Veterans Affairs committee  They did talk about the opening of the offices, and they did mention about going out face to face. That was when he talked about the northern communities. I think face to face is probably the most important element of any organization, especially when you're dealing with veterans

Veterans Affairs committee  I'm surprised to hear that there was no OSI clinic in Saskatchewan, based on the number of aboriginals who actually enrol in Saskatchewan. I would take it that some of these remote communities may be handling their PTSD through their cultural ceremonial aspects. I know there's on

Veterans Affairs committee  Certainly.

Veterans Affairs committee  I've listened to Mr. Black. When I joined the army, the Colonel Belcher Hospital in Calgary was alive and well and full of veterans. Of course, that's gone by the wayside now. You brought up a good point when you said you are concerned about today's veterans—the modern-day vetera

Veterans Affairs committee  No, I don't.

Veterans Affairs committee  When you talk about veterans in a community, whether it's first nations, Métis, or to some extent the Inuit—the Inuit weren't engaged as much in the first, second, or Korean wars—they are held in the highest regard. If you go to any type of a ceremony where there's a grand entry,

Veterans Affairs committee  When you do that, you have actually said to the veteran, “We are interested in you now.” I want to go back and just touch on this very briefly. I want you to understand that.... I teach aboriginal awareness, and I talk about the military component of awareness and the fact that

Veterans Affairs committee  Okay. The infrastructure in most of those remote communities certainly does need to be upgraded. You still have boiled water advisories in effect in some of these places. However, yes, it would certainly help. If the veteran can't use the item, the grandchildren or children ca

Veterans Affairs committee  Actually, I can honestly say no, and I'll tell you why. As far as I'm concerned, I did 38 years of service to this country as a native. I have a great number of friends who have spent that much time in as well, and there may have been undertones of racism, but I was in combat ar

Veterans Affairs committee  In terms of what I'd like to see, I can give you an example of what Veterans Affairs did. An individual who's part of my organization was in the navy. He suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, to the point where he had to be released. He was very angry when he got out. H

Veterans Affairs committee  I will state what I believe is the situation now. Most of the indigenous communities—my sister is living in the first nations community in Oromocto First Nations—do have a health centre with a mental health component to it. I would suggest to you that the same thing is happenin

Veterans Affairs committee  “Could be” is if you hire the right people, number one, and the training that those individuals will receive. When you're going to a remote community that is a first nations, Métis, or Inuit community, you also have to understand that you're entering another culture. As veterans

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes. I have a couple of names if you....

Veterans Affairs committee  What we're dealing with now is something that we've only started dealing with, and that was with the transfer of the Canadian Rangers to the army. Prior to that, they fell under D Cadets in Ottawa. Because of that, they weren't necessarily considered as military members. Now th

Veterans Affairs committee  Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, good morning. I wish to acknowledge that we meet today on Algonquin territory, land that has never been ceded or surrendered. I think the Algonquin nation for the privilege to meet here to speak to all of our warrior veterans, both abor