Evidence of meeting #46 for Veterans Affairs in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was things.
A video is available from Parliament.
7:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg
Thank you, Dr. Eichler.
Thank you, Mr. Rogers.
As I said, we will take a short five‑minute break.
You can go to the washroom or get a coffee.
The meeting is suspended.
7:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg
We are now in session and members may ask their questions.
Right now we're going to have two quick interventions, for two and a half minutes each.
I'd like to invite Mr. Luc Desilets for two and a half minutes.
Mr. Desilets, go ahead, please.
7:45 p.m.
Bloc
Luc Desilets Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Breeck, you say you've been repeating the same things for 30 years, and you added that there should be men and women sitting at the same table. Am I quoting you correctly?
7:45 p.m.
Major (Retired), Co-chair, The Women Veterans Research and Engagement Network
I apologize, but the translation had a gap halfway through your sentence. I just want to make sure I understood the sentence properly.
7:45 p.m.
Bloc
Luc Desilets Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Mr. Chair, there is a problem on the interpretation front.
Can you restart the clock?
7:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg
The interpretation makes things a little longer.
Mr. Desilets, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.
Just repeat your question.
7:45 p.m.
Bloc
Luc Desilets Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Ms. Breeck, you said you've been saying the same things for 30 years. I understand your desire to see things change. You also mentioned that it would be important to get men and women at the same table to talk about these issues.
In your opinion, have the Canadian Armed Forces evolved enough? Have the men in the Canadian Armed Forces evolved enough to allow for a discussion that would have constructive effects?
Would you prefer that I ask another question?
7:45 p.m.
Major (Retired), Co-chair, The Women Veterans Research and Engagement Network
That's a doozy of a question. Thank you.
I have been accused of being a broken record, because I'm often saying exactly the same thing all the time. I always talk about women's issues and the importance of things such as gender-based analysis, which I actually think, if it's done right, will answer a lot of stuff.
Although it has fallen for a long time on deaf ears, I want to clarify that we're here. We're sitting in a committee on women veterans. For me, in my lifetime, this is the first time that the ducks are beginning to actually give me hope. They're all lined up now. We're getting money. We're getting attention. We're getting stuff.
I am hopeful that things are moving forward, but I think that as women leading that parade, we now have gone as far as we can. We need the men to participate.
7:45 p.m.
Bloc
Luc Desilets Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Ms. Breeck, you sound like a politician.
Do you believe there has been some evolution?
Personally, I have a lot of faith in the new Minister of National Defence, in her willingness to change things, to move things forward to avoid sexism in the Canadian Armed Forces.
You said you wanted to see men and women at the table. Are the armed forces there yet?
7:45 p.m.
Major (Retired), Co-chair, The Women Veterans Research and Engagement Network
I think it's important. There's no question that there are amazing men in the Canadian Armed Forces, and there are amazing women in it. We have some people who still need to get more training in these kinds of areas.
I think, still, we can do only so much when we don't have the resources and we don't have the money, especially for women's issues. That needs dedicated funding. When we're given money that's generic, it does not go to gender-specific areas, and that tends to be a conflict area, I think. We don't have enough directed support, directed funding, to address these issues. That lack of resources then causes some of the conflicts. Then we become a problem and a burden, because there's no money for women-specific issues.
7:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg
Thank you, Mr. Desilets.
Now let's go to Ms. Blaney for two and a half minutes.
Go ahead, please.
7:45 p.m.
NDP
Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC
Thank you so much for your enthusiasm. I guess my next question will be going to Dr. Eichler.
I was really curious about some of the things you talked about in terms of what is happening in other countries, international lessons that have been learned about how they work with and research women veterans. I'm wondering if there is anything you could direct us to that would be helpful in enabling us to get an idea of what's happening in other places and what we need to follow here in Canada.
7:50 p.m.
Canada Research Chair in Social Innovation and Community Engagement, Mount Saint Vincent University, As an Individual
Yes. I'm happy to speak to that.
I completed a scoping review on research on military women and women veterans last year. That was focused on Canada, but I put that into the context of international research so that I got to see some of the real differences that exist. The country that has the most developed research on military women and women veterans is for sure the United States. What stands out about their research is just the breadth of topics that are covered across mental and physical health, reproductive and sexual health, questions around community and social integration, and a whole host of topics.
