When their illness or injury results in more severe restrictions, CAF
members may become unable to rejoin their unit. In that case:
In some complex cases, it may take up to two years before a
permanent medical category is assigned.[6] The decision regarding
whether they meet the conditions of universality of service falls to the Chief
of Military Personnel (CMP) under the Directorate of Military Careers Administration
(DMCA). This decision could take between six months and one year, and CAF
members can appeal the decision by following the procedure described below:
If CAF members must be released for medical reasons due to their
condition, they can continue working within the CAF for up to three years, even
if they do not meet the conditions of universality of service. After that time,
another six-month period finalizes their transition to civilian life.
To sum up, for CAF members whose injury or illness is severe enough
to require a rehabilitation period and a transfer to the Joint Personnel
Support Unit, it will generally take between one year and two years before a
permanent medical category can be assigned. If it is established that they can
accomplish the tasks of their military occupation, CAF members can rejoin their
unit. The decision as to whether or not they meet the conditions of
universality of service will usually take between 6 months and a year. If the
decision is that the member has to be released for medical reasons, there will
be at least a six-month period between the time of the decision, and the actual
release date. Therefore, a two-year period is generally the earliest a CAF
member will be released for medical reasons after an illness or an injury.
Depending on the nature of the injury or illness, the time it takes to
stabilize, the complexity of the member’s rehabilitation needs, and the
availability of civilian resources after the release, the transition process
will usually last more than two years, and in certain cases can last up to five
years after the injury or illness.
When the decision has been made to release a member for medical
reasons, the transition toward civilian life usually begins six months before the
final release date. The first step is to develop an “integrated transition
plan” that involves the CAF member, their family members if they wish, and a
case manager familiar with their medical history. The case manager’s role is to
coordinate medical, psychosocial, professional and financial resources to
ensure that everything the CAF member will need in civilian life is put in
place before their release.
As long as individuals are still on active duty, their medical
services, for both physical and mental injuries, will continue to be provided
by the Canadian Armed Forces. The problem is identifying civilian health care
providers beforehand that CAF members can use once they are released. This
issue can often delay the member’s release:
[W]e have put in place a means to be able to
extend the transition period to give us the best possibility of finding
civilian health care providers.
I can tell you that I did confirm with our case
managers that your point about finding primary care providers is probably their
biggest challenge, and they work very hard to try to achieve that. They work in
conjunction with the Veterans Affairs case managers to identify those care
providers in the civilian sector.[8]
In addition to clinical care, the Joint Personnel Support Unit provides
peer support services for CAF members with operational stress injuries. Around
50 CAF members who have suffered OSIs themselves are hired to provide this
support:
Once they have had the
chance to get better and their physician certifies that they are better, they
come back and are hired as peer support coordinators. They meet one-on-one with
individuals. They are not clinical in any sense, but they listen to people and
they refer them to the services they need. Very often those suffering from post-traumatic
stress are much more open to listening to one of their peers. When they get
this service, they then find their way into the medical system to actually be
referred to one of the clinics.[9]
As regards vocational rehabilitation, the Department of National
Defence offers the Vocational Rehabilitation Program for Serving Members
(VRPSM). This program gives CAF members who will be released for medical
reasons the opportunity to participate in on-the-job training or an education
upgrade program in the six months leading up to their release.[10]
The VRPSM is usually coordinated with the SISIP Vocational Rehabilitation
Program, which takes effect once CAF members are released.
The Canadian Armed Forces Morale and Welfare Services can also
coordinate access to career transition services offered by third-party
organizations. Commodore Mark Watson gave several examples of these
initiatives:
[O]ur latest initiative is the military employment
transition program, or MET, a three-partner initiative jointly pursued by the
Canadian Armed Forces, Veterans Affairs, and Canada Company. Through this
endeavour, more than 200 employer partners are offering jobs to veterans
through the “10,000 jobs in 10 years” campaign. Currently there are more jobs
than applicants, but that’s because we’re in the early stages of this program.
