Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Chair, members of this committee, and fellow panel members, good afternoon. I'd like to thank you for the invitation to appear today.
Before I get into the substance of deliberations, I'll give a brief background of myself. I am a veteran of 41 years' service of the Canadian Armed Forces, in the regular and the reserve forces, having served in the army, the navy and the air force. When I retired in 2012, I remained in Brussels, where I was the civilian director of NATO's intelligence-sharing enterprise.
None of this has anything to do with veteran mental health care. However, since that time I've been involved with supporting and advocating on behalf of veterans and their families in a variety of capacities, with my emphasis being on veteran and family mental wellness.
I understand the focus of your committee right now in this session is on the supports and services to veterans' caregivers and families, and that today you wish to focus on three elements: the impact of the caregiver recognition allowance since its introduction; the relevance and possible means of enabling family members to get VAC services on their own behalf; and to reflect more generally on the support offered by VAC to family members, particularly when it comes to veteran health that requires ongoing care.
Starting with the caregiver recognition benefit, I just want to correct a statement that was made in my invitation, which referred to something called a “caregiver recognition allowance”. It's actually the caregiver recognition benefit, and this nuance is important. It's not an allowance per se, but it's a $1,000-per-month benefit to recognize, and not compensate, the contribution of a family caregiver to the care and recovery of our most severely disabled veterans based on their disability, not necessarily based on the impact on the family. It does not replace income or earnings lost by these family caregivers; it merely recognizes that they have a role to play in caring for the veteran.
As I indicated previously, in my advocacy role my emphasis is on veteran mental health. I'm particularly interested in the caregiver recognition benefit as it applies to veterans with a diagnosed mental health condition.
Since raising this issue of equitability—that is, the equitability between a veteran with a mental health condition and a veteran with a physical disability—I have focused on some data from VAC. It indicates that approximately 70% of the applicants for the caregiver recognition benefit are in receipt of disability benefits for a mental health condition, and that 81% of those eligible for that benefit actually have an approved disability entitlement for mental health conditions. So, in fact, it does appear that the award of the caregiver recognition benefit is equitable for veterans struggling with mental health conditions as it is for those with physical disabilities.
When we talk about enabling families to obtain VAC services on their own behalf, I think we could take a lesson from our allies in Australia. In Canada, there are very few supports and services provided to family members, and there are no supports and services provided to family members on their own right from VAC. Family members will only get support from VAC if it is directly related to the veteran's condition and recovery. This means that the family's need for support must be directly related to the member's condition and treatment. Thus, if a veteran himself or herself does not have an awarded condition, a family member who may be suffering as a result of the member's service is not able to access VAC support for themselves, and this is especially important when we're dealing with family mental health. The veteran may choose not to apply for a disability award or to seek help, for whatever their own personal reason is, but that doesn't mean that his or her dependants aren't adversely impacted by the veteran's service, or that they don't need help.
Consider for a moment the teenager who has moved with their parents every few years while growing up. A parent is deployed every few years, school has been disrupted, the teen starts struggling with their own mental health. They don't have access to mental health care, because they're always moving, and they go on a rather lengthy provincial waiting list to get care. They don't have access to VAC services because their veteran parent doesn't have an awarded condition, so they suffer without help, even though their condition may well be attributed to the veteran's service.
We used to say that members joined the Canadian Armed Forces, but their families were drafted. I chose to join. My wife and my kids didn't choose to join, but they have been subject to all the career implications and the lifestyle implications as a result of my service. Unfortunately, in retirement or after release, this continues, whereby the dependants are struggling sometimes with conditions that their veteran parent has, but they don't have access to services and support.
The care and support needed are often in the area of mental health, and it's a discipline that is stigmatized, making access even more difficult for spouses and children. Veterans and their families face a unique experience during a military career and transitioning to civilian life, and it is very difficult for them to get the care they need while they're on lengthy provincial waiting lists, especially for mental health conditions.
Military life can involve significant challenges, not the least of which is exposure to life-and-death situations. For many veterans, military service and operational deployments can lead to a strong sense of identity and belonging. For clinicians working with veterans, demonstrating an understanding of the military experience enhances the therapeutic alliance so they can get effective treatment.