Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs.
Thank you for the opportunity to be here today to provide information for your study and to answer questions on the subject of transition from the Canadian Armed Forces.
In 2017, the government launched the defence policy Strong, Secure, Engaged. Under this policy, a new Canadian Armed Forces transition group was stood up in December 2018 to support ill and injured members and to enable all Canadian Armed Forces members to seamlessly transition to post-military life.
As the commander of the Canadian Armed Forces transition group, I am responsible for ensuring that Canadian Armed Forces members and their families are provided with personalized, professional and standardized casualty support and transition services, whether they are returning to service or transitioning to civilian life. We are particularly targeting those who are ill and injured. Today, approximately 1,500 ill and injured personnel are posted to my unit for periods of six months or more. I am also directly supporting another 3,500 ill and injured members and their families by providing information, advocacy, referrals and delivery of numerous programs and services.
Services and support are provided to CAF members and their families through an integrated team with Veterans Affairs Canada and numerous other partners. Approximately 550 military and civilian staff members are organized into nine transition units and 32 transition centres, which are located on bases and wings across Canada and at the transition group headquarters here in Ottawa.
As the commander of the Canadian Armed Forces transition group, my current priorities are to continuously improve the care and support for our ill and injured members, their families and the families of the fallen, to implement a renewed and improved transition experience and to grow transition capability and partner integration.
We have made significant progress over the last three years by implementing innovative initiatives, improving existing programs and growing capacity to improve military members' experience as they transition to post-military life.
The Canadian Armed Forces transition group aims to provide professional, personalized and standardized support. Professional support means a transition group that's adequately resourced, with personnel in place who are properly trained. It also means a deepening integration with Veterans Affairs Canada, or VAC, to provide more closely coordinated service.
“Personalized” means a needs-based approach, which tailors services to the individual and their family. Lastly, “standardized” means that the same services are available to every member of the military and their family as they experience transition. This is an ambitious and complex undertaking that will take some time to build. Therefore, we've also launched the transition trial at Borden to implement some new initiatives and to test and adjust them prior to implementing them throughout the Canadian Armed Forces, or CAF.
Since transition is a shared responsibility between the CAF and VAC, close coordination and integration between both departments is vital in ensuring a successful and seamless transition from military to civilian life. Together with VAC, we've improved and we continue to enhance programs and services and to introduce new programs and services that are more aligned between the two departments.
The goal is to better enable our personnel to successfully transition to civilian life by improving training and readiness, promoting recruitment and employment, and nurturing collaboration between the sectors that employ veterans. Close collaboration and ongoing work continue with our VAC colleagues through the joint steering committee governance framework and joint priorities that keep changing based on mandates and government priorities.
It's an inevitable reality of military service that everyone will eventually transition out of the forces. Being exposed to transition-related information and education earlier in a member's military career will positively contribute to both member and family readiness and ease the reintegration back into civilian society.
The transitioning member and his or her family need to be fully prepared to re-enter civilian life by creating a comprehensive transition plan, a plan that addresses the entire spectrum of what it takes to be ready to transition: health, purpose or employment, financial, housing, social support and integration, and life skills. Therefore, numerous transition resources and tools have been created to enable CAF members and their families to better understand and plan for this inevitable transition.
In summary, my goal and the goal of the Canadian Armed Forces transition group is to ensure that all CAF members and their families are informed, prepared and empowered for a successful transition. This is an ambitious endeavour and one that we've made much progress towards, but also one that will require more effort and time to complete. I want to thank the committee again for this opportunity to answer questions.