We are also working diligently to provide
post-service employment opportunities on a wide variety of fronts. For example,
Prospect, another not-for-profit enterprise based in western Canada, has an 85%
success rate in securing employment for ill and injured veterans in the
Edmonton area. It offers follow-up coaching services to both the employer and
the employee. This program will soon be piloted in other parts of the country.
Under the auspices of the Prince’s Charities,
one-week university-based training is available for those who wish to establish
their own business. As well, ongoing follow-up assistance is available free of
charge.
Helmets to Hardhats offers apprenticeship programs
to achieve a journeyman qualification in the building and construction trades,
as well as potential management opportunities in the industry. In addition, we
continue to work to obtain Red Seal qualifications for as many of our trades as
possible to facilitate direct post-military employment in similar civilian
occupations.
We also continue to work with the Canadian
Franchise Association to explore franchisee opportunities at favourable terms
for those who would like to explore this second career avenue.[11]
Even though the financial benefits for which individuals could be
eligible as a result of their injury or illness will not be paid out until the
weeks following their release, the months leading up to their release give them
an opportunity to fill out the required applications while they have access to
all the relevant information, and remain on full salary within the CAF. Once
members have been released, it becomes more difficult to obtain certain medical
information from military personnel, which can add to the length of time
required.
Members generally apply for the Service Income Security Insurance
Plan (SISIP) first, because it is the disability insurance program put in place
by the employer (for program details, see below). Under an agreement signed
between the Treasury Board, the Department of National Defence and Veterans
Affairs Canada, SISIP is the first payer, and anyone eligible for disability
benefits must go to SISIP first.[12]
Veterans Affairs Canada currently does not have a legislative
mandate to work with CAF members who are still serving.[13]
However, a connection must be established between VAC and serving members
before they are released to ensure a smooth transition. That is why Veterans
Affairs Canada case managers are integrated with the IPSCs.[14]
As a result, CAF members can begin all the assessment processes with VAC and
submit applications for benefits quickly.
Colonel Marc Bilodeau, from the CAF’s Health Services Centre,
indicated that different qualifications for CAF case managers and VAC case
managers could cause coordination issues: “Our case managers are nurses; VAC
case managers are not all clinicians. This creates an issue from the
perspective of sharing the medical information. VAC is working to bring itself
to a similar level of clinician case managers.”[15]
This difference between case managers from each of the two
departments can sometimes lead to confusion during the transition process. Ms.
Kimberly Davis, who previously worked for the Caregivers’ Brigade, explained
the situation as follows:
There’s a challenge between what we think a case
manager is in VAC and what a case manager is in DND. When there’s a release,
the case manager in DND hands it over to a case manager in VAC. When they’re
transitioning, what they do in DND is different from what we do in VAC. These
members come out thinking that they have the same support system they had in
DND, when in some cases it’s not the same. It varies from one end of the
country to the other. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of consistency.[16]
This observation was echoed by the Veterans Ombudsman, Mr. Guy
Parent:
Currently both CAF and VAC case managers work
independently with no formal coordination or monitoring. Resource constraints,
including the number of available CAF and VAC case managers, result in
interview delays and inconsistent service standards across the country. Today
approximately 10% of all medically releasing members are deemed to be complex
cases and receive an integrated transition plan.
All medically releasing members should have the
opportunity to plan and coordinate their transition.[17]
VAC representatives indicated that a great deal of this confusion
could be avoided if VAC was able to get involved earlier in the transition
process:
One of the challenges has been having the Veterans
Affairs case managers pick up the clients a little earlier in their transition
phase as opposed to near the end of their transition phase. That’s one of the
big things that we’re working on to try to make sure that we can have as smooth
a transition as possible as the veterans leave the Canadian armed forces. So
our case managers are speaking about the cases. I believe they even participate
in the multi-disciplinary team meetings.[18]
Veterans Ombudsman Mr. Guy Parent agreed:
[T]he Department of Veterans Affairs should enter
into the transition process much earlier than it does right now. In your
discussions with the previous group of witnesses, it was even suggested that
transition planning be incorporated into a member’s initial career training,
that the member learn about the programs and benefits available to veterans.[19]
One of the avenues being considered to facilitate the transition is
encouraging active-duty CAF members to open a file with Veterans Affairs
Canada, even if they do not end up using VAC programs later in life.[20]
Reaching CAF members as they become veterans, right when they are
being released, is a key focus on which both departments have asked the
academic community’s research on veterans to study:
Right now the most pressing issue is how to have
access to the population of veterans at the moment of transition, and this is
why there is so much research being done on transition. We’re trying to figure
out a way to ease the transition by following the member before they are
released until they are released so that they will have access to all the
programs before they need them, so they know the programs exist and they and
their families are well educated.[21]
Colonel Marc Bilodeau, of the Canadian Forces Health Services Centre,
mentioned that discussions were underway within the VAC–CAF steering committee,
which addresses issues of common interest to the two organizations:
I know there is work under way within our VAC CAF
steering committee, including discussions around My VAC Account, which I think
is a good idea. The intention is that, as members join the Canadian Armed
Forces, they become aware of Veterans Affairs Canada and may start a VAC
account so that they already have something in place with Veterans Affairs Canada.
