Thank you.
Honourable chairman and members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, it's a pleasure to appear before you on this subject. I'm pleased to be able to speak to you this afternoon—I guess it's still morning—on behalf of over 250,000 members and their families.
I am the acting director of veterans services at the national headquarters of the Legion. I am also a retired military health care administrator. I've been assisting veterans, including still-serving members, RCMP members, those who have retired and their families, for over 15 years in various roles. My last job in uniform was taking care of the ill and injured here in Ottawa before they were released from service.
We support your study regarding medical assistance in dying. First I want to remind you very briefly about how we can be knowledgeable and able to speak on this topic. The Legion has been assisting veterans and their families since 1926 through our legislative mandate in both the Pension Act and the Veterans Well-being Act. We are the only veterans organization in Canada that helps veterans and their families with representation to Veterans Affairs at all levels and at all levels of appeal to the Veterans Review and Appeal Board for disability entitlement for their service-related injuries and illnesses.
We do this through 27 professional command service officers and their assistants, located across the country from coast to coast to coast. They are trained professionals who are government security-cleared and who provide free assistance to veterans and their families to obtain benefits and services from Veterans Affairs. Please note that you do not have to be a Legion member. We will help all veterans.
Through the legislation, the Legion has access to service health records and departmental files to provide this comprehensive yet independent representation at no cost. Last year, our service officers represented over 4,000 claims to VAC, including appeals to the Veterans Review and Appeal Board. Additionally, we met and spoke with many more thousands of veterans regarding their benefits, and I believe we can speak confidently and with credibility about what service officers can and cannot recommend when it comes to the topic of medical assistance in dying.
In answer to what this meeting is about, medical assistance in dying has been the subject of much debate in Canada. It is a deeply complex and extremely personal issue. There are legal and moral considerations that must support autonomy and freedom of choice and protect those who are vulnerable. The Canadian justice system is quite complex and has set out strict protocols, guidance and stringent safeguards that medical practitioners must adhere to regarding this subject.
We were shocked and saddened to hear recently that a veteran was apparently advised about medical assistance in dying by an employee of Veterans Affairs. Veterans contacted us through our veterans services department by phone and by email and were quite angry about the allegation when it was made.
One veteran stated to me personally that Veterans Affairs Canada needs a better grasp on the effect this has had on the veterans community and that many veterans have been angered and retraumatized by this situation, seeing it as “an extension of the perception of deny, delay, and die from VAC to veterans.”
Often, a veteran will ask a command service officer for medical advice, such as which treatment option they should go with or which medical professional. We strongly believe and always advise veterans that they need to discuss their concerns with their doctor or other health care professionals who would understand their unique, personal and private health in detail. This includes any discussions surrounding medical assistance in dying. Quite simply, we are not medical professionals and are not qualified to endorse or provide any medical advice or suggestions regarding any form of treatment.
Regarding the mental health impact on a veteran of receiving advice about medical assistance in dying, as we are not medically trained, we can speak only to what we have seen and heard from veterans and their families.
Veterans Affairs case management and veterans services are there to establish a relationship to help veterans with their identified goals, to assess whether there are any barriers to achieving those goals and to identify the information and services available for the veteran to achieve their goals.
Trust is essential in this case management for the veteran to feel comfortable in seeking the supports and services they deserve and require, and to feel that someone cares and is trying to help them. If medical assistance in dying is ever suggested, trust can be broken, and suspicion and anger come to the forefront, with loss of self-worth leading to an inconceivable setback for future well-being. We feel that anyone living—