Evidence of meeting #70 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 drug.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Non-Destructive Testing Technician, As an Individual
No, I kind of fell through the cracks, because I moved to Ottawa during my pregnancy. When I first arrived, I had a hard time finding a doctor. There are even some tests that I wasn't able to take because there was no follow-up.
So, as far as specific tests are concerned, I didn't get any during my pregnancy.
Bloc
Luc Desilets Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
When your child came into the world and you identified some complications, was Veterans Affairs able to give you a helping hand and refer your case to a specialist?
Non-Destructive Testing Technician, As an Individual
No. It's only when he was 2 or 3 years old that we became aware he had neurological problems. When we moved here, in Bagotville, the pediatrician thought he was autistic. So we did some tests, but we had to go through the civilian system. We didn't deal with Veterans Affairs Canada at all, nor with the military system.
Bloc
Luc Desilets Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Thank you very much.
Ms. von Hlatky, are cases like Ms. Smith's, for example, recorded? Do you keep any statistics on them?
Prof. Stéfanie von Hlatky
The Canadian Armed Forces have recently started compiling this data every two years. We know that these sexual misconduct issues are exposed cyclically and that, unfortunately, they're never definitively dealt with. After hearing all of these stories, we see that it's not only a failure of military leadership, but also an abuse of power. So when we're talking about a sexual misconduct crisis, I believe it's just the tip of the iceberg. These stories compromise the entire military structure.
Bloc
Luc Desilets Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
I'd like to ask one final question.
Ms. Doucet talked about her child having unique challenges, and it seems as though she's being forced to prove the existence of a link between those challenges and her time in the Canadian Armed Forces.
Are you aware of any studies comparing the incidence of such problems in the civilian population and the military population, for example women giving birth to children with birth defects or other health issues?
Prof. Stéfanie von Hlatky
I don't work in the field of health, so I won't comment on that.
What I can talk about is the cultural adaptation that's required when transitioning from the Canadian Armed Forces to civilian life. In the armed forces, people have access to all kinds of services, whether relocation services or health care. In the civilian world, they have to adapt to a whole new environment that can be quite confusing. When faced with challenges such as those experienced by Ms. Doucet and Ms. Smith, navigating this new reality can be even more difficult. The lack of support in that respect is especially unfortunate.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg
Thank you very much.
I now invite Ms. Rachel Blaney to go ahead for two and a half minutes, please.
NDP
Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC
Thank you, Chair. I appreciate that.
Perhaps I can come back to Ms. Smith. I think it's important that we go back to the housing insecurity she talked about. We know that at this point, about 16.2% women are serving our country, and yet on the other side, we're seeing that about 30% of the veterans who are unhoused or are in housing insecurity are women. That's telling me that something is significantly not working on the VAC side that we need to address.
I'm wondering if you could share with the committee a little bit about your difficulties in accessing services and connecting with VAC when you had housing insecurity. Perhaps you could explain where the gaps are so that we can start looking at how we can see that remedied.
Veteran, As an Individual
Certainly.
As I mentioned earlier, I had almost 30 years of experience without being a VAC client, not even knowing that “VAC” was even a thing, that it existed. Once becoming a VAC client, I was housing insecure in all its forms. Again, various non-profits, or VAC, said that they didn't have a housing mandate, so I should look on Kijiji. City of Ottawa social housing said there was a list about 5,000 people long, but there was housing out there. She looked at her laptop and said that tons of stuff was coming up. Again, it was not addressing things like the barriers that a woman veteran with a trauma history would find in that housing.
As well, there's the veterans' house initiative. While I applaud what they're attempting to do, when I spoke with the person in charge there, when they were still fundraising, I asked if any trauma awareness was being built in or how that worked. I was a case of, I see that you have 40 units, and yes, you're telling me that it's open to both men and women—but there's no way that I, as a woman veteran, would even want to enter into that building. It's communal living. If you look at the pictures online, you can see what this housing system looks like. It really replicates almost exactly the environment in which many servicewomen were sexually assaulted. Just safety-wise, think about the basement laundry and all the places where danger exists and danger lurks.