I think we’re far less likely to have people leave the service, go off into
their civilian lives, and then have some trouble reconnecting with Veterans
Affairs Canada at a later date if they have something like that in place.[22]
Mr. Guy Parent, the Veterans Ombudsman, recommended that the
major decisions regarding release be made by a decision-making authority
recognized jointly by both departments:
It’s the office’s view that the discretion to make
decisions should fall on a single department or an individual jointly appointed
by both departments. Under the current regime, some decision-makers work for
Veterans Affairs Canada and others work for the Department of National Defence.
No real joint decision-making authority exists. Decisions are made by both departments,
and then we end up chasing our tails in order to solve release-related
problems. The transition process needs to be fully integrated. Decisions should
be made by an authority that both departments recognize.[23]
Several weeks before their planned release date, all members
leaving the Canadian Armed Forces are invited to participate in the Second
Career Assistance Network (SCAN) program. For CAF members who are leaving voluntarily,
the seminars are given over a two-day period, and they can choose which
presentations they would like to attend. For CAF members being released for
medical reasons, the seminars are condensed and given in a single day to ensure
that participants have access to all the information they need. Veterans Affairs
Canada (VAC) gives one of the presentations that is part of the SCAN program.
It is intended for CAF members who are about to be released for medical
reasons, as they are the most likely to require the services provided by VAC.
CAF members are strongly encouraged to attend the seminars, but attendance is
not mandatory. Spouses are also invited to attend, especially if the release is
for medical reasons.
VAC case managers responsible for transition support work closely
with the Joint Personnel Support Unit (JPSU). Ms. Mélanie
Witty, a VAC case manager, gave the members of the Committee a presentation
similar to what she gives to CAF members who are about to be released. The
transition process focuses on three environments: work, home and community. The
presentation summarizes the various services provided by VAC, as well as the
financial support available. People who are interested in the programs are
encouraged to fill out the required forms as soon as possible, for example, if
they would like to apply for a disability award. The presenters also encourage
CAF members to meet with a case manager in person to open channels with VAC
that will be maintained once they leave the military. CAF members are also
informed of the importance of the transition interview. The primary concern of
people attending the seminar is whether VAC will recognize the link between
their medical condition and their military service.[24]
This recognition is what will give them access to most VAC services and
financial benefits.
This seminar is considered valuable, but the Veterans Ombudsman,
Mr. Guy Parent, informed the Committee that some CAF members, for instance
those who suffer from an operational stress injury, can have difficulty
absorbing all the information they are given during the transition process:
“the volume of information a member receives during transition is currently
overwhelming and may contribute to what is already a stressful and confusing
situation for an injured member who may not be leaving the forces voluntarily.”[25]
He also pointed out that these seminars could be offered earlier in the
transition process and are not mandatory.
CAF members who are about to be released voluntarily are encouraged
to participate in a transition interview. A VAC Client Service Agent goes over
a questionnaire with them, and attempts to establish whether they may have
health care needs that have not yet been identified. For members being released
for medical reasons, the transition interview is mandatory and it is a more
in-depth interview with a case manager. Colonel Gérard Blais explained to the
Committee the crucial role this interview plays in the transition process:
Everybody who leaves has to sit down with a case
manager from Veterans Affairs, whether you’re injured or not, to go through
what your career looks like insofar as your health is concerned. Veterans
Affairs explains at that time, one-on-one, all of the benefits that are
available and takes notes on anything in case you do open a file in the future.
