Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to address the committee.
The ongoing discussion we're having today is critical and long overdue. To say that I'm honoured and humbled to be asked to comment is an understatement.
As important as this discussion is, I cannot help but confess a sense of inadequacy as we approach this topic together. I have struggled to frame this discussion in a manner worthy of the topic's gravity. This is a difficult discussion, which is further complicated by the fact that all of us as human beings struggle even in the broadest terms to come to grips with our own mortality. We have all seen what happens when we throw an object into a body of water. As the ripple radiates from the epicentre, the point of contact, and continues towards the shore, so it is with suicide. Powerful and profound are its effects on family, friends and larger society.
My remarks today are informed by over four decades of pastoral ministry, 26 years as an army chaplain and nearly two decades of experience in various roles within Wounded Warriors Canada. Historically, suicide in our society and in many others has been the proverbial elephant in the room. The families I have dealt with over my career have informed and shaped my remarks and, in fact, have profoundly impacted my life.
As essential and as important as this topic is, we must admit it is one that, as individuals and as a society, we still struggle to address because of the flood of colliding emotions, including loss, grief, guilt and shame, all coupled with trauma. The complicated and conflicting emotions and issues surrounding suicide were, for the longest time, only spoken of in society, if at all, in hushed tones. I want to state unequivocally that the very fact that today's committee is addressing this issue is a positive and hopeful sign.
Early in my career as a pastor of a small congregation in Toronto, I remember feeling ill-equipped to deal with a number of families affected by suicide in my community. In my career as a Canadian Armed Forces chaplain, I was often tasked with the sacred responsibility of going to the door to inform loved ones that it was the worst day of their lives. In my career, notifications ranged from those who were killed in action to those who died by suicide.
Towards the end of my career, I noticed a sharp increase and change in the number of notifications related to suicide. I know that is true for many of my fellow chaplains as well. This fact was key in the early decision of Wounded Warriors Canada to focus solely on mental health.
Today, Wounded Warriors Canada is a national leading mental health service provider dedicated to serving trauma-exposed professionals and their families. Wounded Warriors Canada specializes in providing culturally informed services that utilize a combination of education, counselling and training approaches to support resiliency and recovery from post-trauma injuries.
Personally, I vividly recall my personal guilt and confusion at the loss of a serving member by suicide only a couple of days after I talked to that member. It haunted me for a long time. I was angered when senior members of the chain of command, as late as 2003, denied the rise in suicide rates among Canadian Forces members.
We are indebted to the work of those who have gone before us. I think of an article in The Globe and Mail by Renata D'Aliesio called “The Unremembered”, which brought all these things to light.
A review of nine police suicides in Ontario in 2018 said that the realities of the police mental health ecosystem had to change. The same needs to be said about veterans and serving members of the Canadian Forces. Strides have been made, like the naming of the 2024 national Silver Cross mother, Maureen Anderson, but we all know that much more needs to be done. This committee, the department and the Government of Canada need to focus their efforts. This includes policy, programs and, most importantly, proactive prevention.
Items that this committee must consider, I would suggest, include the impact of stoic culture on the mental health of members; the need for safety and a whole-of-person approach to consider physical, emotional, cognitive, relational and spiritual elements of those experiencing trauma so that they can feel and say, “I am safe and I feel safe”; the role of organizations and leadership when it comes to mental health, as when it comes to mental health, leadership is every bit as much of the issue as the individuals themselves; and the immediate implementation and funding of the evidence-informed resiliency programs available right now. The example has been set by the Government of Ontario in the area of public safety with the funding of Warrior Health this past spring. It gives 24-7 access to mental health resources for trauma and operational stress and is specifically designed for trauma-exposed professionals.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you don't deal with trauma, nothing else matters. Again, if you don't deal with trauma, nothing else matters. I would love to talk to you about how Warrior Health works; maybe I can with your questions.
I want to thank the committee for its attention. This government has rightly highlighted the need to adequately fund and equip the forces. I would submit that a failure to invest in the mental health readiness of serving members and veterans will constitute a mission failure on the part of the government if it's not done. I look forward to sharing with members the resources that are deployable now and will have a significant positive impact for both serving members and veterans.
Thank you.