Veterans Affairs committee  Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you very much for having me here today. I sent you my bio earlier. I did 32-plus years in the Canadian Armed Forces. I retired because of the way they were treating ill and injured people in the transition program. I have a prepared

Veterans Affairs committee  I really couldn't tell you. I did a service paper on it that I can send you guys, if you like.

Veterans Affairs committee  With the things that I'm mentioning, you could have a module at basic training in a month, at no cost. They already have the training there. You just put on a Veterans Affairs Canada module for the new member of the military to explain what is going on, and you include the family

Veterans Affairs committee  Absolutely. We are not stupid. If you see a system that is not working, you will do everything you can to stay away from it. You hear about PTSD and stigma. Well, if you have PTSD and you are looking at the unit that is going to support you, and it's a dog's breakfast, then you a

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes.

Veterans Affairs committee  That's correct.

Veterans Affairs committee  I think there's a lack of imagination. From listening to what was going on, I believe that nobody should leave their basic military qualification without a My VAC Account. It should be a module right at basic training, and they should get that interaction going right when they gr

Veterans Affairs committee  You give it to them.

Veterans Affairs committee  I wish I could give it to them.

Veterans Affairs committee  I would say that this is something you have to work out at the ministerial level, and I think it's great that you have the Minister of Veterans Affairs and associate defence minister as the same guy. That guy can do it, because he is sort of holding two portfolios. That would be

Veterans Affairs committee  This goes together with my “no.” The reason I'd like to see VAC involved with that stream is that in what the military is doing they seem to be fumbling the ball when it comes to very important things for people transitioning to civilian life. I'd like to see VAC in there reall

Veterans Affairs committee  No.

Veterans Affairs committee  A lot of what you're hearing today from three individuals here is the reason I quit the JPSU. It's because they said they could do things, promised people they would do things, and failed to deliver. As it is now, it has gone through all these different reviews, and the next on

Veterans Affairs committee  I feel for you, because when I was a sergeant major there, I used to watch Parliament on TV. I saw my commanding officer giving information about the JPSU, saying that the manning was fine when in fact it was going to hell in a handbasket and the handbasket was on fire. This is

Veterans Affairs committee  I'm going to back that up a little bit. I'm going to go to the case in which they're serving in the military. If a soldier serving in the military realizes that they have a mental health issue and they go to see a doctor, if it's of such a degree that they can't maintain presenc