Evidence of meeting #9 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 laurion.
A recording is available from Parliament.
7:10 p.m.
Liberal
Rechie Valdez Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Thank you so much.
I'm not sure if the National Association of Federal Retirees would also like to answer the question of whether you've interacted with the office of women and LGBTQ2 veterans.
7:10 p.m.
Director, Advocacy, National Association of Federal Retirees
I'd be happy to respond to that. Thank you, MP.
We have interacted with that office. They are a very dedicated team. Our position though is that it's also time to review the goals and scope of that office and to consider that an office of equity is what's truly needed. It's really relevant, considering the persistent concerns of women, francophones and LGBTQ2S+ members about service delivery by Veterans Affairs, and the need for the department to reflect National Defence's recognition of systemic discrimination and harassment.
We've previously commented on the importance of Veterans Affairs approaching these issues from an equity principle, rather than labelling and continuing to “other” groups who are seeking equity.
7:10 p.m.
Liberal
Rechie Valdez Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Thanks for the feedback.
You've spoken about what our opportunities are, but what I need to have you describe is the specific impacts of the uneven service that is provided. If you could share a story, that would be great.
7:10 p.m.
Director, Advocacy, National Association of Federal Retirees
I'm not clear if that question was for us, at federal retirees.
7:10 p.m.
Liberal
Rechie Valdez Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Yes. Share your input, if you've heard any stories about what the impact has been of the uneven treatment.
7:10 p.m.
Director, Advocacy, National Association of Federal Retirees
I can share those in a very general sense. I don't want to discuss specific cases in a public forum and provide too much detail.
A thing that's worth noting is that delays that originate with Veterans Affairs at the time of application—for example, sex-specific issues—can compound inequitable health and well-being outcomes that were created by the service-related illness or injury in the first place. There are certain conditions that can occur as a result of service, and while someone is waiting for support, coverage or assistance from Veterans Affairs—because sometimes it is difficult to get to the origin point of what will be covered—their condition can worsen over time.
That's an important consideration, and there are uneven impacts in that. I think there are numerous other cases, but veterans would be best situated to discuss those.
7:10 p.m.
Liberal
7:10 p.m.
Liberal
Rechie Valdez Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Thank you so much.
I believe it was Ms. Lowther who was offering some great solutions as far as what we can do to change is concerned. Please give us any input on what those changes, if put into place, would do for veterans.
7:15 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, VETS Canada
If some of those recommendations were put into place, they would decrease the stress veterans feel when interacting with the department. We hear about things. Veterans tell us all the time about the “brown envelope syndrome”. They panic when they receive a brown envelope in the mail. They find it very stressful when dealing with departments.
I feel that if some of those recommendations were put into place, they would alleviate some of that stress.
7:15 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg
We will now go to a six-minute question period with the second vice-chair of the committee, Mr. Luc Desilets.
Mr. Desilets, you have the floor.
7:15 p.m.
Bloc
Luc Desilets Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Laurion, my question is for you. Thank you for your service; 37 years, that's really impressive. There is something else that left an impression on me. I don't know if I understood you correctly, but you said there were 22 suicides a day in Canada.
Is that correct?
7:15 p.m.
Bloc
Luc Desilets Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
That means 8,030 suicides in Canada per year, just among veterans. I'm appalled.
You alluded to it already, but can you describe in detail what the main difficulties were in the transition from military life to your life as a veteran? This is obviously related to the problem we just talked about.
I understand that it took two years to receive services, even though you had good contacts in the network. I don't understand that either.
7:15 p.m.
Veteran, As an Individual
First of all, I had difficulty filling out the forms. I had to explain what had happened and the reason for my request. Many veterans have symptoms of post-traumatic stress. When they see the paperwork, they get very stressed and anxious and often won't apply because they can't fill it out. It's like standing in front of Mount Everest, without a rope, with only their hands to climb to the top of the mountain; it's impossible. For them, it's impossible to fill out these documents.
Because I left the forces for medical reasons, I was entitled to 90% of my salary. If you only knew what a big stack of paperwork I had to fill out. To me, it was like a mountain. I was lucky that my wife was there to push me and encourage me to fill out the paperwork to access these benefits. I found it extremely difficult, but I finally got a response to my application. Someone called me and said that it showed I had done my homework, because everything was filled out correctly.
Why did it take two years? I have no idea. Before there were veterans' groups in Canada, 22 veterans died every day, then that number dropped to 14 a day. I want to be very clear: 14 veterans die every day.
Veterans' groups try to bring these people out of isolation. Often, people shut down and no longer leave their homes. There is no more light above and they spiral down even lower. The longer that happens, the less light there is. They live in darkness and at some point, it just loops over and over in their head. That's all they think about and then they end it all.
As a veteran, I try to help these people, to get them out of their homes, out of isolation, so that they can talk to someone who will understand them. Not everyone wants to go and see a psychologist. Some of them believe that a psychologist doesn't know anything about combat, even though there are some who specialize in the field. Personally, I got psychological help and I'm quite happy about it. I did a mental health first aid course for veterans. It helped me to see that I had a psychological problem too and I was able to access services. I am very happy about that. Now, my anxiety has decreased. It gave me tools to try and control my anxiety and stress. So...
7:20 p.m.
Bloc
Luc Desilets Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Time is running out, Mr. Laurion, I am sorry to interrupt you.
Do you currently have any pending applications?
7:20 p.m.
Veteran, As an Individual
I do not have any at the moment, but I have others to submit.
7:20 p.m.
Veteran, As an Individual
I received other diagnoses and I will have to submit more applications.
7:20 p.m.
Bloc
Luc Desilets Bloc Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
There's an idea going around, and I'd like to have your opinion on it, quickly.
After they leave the Canadian Forces, if veterans could keep the doctor they had when they were in the military for two years, would that help? Does that make sense and is it possible?
7:20 p.m.
Veteran, As an Individual
In my case, the doctor who was monitoring me retired the same year I did. I don't know if it's possible, but it would help veterans. Because when we get out of the army, we don't have a doctor anymore. The Canadian Forces takes care of us, we don't have a family doctor. It took me at least two years to find one. Naturally, I went to see my federal MP as well as my provincial MLA to move things forward.
7:20 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Emmanuel Dubourg
Thank you, Mr. Laurion.
We have more questions to ask you.
I'd like to invite MP Rachel Blaney to ask questions, for five minutes.
March 29th, 2022 / 7:20 p.m.
NDP
