Evidence of meeting #9 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 guys.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Doug Eyolfson Liberal Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB
Mr. Kuluski, Mr. Veltri, I can hear that this is very painful. I thank you for your service, and I understand that you're both going through something awful.
Now, I just want to clarify, when you were first asking for help, you both intended to continue your careers in the military. Is that correct?
As an Individual
Yes, I had zero medical employment limitations. What that means in a civilian context is that a medical employment limitation restricts what one is allowed to do. Inevitably, from a military standpoint, if I have an MEL, I can't get promoted, I can't get posted, and it's in direct conflict with how you get in the military.
I was under zero medical employment limitations when I asked for help. I went to anger management, and my platoon commander stated directly to my face, over the phone because they were doing exercises in Suffield, that because Corporal Veltri attended mental health, he was no longer allowed to attend a selection course. But I was under zero medical employment limitations. I followed all the rules and regulations that applied to me, including the paperwork. Once again, I'm very good at doing my own paperwork. The military forced me at a very young age to do my own paperwork. Once again, an individual in the military actually guided me to, in common phrasing, “be my own career manager”.
Doing my own paperwork was necessary. So once again—
Liberal
Doug Eyolfson Liberal Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB
Sorry, I don't mean to cut you off. I just wanted to clarify that both of you had intended to continue your military careers.
Is that correct?
Liberal
Doug Eyolfson Liberal Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB
Mr. Kuluski, you say that as well?
As an Individual
Yes, sir. I had a signed contract for about 25 years. It would have been expired in 2030.
My unit helped me more than pretty much all of Veterans Affairs. They asked me if I wanted an occupational transfer. I was told for three years that I was getting an occupational transfer. I was moved from the front-line infantry to the maintenance department in the mat shop, doing job shadowing. I ran a mat shop with a mat technician for three years where they gave me the Queen's jubilee medal in a trade I'm not even in, in a shop I wasn't trained for. That's how good a job I did. And I was still told I would be getting an occupational transfer, and then they came down, and for each university salary rate of service, they said, we're sorry that you have to be released for a mental test.
Liberal
As an Individual
There is no mental test in the Canadian Forces unless you go to CSOR. So how are you being released for a mental test?
Liberal
Doug Eyolfson Liberal Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB
Sure.
To both of you briefly, what was the time frame between when you first identified yourselves as wanting help and being put on medical release? What would you say the time frame was? Weeks? Months?
As an Individual
In 2009 I got back from Afghanistan and I got into a bar fight. Once again, it was a little out of my norm, and I decided to correct the problem. So I went to mental health, walked in there, and I said, “Listen up,” and they said they would put me into anger management. So I did the anger management course, and actually my psychologist said I had some issues of concern, but that I'm motivated. Once again, the key to that is “motivated” because I was trained every day for the close personal protection course.
Once again, I did all my own paperwork. I followed the battalion's rules. I'm one of the few guys in 2PPCLI history, I think, who ever got denied so many times, to try getting out of the battalion. Once again, I'm a college-educated individual. I wanted a better job for myself with a little more stability. Being in the infantry is very difficult; physically, mentally, you have to be tough to be there every day for 20 years. To be Jody for 20 years is hard. That's hard work, physically and mentally. I just wanted something different, and I've had a lot of questions asked to me about whether I could do other jobs inside the infantry, with a mental ailment. And the answer to that is yes. I'm internationally ranked in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I have now put my body through the physical torment of—
Liberal
Doug Eyolfson Liberal Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB
Sir, I don't mean to cut you off, but I just need to know.
Liberal
Doug Eyolfson Liberal Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB
What was the length of time between when you first asked for help and they determined that you were to be—
Liberal
Doug Eyolfson Liberal Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB
Okay, thank you.
And Mr. Kuluski?
As an Individual
Probably within a year I knew that I was being released. After seeing the MO, they said you are going to breach the universality of service, so you might as well start looking to be released.
Liberal
Doug Eyolfson Liberal Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB
And that was about a year after you had asked for help. Is that correct?
As an Individual
Yes. It's pretty much as soon as you go on your first TCat almost, so within six months. As soon as you get on TCat, you're pretty much done.
As an Individual
I've never seen anyone go to the JPSU and actually get back to work, ever.
Liberal
Doug Eyolfson Liberal Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB
Sure. I'm down to 30 seconds. I also need to know, in a very brief answer, how long it was between the time you said that you needed help and the time you actually got help from a mental health professional? What was the time frame for that, both of you?
As an Individual
Very quickly. They took me up immediately, and they said they would deal with this, and I said, “Okay, let's deal with this.”
