiers.” That's it.
12:50 p.m.
NDP
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
Thank you. That's important.
I have a question, and I think either Jenny or Teresa can answer this. Does the proposed caregiver amount go far enough? You've outlined the loads that you're carrying, and they're significant. Maybe you can elaborate a little bit on that.
12:50 p.m.
As an Individual
It's interesting. The thought of having $1,000 a month sounds nice. Will I be eligible for it? I don't know, because he looks capable.
Does it take care of the last 15 years of my life that I've given up? Does it attend to that? I'm not sure. I don't know how to respond. It has such a large impact, and yet.... The offer of $1,000 is good, but is it enough? I don't know.
Also, it's if it is accessible—
12:50 p.m.
As an Individual
It's if it is accessible. I don't know if I'll be able to even access it.
12:50 p.m.
As an Individual
If I may, it's not a paycheck. It's a compensation, sort of. That does not replace anything that is lost. Let's not forget that with the New Veterans Charter, my ex-husband.... I was penalized compared to the old pension. Since I had to quit my job, at least $12,000...that's not enough, but that's a good start. It's not a salary replacement.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
Colin Fraser Liberal West Nova, NS
Thank you very much for being here. It's much appreciated.
I'd like to ask you, Jenny. You talked a little bit about the importance of having the family involved in a transition and some of the specifics. What other specific things do you think this committee could recommend to the government to support families of medically releasing veterans, in particular, so that we can support the families who are doing the important and vital work for a successful transition? What can we do?
12:50 p.m.
As an Individual
Ground zero is the Canadian Armed Forces. I believe you heard Barry Westholm here. He also defends the family. When I advocated for a case in Comox, I was welcomed in a JPSU as a family member—they didn't know who I was—and to see how I was treated...but more importantly, families are coming out of the service already wounded. Does that answer the question? It starts from there, and then the inclusion.... When you combine the fact that we are excluded medically speaking, it can be understandable, but in the end we're not educated. Our biggest problem is the lack of education and support.
Right now, as a spouse, I can access a number of meetings with a psychologist. That's a good start, but again, it's not enough. Once again, one of the problems is, if the veteran doesn't ask for his spouse, the spouse cannot access that help. Once again, identity and dignity. This is the core. Help me protect myself and the family. Help me be a better caregiver, and I will provide a better environment for the wounded to give him the motivation to fight whatever he has to fight for him to have a quality of life. The biggest problem is right here. They are left alone. They don't fit into society anymore. Their wives leave them. They end up alone. They have trouble accessing service dogs. It becomes very complicated at every level. We are there to compensate on many levels, and also we're the only person who truly knows the person they are inside and still fights for them. We are part of this dynamic, and we need to have...not just to be good, because we are part of the solution.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Colin Fraser Liberal West Nova, NS
I couldn't agree more, Jenny, and that's very well put.
I'd like to hear Dave and Teresa on that point, involving the family and supporting the caregivers and family members to ensure a successful transition. Do you have specific things we could recommend to the government with regard to those supports on the ground and in place? Do you have any comments on that?
12:55 p.m.
As an Individual
I'll just reiterate what Jenny said. It's accessibility. Until she said it, I didn't even think about it. I thought to myself, I could really use some counselling, but I had to go through Dave to ask for it. It wasn't until she just said it now that, yes, that affects my dignity. I can't even go to Veterans Affairs and say I need counselling. I need help. It has to be through him. What if he's really mad at me, or what if he's off on one of the tangents that sometimes take a week or two for him to recover from? I have no accessibility. None.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Neil Ellis
We're going to have two-minute rounds each, for three rounds. We'll go with Mr. Eyolfson.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Doug Eyolfson Liberal Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB
I'm going to be giving my time to Mrs. Romanado.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Sherry Romanado Liberal Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC
Thank you.
Thank you for being here. Many people who know me know that the reason I decided to run for office is I found that military and veterans families like mine—I have two sons serving—didn't have a voice. I'm happy to have you here telling your story. I think the story of how military service and afterservice affects families needs to be told. Thank you for giving families like mine a voice.
Speaking of families, because of course that's something that's near and dear to me, I know that if I go to an MFRC, since my sons are serving, I can get services. There's a lot that still needs to be done. I know that if I were to walk into an MFRC if I was a veteran or a member of a veteran's family, they would probably still serve me. They would just do it. When you're a member of the military, you're always a member of the military, and you're a family.
I'd like to get your opinion a little bit about how giving that access to veterans in post-transition and their families to go to the MFRC and continue that relationship will help. We've heard about the caregiver benefit, but I find that the MFRCs also have such a crucial role. Do you think letting families continue to have access to them will help? Would that be helpful?
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
12:55 p.m.
As an Individual
Yes, but don't forget that the MFRCs experience challenges of their own as well. The Canadian Armed Forces right now are putting a lot of effort into having more control over the MFRCs. Please, get them out of there. Families know what they need, know what they want, and they can rule their MFRCs.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Neil Ellis
I stress to all three of you that if there's anything you want to add to your testimony, get it in a written brief and we'll get it to the committee. I do apologize.
Go ahead, Ms. Wagantall.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
Cathay Wagantall Conservative Yorkton—Melville, SK
Thank you.
I appreciate you all, Dave, Jenny and Teresa, for being here.
Dave, this mefloquine issue is not going away.
1 p.m.
As an Individual
No, it's actually a degenerative issue and the people are becoming more ill.
1 p.m.
Conservative
Cathay Wagantall Conservative Yorkton—Melville, SK
I'm saying it's not going away in the eyes of Canadians. It's growing as an issue, how we've treated our veterans, how we've treated our soldiers, and continue to.
It's now a drug of last resort, which was finally announced by the Surgeon General as we were going into our summer break. However, it's still available to Canadians. There's been no change there.
Bev, who we both knew, is still dealing with that. I have nowhere to go to affirm this, but she said to me, Cathay, I have a friend who is a case manager. They were told to their faces, do not bring up mefloquine with your clients.
Do you want to say anything to that mindset?