Veterans Affairs committee  I think one of the things we're hearing from the leadership circle is a desire for more of the awareness. In the space of a couple of months, from an idea to a launch, we were able to get to 35,000 family physicians coast to coast to coast: 4,000 of them in their hands, and the r

Veterans Affairs committee  There are a couple of things. Listen to the military families, those who are already in the military and those who have left the military and are now veterans. They talk with each other all the time. They're really clear on what they need. I think Phil mentioned this. There's a

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you. I'm speaking today as the CEO of the Vanier Institute. As you know, the institute was founded over 50 years ago by the late general, the Right Honourable Georges P. Vanier and his wife Pauline, mother of his five children and, at times, his caregiver. He was one of Can

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, absolutely. I think this goes back to the comment earlier about being veteran-centric as opposed to system-centric. Instead of having the veteran try to find a way within the bureaucracy, have the bureaucracy designed in such a way that it meets the needs of the veteran, so

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you so much for this opportunity to share our experiences with you. For us, I think the real value will be in having that combination of programs, services, and supports at the community level that are responsive and reactive as well as proactive and interactive, the inter

Veterans Affairs committee  I think there are enormous commitment, passion, and conviction from the people we've come in contact with in the research community, at VAC, at DND, and within the veteran community. We don't want to minimize, diminish, or water down that passion, enthusiasm, and commitment by ov

Veterans Affairs committee  We can also learn from a lot of the research that's being done on helping people transition into retirement from non-military jobs. We know that those who are most successful start five to 10 years ahead of retirement. We can take that learning and apply it to this environment as

Veterans Affairs committee  There's some research being done right now on what the indicators of success are. When those indicators are absent, there is an increased risk of failure to transition well and failure to thrive. Your question is probably three to five years ahead of its time. That research is cu

Veterans Affairs committee  I think it comes back to this whole concept of collaboration. We have to get rid of the silos in order to get efficient allocation of financial resources but also human resources in order to get the results we're all aiming for, where it's no longer, “This is mine, and this is my

Veterans Affairs committee  I would say family-centred, individual-focused, and a blend of high touch and high tech.

Veterans Affairs committee  I think the challenge here is to try to balance between the “high touch” and the high tech. We have lots of high-tech solutions and strategies and information resources and forms online and those kinds of things. High touch is about the trust, the personal, and the respectful rel

Veterans Affairs committee  If you're interested in seeing boots on the ground, the program 16X9 did a wonderful documentary. They followed Debbie and her volunteers on the streets in Edmonton. It's a wonderful documentary. If you want to just get a sense of the power of the program, it's really a must-see.

Veterans Affairs committee  If they're relying on their family as a source of support, families don't have access to My VAC Account. They don't have their own account, so they can't help them answer the questions.

Veterans Affairs committee  We're hearing from families first and foremost who want to have the family as a designated client so that they can provide and receive information on behalf of themselves and the veteran, and so that they will also have an identifier that will identify them as a military veteran

Veterans Affairs committee  Again, the military experience is a microcosm of the rest of what Canadian families are experiencing, and we still have a long way to go with respect to sexual harassment in the workplace, sexual trauma in the workplace, sexual assault, and sexual abuse. We have a long way to go