I don't think they've gotten it quite right. It's crossing fingers and hoping that, now that we're all adults and we've all learned, this must somehow mean that the housing is safe for women. We do know that women veterans are choosing to live in their cars rather than applying to stay at a place like the veterans' house initiative. I think that's unfortunate. It definitely needs to be worked on. I would recommend women-specific housing for veterans.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg
Thank you, Ms. Smith.
Now we will go Mr. Dowdall for five minutes, please.
Conservative
Terry Dowdall Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to echo the comments on your being here today and telling your stories. They're horrific stories. It's sad.
Basically, we've been working on this study for quite some time. It's long overdue. To my mind, there are two parts to this study. One is Veterans Affairs and how we are treating you today, and then, it seems, it's the CAF itself and how you were treated prior. I think there should almost be a study during those points.
Do you think there should be something going on in the department every year to follow up a little bit some of the stories we're hearing? What we're doing here is sort of like dealing with it afterwards. It would have been nice, if you'd had that problem or those issues before your 13th month, if there had been something for you at six months. Do you know what I'm saying?
That's a question for you, Ms. Smith.
Veteran, As an Individual
Yes, I think so.
Certainly, how they're doing it now is an improvement to when I released. You got a one-way ticket and, boom, I'm at the airport: Now what? Nineteen years old and completely shattered....
Now, with the introduction of transition services, CAF has recognized that this is helpful in preventing and maybe heading off some of those—
November 9th, 2023 / 5:05 p.m.
Conservative
Veteran, As an Individual
Right, a little earlier, and identifying where problem areas might be, but to say that “now you've finished up your transition services and everything should be fine” I think is naive. Yes, there should definitely be some follow-up, but meaningful follow-up. I myself, if I can use myself as an example again, am on a so-called three-week rotation of being called by my VAC case manager for no other reason than to make sure I'm still breathing.
I'm still not getting services. I'm still not getting the supports. I still live in my room and struggle to eat or to shower—to do anything—and my quality of life is zero. I mean, I thought it was important to be here today, but it's really going to kick the hell out of me.
Conservative
Terry Dowdall Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON
One of the other recommendations you had was to increase the benefits for women. I know that we have a housing problem everywhere, as you know. Are we not sort of creating our own housing problem?
Conservative
Veteran, As an Individual
Yes. As a single woman, I'm responsible for the entire burden of home ownership or home maintenance. As a disabled veteran, I don't have any assistance to help with that, and because I am single, I don't quality for the caregiver benefit, which is a tax-free monthly benefit that is very helpful for the people who do get it. For attendant care, it's the same thing. I don't qualify for that.
Yes, I think these benefits and these supports—
Conservative
Conservative
Terry Dowdall Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON
I want to get one more quick question in, if I can.
This question is actually for you, Dr. von Hlatky, on what you said, which I thought was quite interesting: the reasons for volunteer leave between men and women. I don't know if you can elaborate on that a bit more. I think it seems that it would be a fairly large issue that you'd want to look into. Why the volunteer leave and the difference....?
Prof. Stéfanie von Hlatky
The reasons cited in the exit surveys when we compare the women and the men respondents tend to differ. It just stresses the importance of having a gender-differentiated approach when we think about transition, so that when we are looking at the women veteran population we take into account those cumulative stressors and the reasons that are more prevalent in that segment of the veteran population compared to men.
I think it's fair to say that, in the past, veteran services, whether provided by VAC or the third sector of not-for-profit organizations, have been designed by men, for men, and led to outcomes that are very suboptimal for women, just like the housing facilities that were described by Ms. Smith. Representation of women's voices and recognition of those experiences are critical right in the design phase of those support services.
Conservative
Terry Dowdall Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON
On the other part, the transition of veterans and the broader cultural environment of society, how can we change that?