Thank you all for being here and for inviting me to this committee.
My name is Steve Turpin, and I was a member of the Canadian Forces for almost 25 years. I started my career in the reserve force in Quebec. I was among those who were deployed. At the time, there was no support for those returning from a mission who would have needed that help. That support didn't exist. They thanked us for serving for six months, told us it was over and sent us home.
I was fortunate to be able to join the regular force a year later and continue the rest of my career in aviation. At that time, the six months that I had served in the reserve force were not recognized. I never received the support or treatment I needed. Even today, I have problems with some odours. No one recognizes that. Even in the regular force, they didn't recognize it when I asked for it to be done.
Before I was released from the regular force for a different medical reason, which is still difficult for me to talk about, I was fairly well prepared by the case managers. I have no complaints about that. The problem is that we are then left alone. Once you're out of the system, you're on your own. I called Veterans Affairs Canada to ask for help, to meet with psychologists, in order to avoid problems in my family. Fortunately, I have a strong family, which has been with me throughout my career. It has supported me and continues to support me today.
When we need to see a mental health specialist and they send us to see just about anyone because they don't have the necessary resources in the region where we live, that doesn't help. I really needed to see a psychologist, but I was sent to see a sexologist because the services I needed were not available in my region. Health care workers want to do things properly in the regions, but they are not trained to treat veterans. They do not know or understand our situation—what we have been going through for all these years.
In addition, I come from the Trois-Rivières region of Quebec, and there is no military base nearby where I can get support. Right now, it's a daily struggle to keep going. As the English saying goes,
“Suck it up, buttercup.”
I have to move on, and I have to do it with the support of my friends and family.
It would be good if Veterans Affairs Canada could do an audit. I know that the department has a list of health professionals by region. However, the department must make sure that these professionals are really able to meet our needs. The two specialists I went to see could not answer my questions. They couldn't do anything for me, even after I asked them three, four or five questions. They asked me instead what they could do for me. I could have asked them to declare me disabled; they would have done so. But that's not what I want, and it wouldn't have helped me. So Veterans Affairs Canada has to find a way to help people, especially those who, in some cities, don't have access to resources. The department must find adequate resources for them.
Training is a very difficult area. You have a very big task in front of you. Thank you again for working on that. Every individual is different. Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to leave the Canadian Forces. I think it's important to look at the fact that our situation prevents us from pursuing a career that we would like to pursue in civilian life. There are a number of fields where I would have liked to be able to flourish.
I know that working in those fields would have helped me, but given my situation, I was prevented from doing so. They didn't want to pay for my training. I was directed to training I was not interested in. That doesn't help us as veterans.
In that sense, I absolutely want to help all veterans who have served in the armed forces or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. That is really my desire and the reason I am here today.