That is being done, but it is being done before you leave the service.[26]
Representatives from the Royal Canadian Legion can also advise CAF
members preparing for the transition interview. Mr. Steven Clark, from the
Dominion Command of the Royal Canadian Legion, explained that his organization
strongly encourages CAF members to include their family members in the
transition process:
For ill and injured members, we strongly recommend
that it be mandatory for family members to be in attendance. We recommend that
transition interviews be conducted early in the release process to help members
and their families identify any needs they may have well ahead of time.[27]
CAF members are strongly encouraged to request a copy of their
medical file during this transition interview. Reaffirming recommendation 1b of
their unanimous June 2014 report, The New Veterans Charter: Moving Forward,
members of the Committee believe that a copy of their medical file should be
given to all CAF members before their release. Once members have been released,
it is much more difficult to obtain access to this information quickly, because
the file must be given to Veterans Affairs Canada instead of directly to the
member. Colonel Hugh MacKay, Deputy Surgeon General within the Canadian Armed
Forces, gave a clear explanation of the restrictions involved in transferring
medical files once the member has been released:
The transfer of medical records is usually done on
a request from Veterans Affairs, based on the request by the member to Veterans
Affairs Canada.
We are not able to transfer files directly from
the Canadian Armed Forces to Veterans Affairs Canada because of their
regulations and the Privacy Act. When we receive a request from Veterans
Affairs Canada, we need to take the medical record and sever any third-party
information from those medical records.
For example, sometimes when you are encountering a
patient, a physician may write in a clinical note that the member’s spouse is
having problems with mental health issues. It’s not appropriate for us to give
information about the spouse to Veterans Affairs Canada. We need to make sure
that that kind of information is removed from all of the files. That creates a
bit of a delay in our being able to process and transfer those files. I will
say that we have increased the staff that are doing that severing right now.
We've reduced the backlog of files from about 1,600 to 800. We are now able to
process requests from Veterans Affairs Canada within 31 days, which is far
better than we did about 6 or 8 months ago.[28]
When members leave the Canadian Armed Forces, a reason for release
is assigned. The primary reasons are voluntary release and release for medical
reasons. In the former case, if they voluntarily leave the CAF and do not immediately
require the services of Veterans Affairs Canada, they will transition into
civilian life without being a client of the Department. Most veterans fall into
this category. If needs become apparent later on that result from their military
service, these veterans are able to apply for services at that time.
Most clients of Veterans Affairs Canada are CAF members who were
released for medical reasons. Of the roughly 5,000 members who leave the
CAF every year, approximately 1,000 are released for medical reasons. When the
CAF decides to release members for medical reasons, it does not determine
whether their medical condition leading to release is related to their military
service. Whether their condition is the result of a military operation or a
personal activity has no bearing on the fact that they can no longer fulfill
their military duties. From an operational standpoint, the link between the
medical condition and military service is not relevant.
However, this distinction becomes relevant after their release,
because it involves the Government of Canada’s responsibility to support and
compensate citizens whose physical, mental and professional capacities have
been affected by the fact that they served their country in uniform. This responsibility
is undertaken by Veterans Affairs Canada, and that is why the Department’s
programs must take into account the link between the veteran’s specific
situation and the circumstances of their military service.
Some witnesses, such as Mr. Perry Gray, the Editor in Chief of
Veteranvoice.info, believe that the responsibility for assessing the link
between a veteran’s medical condition and their military service should fall to
the Department of National Defence.[29]
The Service Income Security Insurance Plan’s Financial Services
(SISIP FS) provide Canadian Armed Forces members with life insurance,
disability insurance and vocational rehabilitation services. The SISIP products
and services are offered by the Department of National Defence through Manulife
Financial.
For the purposes of this study, the most significant aspect of
SISIP is the Long Term Disability Plan (LTDP) and the accompanying Vocational
Rehabilitation Program (VRP).
