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Results: 121 - 135 of 666
View Andréanne Larouche Profile
BQ (QC)
Once again, let me thank you for all the insight you have provided us with today in your remarks, Ms. Raymond. The word “tenacity” comes to mind. That's what you have demonstrated over the last 10 years.
Not only did you experience difficulties in terms of reporting the attacks you suffered, but you also mentioned, when you were in Valcartier, having difficulty obtaining services in French, even as a francophone in the Canadian Armed Forces. You therefore felt a form of discrimination based on language.
Stéphanie Raymond
View Stéphanie Raymond Profile
Stéphanie Raymond
2021-04-08 12:44
Yes. In Valcartier, even francophones speak English. I don't know why that is the case. Francophones even use English forms.
Most Canadians are anglophone. Military personnel are regularly posted to anglophone bases. Francophones in the military constantly speak English and use English terminology, because that allows them to become familiar with working in English and to be more useful. Even though they are on a francophone base, they continue to use English terminology. Personnel who speak only French have to learn a new vocabulary.
In addition, when you're on a telephone helpline to HQ, or to Ottawa, you do not hear a lot of francophones on the other end of the line, and the anglophones are not bilingual.
View Hedy Fry Profile
Lib. (BC)
Thank you.
I wondered about the issue of access to health care. I understand that Doctors Without Borders have been saying there has been looting at most of the health care centres, the majority of them, and people don't want to go to the health care centres. They can't go to them. The health care centres are not able to keep adequate equipment, etc. This is important, especially in light of COVID-19.
How can we make that access happen? What can we do about that in the name of humanitarian and public health access? What is going to happen? Is this going to spread to the surrounding regions of Sudan, Eritrea, etc.? Is COVID a spreadable thing in that region because of this lack of access? How are people coping? How are women who require pregnancy and postnatal care getting that kind of care? Are they getting it at all?
What's happening? I wonder what the situation is with regard to health care access.
Tara Carney
View Tara Carney Profile
Tara Carney
2021-03-25 16:04
I'm happy to speak to the humanitarian implications, particularly around the issue of health care.
Unfortunately, often in these conflict situations we have increasingly been seeing targeting and criminality around infrastructures the people rely on, health care being a key one among them. Obviously the goal will be longer-term restoration of those health systems, and development efforts will be needed to that end. In the immediate term, with the ramping up of the humanitarian response that we're starting to see now, that means we will have humanitarian partners supporting an emergency health service response, which will fill in some of the emerging gaps.
Whether it's enough [Technical difficulty—Editor] remains to be seen, but we will see partners like the ICRC doing more on the health side and partners like UNICEF able to deliver some of those maternal and child health services that the national system is not able to do at this time. Our humanitarian partners also have the mechanisms to bring these services to people, sometimes in ways that make them more comfortable to use them when there are protection issues around going to centres.
View Mike Kelloway Profile
Lib. (NS)
Thank you, Chair, and hello to all the witnesses.
Again, there are so many people to thank as we go through an unprecedented pandemic. You're one of the many on the front lines and behind the scenes, and in some cases in front of the camera and behind the scenes, so this is Just a special thank you from people in my riding and me.
My questions will be directed to the minister. Hello, Minister.
I want to talk a little about health care services in rural and remote communities like mine here in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton—Canso. Many of my constituents, Minister, do not have easy access to a hospital. Some don't even live in communities that have active clinics, but they still need to get the care they need when they need it.
I know that your mandate letter instructs you to work with the Minister of Rural Economic Development to ensure that all Canadians have access to more health services. I'm wondering if you can tell us more about the progress you're making on this file, especially in light of COVID-19.
The way I approach things is I want to give people an opportunity to answer and to speak. I know somebody mentioned about running out the clock. I like answers that are thoughtful and introspective and empathetic and evidence-based. Consider this the time to do so.
View Patty Hajdu Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you very much.
Through the chair, first of all I want to acknowledge the challenges that Canadians face in rural and remote communities. I know we live many kilometres apart, but in my riding as well I have rural communities and remote communities that I serve.
