Just to clarify, it's not a research study. It's a knowledge mobilization project. The hope is that by the end of the project we will have co-created informational resources that do a few things: honour the sacrifices of first nation, Inuit and Métis veterans; identify some of their mental health knowledge needs; and address them through information.
That being said, we did host a round table in October with a focus on access to mental health care in rural and remote locations. We hosted an in-person event where we asked veterans and family members, alongside policy-makers, researchers, service providers and some other system-level players, to share their experiences on the barriers, the success factors and the potential areas for change in relation to their experiences and understanding of accessing mental health care in rural and remote areas.
We heard three themes, which we spoke to in our earlier testimony, but I can go over them again. The first theme that came through, as we heard from folks, was about the importance of culturally relevant care and models of healing. We heard that many first nation, Inuit and Métis veterans find that accessing cultural and traditional ways of healing can support their well-being journeys. Unfortunately, oftentimes these are not considered health care, so they are not covered. In some cases, they are also not available. Community leaders have shared that they'd like to see Veterans Affairs Canada adopt a policy that allows for traditional healing approaches within communities, with those costs covered.
That was the first theme.