The Long Term Disability Plan (LTDP) was first implemented in 1969
as an optional plan for non-service-related medical releases. The Committee
made note of the following in its June 2014 report on the New Veterans’ Charter:
At the outset, benefits were equal to 60% of the
member’s pay at release, plus 5% for each dependent child, up to a maximum of
75%. It was then found that veterans who had been released for medical reasons
not attributable to military service had an advantage over some veterans who
had been released for medical reason attributable to military service but were
receiving only disability benefits. As a result, the SISIP was then extended to
all medical releases, whether the disability was attributable to military
service or not. Then, benefits were capped at 75% of the member’s pay at
release, regardless of their family situation. Since 1995, benefits stop when
the veteran reaches age 65. Prior to 1995, SISIP long-term disability benefits
were payable for life.[30]
In the two years following a member’s release, Veterans Affairs
Canada oversees the medical and psychosocial rehabilitation, at the request of
the released CAF member, and SISIP pays out the financial benefits and oversees
vocational rehabilitation.
Whether their disability is service-related or not, all members of
the Canadian Armed Forces released for medical reasons are automatically
entitled to disability benefits under SISIP for the two years following their
release.[31] The conditions of these benefits—75%
of their pay on release—were applied to the Earnings Loss Benefit (ELB) when it
was implemented following the coming into force of the New Veterans Charter in
2006.[32] The difference between the
LTDP provided by the Department of National Defence and the ELB provided by
Veterans Affairs Canada is that veterans may be eligible for the former even if
their medical release was not service-related, and veterans may be eligible for
the latter even if they were not released for medical reasons.
For example, if a member left the Canadian Armed Forces voluntarily
and discovered later that he was suffering from a service-related medical
condition—as is often the case for people with PTSD—he would not be eligible
for the SISIP programs, because he had not been released for medical reasons.
That is one of the main reasons for which VAC created the Earnings Loss
Benefit. It gives veterans with a service-related medical condition assistance
if they agree to participate in a rehabilitation program, even if a number of
years have passed since they left the CAF.
Roughly a year and half after CAF members are released for medical
reasons, SISIP will carry out a medical assessment to determine if the veteran
is temporarily incapacitated or totally and permanently incapacitated. If SISIP
determines their condition is not total and permanent, 24 months after the
veteran’s release it will stop paying financial benefits and offering vocational
rehabilitation services.
If veterans are not found to be totally and permanently incapacitated
two years after being released for medical reasons and they have not found paid
work in the civilian world, they will still have access to the VAC’s Vocational
Rehabilitation Program, and they can receive the Earnings Loss Benefit until
they become employable again.
If, two years after being released, SISIP deems that the veteran is
totally and permanently incapacitated, that is, if the veteran is unlikely to
find paid employment due to their condition, SISIP will continue paying
veterans 75% of their salary until the age of 65.
For all SISIP benefits, as well as for the VAC’s Earnings Loss
Benefit, any other form of income will reduce the benefits by an equivalent
amount. As a result, VAC will not pay out the Earnings Loss Benefit as long as
the veteran is receiving disability benefits under the SISIP. If veterans have
other sources of income, such as a CAF pension or a Canada Pension Plan
disability pension, and if the sum of these other incomes is equivalent to 75%
of their pay when they were released, they will not receive any benefits from
SISIP or VAC. An exception is provided for veterans attending vocational
rehabilitation programs. In these cases, their benefits are reduced by only 50%
of the income earned.
Commodore Mark Watson clearly described the SISIP Vocational
Rehabilitation Program:
SISIP’s vocational rehabilitation program […]
enables participants to restore or establish their vocational capacity to
prepare them for suitable gainful employment in the civilian workforce. The
vocational rehab program, or VRP, focuses on the veteran’s abilities,
interests, and medical limitations and on the potential economic viability of
their chosen path to help establish their future. SISIP VRP support can start
up to six months prior to release, and is often coordinated with the member and
the Canadian Armed Forces VRP program to ensure continuity after release.[33]
In other words, the VRP provides training in support of skills
members have already acquired in the Canadian Armed Forces, and it only rarely
provides veterans with an opportunity to begin in a different field.
