It's hard to speak after that.
Good afternoon, Madam Chair and members of the committee. My name is Diane Rose. I'm the director of military sexual trauma for the United Federation of Canadian Veterans. I am the founder of Canadian Survivors of MST, a peer support and advocacy group active for more than 15 years. Together, our networks represent the voice of over 8,000 veterans and many more organizations. The federation stands shoulder to shoulder with all veterans in need. It exists to give voice to those silenced or left behind.
Most of what we do is quiet, unseen work, helping veterans to survive another day, but not every veteran does survive another day. We already know the statistics. Women veterans are at higher risk of suicide than male veterans or civilian women. Male veterans are at higher risk than civilian men. However, instead of offering you more numbers, I'll speak from lived experience.
Too often, we only learn of another loss when we see a familiar name in the obituaries. Less than a month ago, a veteran was found dead in the woods a short distance from a base where she had once worked. She had loved her job until she was raped by a fellow member. The trauma that followed and the way she was treated by the military afterward forced her into taking a medical release. When she left the military, she didn't have stable housing, family supports or a VAC case manager. A year and a half later, she died alone. She was only 35. I was the one who identified her body.
I've heard government-funded researchers say that you can't just walk down the street and find a woman veteran who's experienced homelessness, yet that's exactly what we do. One of our members saw her sitting outside of the Tim Hortons. Instead of walking by, I stopped and sat down. I talked to her and gave her my business card. When the police found her body, that card was still in her pocket. She didn't die because she was weak. She died because she had been made invisible by a system not built with her in mind.
When veterans reach out for help, they're far too often told, “Here's a 1-800 number you can call,” but if you're at the end of your rope, you don't need a number that puts you on hold. You need a real human being: “Stay on the line. I am coming.”
Federation members do that type of work every day as volunteers, driving for hours, using our own money and answering late-night messages from people who don't think they can make it until morning. We don't do it for awards or grants. We do it because we're taught that you don't leave people behind.
From the front lines, we see too many support programs that are still designed by civilians or senior male officers and assume that all veterans in crisis are men, but more and more of us are not men. Women in junior ranks still routinely face gaslighting and tone-deaf policies when we speak our truth. The institutional silencing makes us invisible, and invisibility kills. Suicide prevention isn't just about mental health. It's about trust, transition and belonging. Veterans need trauma- and violence-informed, gender-responsive care, not more forms, backlogs and wait-lists.
The federation's message to the committee today is simple: We can do better, and we must. Many solutions already exist from your own reports. “Invisible no more. The experiences of Canadian women veterans” was tabled on June 12, 2024. We ask the government to implement its 42 recommendations, especially those on homelessness, MST and gender-responsive health care.
When a veteran dies by suicide, it's not because one system failed but because every system failed. RCMP, DND, CAF, VAC and community supports all must share in the responsibility for these failures. One day, I hope VAC will have evolved into a system centred on the veteran and not the bureaucrat. Maybe then we can all stop reading so many obituaries for people who should still be alive with us today.
I have several additional recommendations that I would be pleased to share during questions. Thank you for listening, and thank you for taking this issue seriously.
I have a list of the top 10 recommendations.
Very quickly, one is for VAC to push the list of consequential conditions. Veterans shouldn't have to guess what conditions are linked to their service. Transparency would relieve time, stress and lives.
Ungag and properly fund the Women Veterans Council. Let those women representing us actually talk to us. Trust can't grow in silence.
Make transition units mandatory for all releases. Suicide prevention starts before the release, not after the uniform comes off.
Train VAC to “speak veteran”. Military communication can sound blunt or emotional. Don't mistake my trauma for attitude.
Require mental health first aid, veteran edition, not what you're getting from these university students who don't know what they're talking about. Every VAC staff member should know how to respond safely when a veteran says they're not okay.
VAC should tell the truth about wait times. Count from the day a veteran applies, not when VAC finishes processing. Honesty builds trust.
Add MST to the transition process. Military sexual trauma must be a standard part of every transition review, not an afterthought.
Build women veteran health into policy. Women's bodies, pain and trauma responses are different. Health care must reflect that.
Create safe women-only recovery programs with qualified staff and national standards. Mixed-gender facilities have failed to protect women veterans. Safety must come first.
I have a lot to say on that.
Launch an independent review about the effectiveness of SMSRC for veterans. At a minimum, the government needs to complete schedule “L” of the CAF-DND sexual misconduct class action and act on the recommendations of the “Invisible No More” report. The government agreed to both. Start implementing them before more veterans die waiting.
Thank you.