Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the question. Continuity of care really is important so that there aren't gaps in care and so the veteran feels supported as they move through their life. Whether they're having to relocate because of financial reasons or personal reasons.... When I moved from Ottawa to Winnipeg, I was given a three-month supply of medications and a finger crossing in the hope I'd get a case manager before that runs out.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes. I am doing that now. The point is—

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes and no. I have given this information to several.... I've spoken about it in Federal Court. I've given this information to many, many high-ranking officials. I've even provided the names of some of my attackers as well as pictures. Again, I've never been offered the opportunity.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I'm guessing the question is, would I like to make a complaint? Yes, I think that I would. I think it warrants it. I don't know what the outcome would be. I stand for accountability for people and accountability for institutions. Yes.

Veterans Affairs committee  Could you please repeat the question? It's not working.

Veterans Affairs committee  Why did I say, “if I could complain”? Would I complain? It hasn't been made clear to me that I can. No one said, “Yes, you can. There is a mechanism or a path for you to go down if you want to make a complaint.” Nobody has said that, so I'm just assuming there isn't.

Veterans Affairs committee  I've submitted 10 claims so far for physical injuries, along with my mental health and the PTSD. It took five years for me to even know that I could claim for those other injuries. I first presented to VAC and told them the story in much more detail. There are 40 pages of details of 13 months of service.

Veterans Affairs committee  Right. I've moved around. I've had several case managers, five different case managers, in the province of Ontario. That can take months. Even going from the Toronto office to Ottawa took six months. I had no case manager. That meant no medications. There was no continuity of care.

Veterans Affairs committee  If you want to have round tables on women veterans, you have to include the people who are most impacted. You need the lived experience of women veterans during these discussions. I've been talking about women veterans' homelessness for over five years now since I've been a VAC client.

Veterans Affairs committee  My goodness, there's a lot to unpack there. With respect to case managers being trained specifically on military sexual trauma and housing insecurity or homelessness, I think there's just this ingrained, unaware bias that presupposes that women have spouses or that they have support systems in place.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Chair. This is brief and, again, feel free to ask me to expand on them if you like. I have many lived experience examples. One, I would increase benefits for women living alone who are often without a caregiver or family member. Update the claims process to better reflect women's physical health issues, including female-specific forms for sexual, urinary, and reproductive issues.

Veterans Affairs committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, and the committee. It’s a privilege to be here today, and I thank you for this opportunity. My name is Jennifer Smith, and I am 52 years old. I present here today as an individual, one without rank, without a retired title, medals or other special commendations.