The Veterans Affairs Canada Vocational Rehabilitation Program has
more flexibility in the way the amounts are paid out. The program is only
available to those who are not eligible for the SISIP VRP, or to those who have
exceeded their two-year eligibility period following their release without
having found suitable employment. In other words, the SISIP program offers
vocational rehabilitation services to all CAF members released for medical
reasons, while the VAC program is only available 24 months after release, and
is offered mostly to veterans who are capable of working but whose vocational
rehabilitation needs are more complex.
The Veterans Ombudsman, Mr. Guy Parent, saw a limitation in
both SISIP’s and VAC’s vocational rehabilitation programs. In a report
published in June 2013, he noted that “Veterans interested in pursuing
university-level education or attaining a professional designation do not share
the same access to programs,” unlike those interested in pursuing a career in
the trades.[34] Mr. Donald Leonardo, of
Veterans Canada, provided additional information about this observation when
referring to the SISIP VRP, saying “For those who want to start a fresh degree
program, it’s not available for you if you are starting from scratch. If you’ve
already started a degree program in the service, in the military, then yes, you
can continue it, but not if you are starting from scratch.”[35]
The central financial support feature of the SISIP VRP involves
reimbursing tuition fees up to a maximum of $25,000 for the full program. The
VAC VRP reimburses amounts of up to $75,800 for the total duration of the
program, which, in addition to tuition fees, includes the cost of school
supplies, travel costs and some parking costs and temporary housing costs.[36]
According to Mr. Michel Doiron, Assistant Deputy Minister,
Service Delivery, VAC, 72% of people who are released voluntarily and seek VAC
services later on are suffering from PTSD.[37] In
October 2014, an accelerated process was introduced so these people could
access services earlier. The first step is that they must agree to participate
in a rehabilitation program, at which point mental health services become
available to them. They must also submit a disability award application that,
if it is accepted, will confirm the link between their condition and their
military service. The difference for these people is that, since they were not
released for medical reasons, they were not eligible for SISIP for the two
years immediately following their release, or for the SISIP VRP. If they
participate in a VAC vocational rehabilitation program, even if they were not
released for medical reasons, they will also have access to the Earnings Loss
Benefit for the duration of the rehabilitation program.
During the meetings held as part of this study, a number of
discussions took place about how the federal government could best support the
transition process, given that there are organizations already working in the
field that might be able to meet certain needs better than the government
could. In this process, all organizations have a specific role to play, and
some witnesses mentioned that, in certain cases, the federal government could
play a role in coordinating, reaching out and informing people about the
programs offered by third-party organizations. Some of these programs were
presented to the Committee. A number of examples are listed below:
This program, which started at the University of British Columbia,
uses an innovative approach to help veterans with mental health issues regain
control of various aspects of their lives. Since 2012, 500 veterans have
participated in the program.[39] The Executive Director of
the Network, Mr. Tim Laidler, indicated that the federal government now
provides financial support to the program as a result of the Committee’s
previous work: “The government now pays us $15,000 per veteran. We created a
solution. The government saw that as a success. This committee made the recommendations.