The big difference, really, is just that the government decided to strategically intervene and create a strategic research plan led by researchers within their veterans affairs and veterans health administration. I think that is why we're arguing so strongly, all three of us, for a national pan-Canadian research strategy to address the gaps. Otherwise, you cannot undo a system that has been in place for over 100 years that has made women and their sex- and gender-specific needs invisible. We really need a coordinated, government-led approach. That's why I'm arguing so strongly for that, because we see a real difference in the U.S. compared with even Australia, Canada, the U.K. or New Zealand.
7:50 p.m.
NDP
Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC
Sayward, perhaps I can come to you really quickly. One thing I heard in your testimony that had a big impact on me was that you transitioned from being passive to active in the engagement of women.
How do you do that?
April 20th, 2023 / 7:50 p.m.
Director, Advocacy, National Association of Federal Retirees
One of the key ways for us was supporting and working with Dr. Breeck and Dr. Eichler on WREN, so that those voices were heard and included in our new policy recommendations and positions and so on, but it's really about active listening and being intentional.
7:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg
Thank you, Ms. Blaney.
Let's now go to the first vice-president of the committee, Mr. Blake Richards, for five minutes.
Please go ahead.
7:50 p.m.
Conservative
Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB
Thank you.
Dr. Breeck, I want to come to you for one quick question, and then I'll share the rest of my time with Mr. Tolmie.
First of all, in your opening remarks you mentioned that you were looking forward to our questions during what you called the “question period”. I have to say that your version of question period here is much better than the version we usually get in the House of Commons, because you guys actually gave us some answers, and they were really good answers. I think you're going to really help us in our study, so I thank you very much for that.
I want to give a little shout-out to your mom and stepdad, Jill and John, because they're constituents of mine. I know that your mom was a huge supporter of yours while you served. I think it's important for everyone who serves to have that supportive family there for them, especially when overseas. I wonder if you could just talk to us a little about how important that role of family is in terms of helping with the health and well-being of service members.
7:50 p.m.
Major (Retired), Co-chair, The Women Veterans Research and Engagement Network
Thank you.
My mom just recently broke her hip, so it's been a bit of a challenging time. As a physician, I have to do an absolute shout-out, if I can, for Alberta Health Services. Of course, living here in Ottawa, it's at those moments that you're devastated at being so far away. Foothills Hospital was amazing. Carewest was amazing. I know that Carewest does a lot of work for veterans in Calgary and Edmonton. I had the chance to spend a month down there, and I want to do a shout-out for the work and for the health services.
There's no question that none of us can do this alone. It's a team effort. It's always been a bit hard. Especially for a lot of women veterans, although we have family we don't always have as much support and caregiving as some of the males get. It's often assumed that we're independent and that we can take care of ourselves, so a lot of women, especially, are more likely to be divorced, widowed, single or what I call “functionally” single. That's especially the military women who are married, about 85% of whom are married to military men. Again, often you have family, but then your own family could be deployed or away or have their mental health issues as well. I think it's often even more of a challenge for women.
I think Stats Canada recently showed that at least three out of 10 veterans are single. We know that the women are even more likely than the men to be single, and even more so as we grow older. It isn't just our biological family. It's also often our family of choice—our peer group, our fellow veterans. It takes a whole community to help support us.
Thank you for that shout-out, and thank you for that opportunity to...as a Calgary girl.
7:55 p.m.
Conservative
Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB
Absolutely. I just want to join you in that. We often thank our veterans and our military members for their services, but families serve as well. We thank them for that.
With that, I'm going to turn the rest of my time over to someone else who has served our country—Mr. Fraser Tolmie.
7:55 p.m.
Conservative
Fraser Tolmie Conservative Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, SK
Thank you very much, Mr. Richards, and thank you, everybody, for being here.
Ms. Breeck, thank you very much for your service. We appreciate it.
Unfortunately some of the testimony that has been shared tonight we've heard in previous meetings, when people who have served have said they don't feel as though they're actually veterans. That's being re-emphasized. We're hearing some similarities.
I'd like to ask you a question. Given your experience in the military, have you ever encountered a condition that both a male and a female serviceperson have had, and how did you deal with it? Was the treatment different or similar?
7:55 p.m.
Major (Retired), Co-chair, The Women Veterans Research and Engagement Network
Thank you. That is an interesting question.
The joy of being military, I think, is that I can probably talk to any of you and say that I'm from wherever you're from. Moose Jaw is, of course, a place where I have spent two years.
7:55 p.m.
Conservative