Thank you, Mr. Richards.
I'd like to thank the committee for having us here today.
Last year, our charity applied to the veteran and family wellness fund with a proposal that it would fund the growth of our charity nationally. Our application was rejected because it was deemed that our charity did not have the capacity to undertake such a project, and VAC stated that there is no good clinical evidence that service dogs are an effective form of treatment for PTSD.
It is important to note that service dogs are not a form of treatment for PTSD. Service dogs help individuals and their families deal with the effects of PTSD so that treatment for the injured veteran is possible. Kristina's story in her testimony bears witness to the importance of service dogs in dealing with PTSD.
Last spring we wrote a letter to the then-minister of veterans affairs in an attempt to build a relationship with VAC so that we might work together. The minister responded in a letter dated May 15, 2023. He stated that Veterans Affairs was going to re-evaluate its approach to service dogs.
When we attempted to talk to staff about this re-evaluation in email correspondence, they said that they knew nothing about the re-evaluation and there would be no re-evaluation because there is no good clinical evidence of the effectiveness of service dogs.
We have many questions about VAC and our relationship with it. For instance, is it an experience that VAC does not want to work with us, in spite of the fact that we are a veteran-run charity?
We also wonder why Veterans Affairs won't help fund our growth through the veterans and family wellness fund when it has substantially funded a service dog program administered by a corporate-style charity. It has also funded an equine therapy program for veterans in Prince Edward Island. We are not aware of good clinical evidence that substantiates the effectiveness of equestrian therapy. We wonder what criteria VAC uses to fund projects that apply to the veteran and family wellness fund.
Canadians are going to continue to serve in the Canadian Forces at home and overseas and they are going to be injured. We want to grow our program so that our daughters and sons don't have to struggle as hard as we've had to do ourselves when injured and struggling with PTSD.
We are hoping that one day Veterans Affairs Canada will see the real value of our project and will join with us so that we can help veterans and families who are dealing with PTSD across Canada.