Within nine months the minister made that announcement.”[40]
The Royal Canadian Legion, which funded the initial phase of this project,
asked that active CAF members be given access to this program.[41]
Representatives from the Monster Canada job search portal gave an
explanation about a technical tool that matches military skills with
sought-after skills in civilian employment.[42]
Honour House is a 10-room residence in the Vancouver area, built
with financial support from the BC Construction Association, that provides
members of the military, veterans and their families with a place to stay free
of charge if they are undergoing medical treatments. Mr. Tim Armstrong,
the Director of the Honour House Society, explained that the residence is still
underutilized because the service it provides is not well known.[43]
The True Patriot Love Foundation, established in 2009, is a
non-profit organization that was created to help military families. It collects
funds from corporations and disburses them to programs that support its mission
to help military families.[44] One of its areas of
involvement is to encourage companies to take advantage of the experience CAF
members bring when they transition to civilian life. The President of the
Foundation, Ms. Bronwen Evans, explained that one of the key challenges is
“translating” the experience acquired in the military world into civilian
language:
We did a quantitative survey of 850 corporate HR
departments in Canada. […] We also found that only 13% of HR departments have
been trained on how to read a military resumé. One thing we found especially
interesting was that 46% believe having a university degree is more important
than years of military experience. […] The feeling with that was if you looked
at their years of service, it wouldn’t qualify essentially as the kind of
training or internship that they were hoping to see and that they would need in
order to bring veterans into their companies.[45]
It is also involved in integrating medically released veterans into
the labour force:
There is a program named MET, the military
employment transition program, which is run by Canada Company in partnership
with the Department of National Defence. That’s very hands-on in terms of
matching up employers with veterans. However, it’s only able to handle so much
volume, and on top of that, they don’t deal with the ill and injured population
at all. […] We certainly found that pretty much every
employer indicator showed that medically released veterans are worse off than
veterans who aren’t medically released.[46]
During her appearance before the Committee, Ms. Evans also
spoke highly of the Prospect program in Edmonton, which receives financial
support from her foundation:
[The Prospect program] has proven to be the most
successful. It’s scalable. The cost per person for placing an individual is
probably about $1,500, which is not bad. I think it’s a program that government
should be looking quite seriously at making national. I don’t necessarily see
government delivering it, but rather, contracting with this organization that
has a great track record in doing this. I think that’s the role for government.[47]
The Treble Victor Group is a network of former members of the
military who currently work in the public and private sectors and support
implementing programs to make the transition from military to civilian life
easier. Mr. Don Ludlow, the President of the organization, told the
Committee that, while organizations recognize the leadership qualities that
members of the military bring, their military experience often makes them seem
like a hiring risk.[48] To mitigate this risk,
Mr. Ludlow said that “efforts to grant equivalency certifications based on
military service and qualifications should be accelerated. A veteran will
certainly appear to be much less of a risk if they, at the very least, have
similar education and qualifications to others competing for civilian jobs.”[49]
Wounded Warriors provides financial support for programs that reach
out to members of the military or veterans with service-related injuries in
order to facilitate their transition to civilian life by supporting families
living with veterans suffering from PTSD. It also ensures that reservists who
have served in military operations are treated fairly.
Mr. David Macdonald, the National Partnerships Director, told
the Committee there is a need to inform employers about how to properly
integrate someone with an operational stress injury into their staff:
But was there any formal education program in that
bag? No. Maybe HR could have supplied something to them to explain that if you
have someone who has PTSD...just a simple education document on what PTSD is,
because a lot of employers don’t understand what it is. [...U]nfortunately,
there are still a lot of people out there who think that this guy is going to
snap one day and possibly go on a shooting rampage in the office. It’s not that
at all. Unfortunately, the media has portrayed it that way, as we see too often
on TV. That’s not the case.[50]
Reservists who are released for medical reasons are in a similar
situation to regular CAF members, because almost all of them must participate
in a transition interview. It is more difficult to reach the rest of them due
to the nature of their service. Reservists can leave with only a few days’
notice, and it becomes difficult to locate them after they go.
Mr. Tim Laidler, the Executive Director of the Veterans
Transition Network, clearly described the unique challenges reservists face
during their transition.
For reservists can quite often start when they
come back from their tour. They'll come back off a tour, they'll have a week's
leave, then they'll be back into civilian life. If they are to go back on tour
again and again, they'll continue training. They might try to work full time
with the military, but some of them decide that's the point when they're ready
to leave the military. The actual day they'll get the release, though, could be
three, five years later. So if we think of the transition only starting when
they're leaving the military, that will leave a reservist in a three to
five-year limbo quite often. This is something that I think we can look at how
to address and try to get more of these programs and services further upstream.
The reservist can't apply for their Veterans Affairs benefits while they're
still in the military, yet many of the programs like the retraining program
that's there, the veterans rehabilitation program, often don't start until the
reservist is actually released from the military.[51]
The Royal Canadian Legion also dedicates significant resources to
informing reserve units about whether their members are eligible for various
programs offered by Veterans Affairs Canada.[52]