Thank you.
Good evening, Mr. Chair and committee members.
Thank you for this invitation to speak with you. As you know, I was appointed to the veterans ombudsman position this past November. I'm appearing before you today for the first time. I'm joined by my colleague, Duane Schippers.
I'm honoured to share our latest study and our report on mental health treatment benefits for family members of veterans.
The foundational principle for our study is the understanding that, when a military member serves, their family also serves. As a result, we believe that family members of veterans deserve access to funded mental health treatment when their own need is connected to military service. This is something that does not currently exist for those family members not participating in a veteran’s treatment plan.
This issue isn't new to us. We first recommended in 2016 that Veterans Affairs Canada fund mental health treatment for the family members of veterans in their own right and independent of the veterans' needs.
In the fall and winter of 2019-20, our office received a number of complaints regarding this issue. In February 2020, we launched an in-depth study to bolster our earlier recommendation.
We published our findings on January 19, 2021. We found a growing body of Canadian research regarding the impact of service on families. Military families are known to be incredibly resilient, but the evidence speaks to the reality that military service carries with it unique stressors that can impact a spouse's or child’s mental health. Frequent postings, long and multiple absences of the military member and the inherent risk of their illness, injury or death are key factors in the mental health and well-being of military families.
The minister, in his response to our report, acknowledged the impact that military service has on the well-being of both veterans and their family members. Currently, the department provides limited individual mental health treatment to spouses and children, but only when the family member’s treatment is directly connected to achieving a positive outcome for the veteran.
This policy ultimately has the effect of creating both inequity and a disservice to those veterans' spouses and children who are essentially barred from accessing funded treatment in their own right simply because their veteran doesn’t need or isn’t in treatment.
From our perspective as an advocate for fairness, family members—meaning spouses, former spouses and children—who are experiencing mental health issues as a direct result of being part of a military family should have independent access to their own mental health treatment benefits.
Let me share some of the stories that we were given permission to relate.
One spouse told us she was not asking for charity. She was asking to get the help she needs to support a man who's already given up too much in the service of his country.
A disabled veteran shared with us that her young children essentially had to take care of her when she came home broken and as a result they had mental health issues of their own. She related how her youngest daughter, who is under the age of 12, has become afraid of being alone. Her daughter needs treatment but she simply cannot afford to pay for it.
Another spouse shared how her veteran spouse suffers from PTSD, which is made so much worse when his episodes cause severe distress to his children. They desperately need professional and age-appropriate treatment to help them make sense of their father's condition, and this is simply beyond her scope as a mother.
The bottom line is that there is a gap in the way the department is meeting its obligation to veterans' families. We have made three recommendations.
First and foremost, that family members including spouses, former spouses, survivors and dependent children have access to federal government-funded mental health treatment when the mental health illness is related to the conditions of military service experienced by the family member. This should be independent of the veteran's treatment plan and regardless of whether the veteran is engaging in treatment.
Second, that the department conduct and publish the gender-based analysis of its policies and regulations for mental health support to veterans' families.
Finally, that the department continue to demonstrate flexibility in meeting the individual mental health needs of family members.
In summary, we believe that this is an important fairness matter in need of both attention and action. We're hopeful that, by publishing our findings, we'll see progress on this issue that recognizes the cost of service that some family members are paying. Your interest in keeping the conversation going is very important to me, as the veterans ombudsman, and to my office.
Thank you again for your invitation to share our report with you.