Veterans Affairs committee  It's a very good question, Mr. Chair. Prediction is not exact science, primarily because, as we have come to appreciate, operational stress injuries have a latent effect and will often present 12, 24, or 36 months after someone returns from Afghanistan. We track those rates very

Veterans Affairs committee  Oh, it's closer to 5% than 50%.

Veterans Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, I'll give you a general answer and I'll ask Colonel Blais to amplify my remarks when I'm finished. In my estimation, I think we are leading Canadian society in many respects on peer support. Two programs leap to mind. One is the OSSIS peer coordinators and the joint

Veterans Affairs committee  I know Mr. Johnston very well. He's a wonderfully charismatic individual, as I'm sure you will have noted. I think the earnings loss benefit is a wonderful expression of how the government has provided an extra safety net for those people who are ill and injured due to service a

Veterans Affairs committee  It's an interesting question. Do I see value in it? We don't really have a mandate to track that type of information following release. Is there value in it? I suspect there's value in it. Who should do it? I suspect that's the question that may stem from it. Is that a Veterans

Veterans Affairs committee  Could I just seek a clarification with you? Is your question related to those who are medically releasing, or just releasing in general?

Veterans Affairs committee  For releasing in general, we're not well positioned, because we don't really track them as they release. People who release voluntarily—and that could be upwards of 2,000 per year—are either at the end of their 35-year career or typically are releasing to seek employment elsewher

Veterans Affairs committee  I have had some cursory discussions with my co-chair of the VAC-DND steering committee, Mr. Keith Hillier. Dealing with the issue of homeless veterans is a particular focus of his within Veterans Affairs. That's primarily a Veterans Affairs concern. We're of course concerned abou

Veterans Affairs committee  The new policy we put in place just over a year ago, which we now call “complex transition”, really speaks to your point about identifying those people who have complex needs, whether they be medical, vocational, or psychosocial needs, in order to jump on that early to assist the

Veterans Affairs committee  When I had an opportunity to visit some of the operational stress injury clinics, I was very happy to learn that a lot of work is being put into telemedicine. I was new to that. I was helpfully skeptical at first, but I have heard first-hand from some of the practitioners that te

Veterans Affairs committee  If I take the specific case of mental health specialists, we know that there is a lack of those across Canada. We have the same challenges as other communities when it comes to finding mental health specialists. That's one of those questions that is not easily solved, even if yo

Veterans Affairs committee  First of all Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Hospital is a hospital managed by Veterans Affairs and not by the Canadian Forces. If people present at the operational trauma and stress support centre here in Ottawa with mental health conditions for which they need assistance, they'll get

Veterans Affairs committee  In keeping with my comment with respect to some of the transition support we are pursuing with corporate Canada, I would submit to you that by virtue of the training, education, and professional development that Canadian Forces members from corporal on up acquire, attain, and pra

Veterans Affairs committee  Mr. Chairman, as I mentioned before, we work very closely with the Department of Veterans Affairs, both strategically and tactically. I disagree with the notion that the two are in conflict. We work extremely well together. As an example, I would tell you that within all of the

Veterans Affairs committee  Certainly. In a moment I'll ask Colonel Blais to fill in any holes I may leave, but those people who are medically releasing from the Canadian Forces are eligible for priority hiring within the public service, as long as they meet the qualification criteria for the particular jo