You're absolutely right that the challenge of accessing health care services in these communities is profound. This won't come as a surprise to the member, but in fact people who live in these communities often have to travel multiple times per week back and forth to larger centres for specialized services. In order to see anybody other than a GP, people often have to travel. In some cases there might not even be a GP in some of these communities, so it is a significant gap. I was very excited to work on this issue when I was first appointed minister, way before the pandemic, in what feels like a lifetime ago, because I knew it so well as an MP representing rural communities.
In some ways, COVID-19 has been an asset, weirdly, for virtual access to primary care. You wouldn't think that COVID-19 had anything good about it, but it did cause provinces and territories to quickly accelerate access—for example, to change their billing codes to be able to allow doctors and a variety of other health care practitioners to bill for virtual visits.
This has been a real breakthrough for rural and remote communities that struggle—and will struggle, from my perspective, for a very long time—to hold on to professionals in their communities. We know that often people don't want to relocate to small communities. We try. We have a million different ways, I think, in every province to try to lure people to these beautiful places and keep them, including by introducing them to wonderful potential spouses and having them marry and stay in that area, but unfortunately it still is quite a challenge for some of these smaller communities.
Virtual care has proven to be a boon, actually, during the pandemic, and provinces and territories have realized just how much they can accelerate access to care. It's not ideal for every kind of care, but it really fills a gap for some of those primary care health services.
In the estimates, we're asking for $47 million for virtual care. It's part of a larger investment of $150 million. That's to strengthen this work that has already begun as a result of COVID-19 to strengthen those virtual care systems and hopefully help the provinces and territories solidify this gain they have made in breaking through a barrier in providing access to care in some very challenging geographical settings.
View Jag Sahota Profile
CPC (AB)
For women living in rural communities who have complex care needs, such as those with disabilities or seniors, what barriers, if any, exist in obtaining the care and services that they need?
Anybody can answer that.
Melissa, do you want to start?
Melissa O'Brien
View Melissa O'Brien Profile
Melissa O'Brien
2021-02-23 11:23
Sure, I can take it.
As some of the witnesses previously pointed out, we know that a lot of services have now moved online. In rural communities, if you don't have access to these services—especially if you're caring for an elderly individual—I'm not sure how you're getting quality health care. Internet does play a primary role in delivering those services at this point in time. I think it would be nice to hear from somebody who maybe has more personal experience with that.
I do believe Internet connectivity is key to helping and assisting in delivering these services. As we come out of COVID, it potentially might be more likely that these online platforms will continue to be used. It is critical that we ensure that all Canadians have access to reliable broadband, so that they can participate in these online services that are now becoming more readily available.
Adrienne Ivey
View Adrienne Ivey Profile
Adrienne Ivey
2021-02-23 11:24
I would definitely add that one of the greatest things in Saskatchewan to come out of COVID is the accessibility of online, virtual health care. I live over a hundred kilometres from the nearest emergency room. Online is essential to be able to teleconference or virtually connect with a doctor instead of having to drive a 200-kilometre round trip just to get test results or things like that.
Unfortunately, due to lack of connectivity, the people who need it the most—the people who live rurally and outside of urban centres who can't pop into a doctor's office or a hospital—don't have access to the platforms that are now available to us. It affects every segment.
Steven Harris
View Steven Harris Profile
Steven Harris
2021-02-17 17:55
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair—or good evening, almost, now—and members of the committee. Thank you for the invitation to be with you today.
Good evening.
Mr. Chair and committee members, I'm happy to be here today.
It's been almost a year since the COVID pandemic started in the Canadian context, and it has greatly affected all of our daily lives. The effect has been felt by those we serve, our veterans and their families, members of the Canadian Armed Forces and the RCMP, and by those in the department in how we are organized to deliver much-needed programs and services.
As I reflect back over the last year, I'm proud of the innovation, flexibility and resilience of veterans and the organizations that are dedicated to supporting them.
With the pandemic still a priority concern for all of us, Veterans Affairs Canada has adapted, and will continue to adapt, to support the needs of our veterans and their families.
Before I speak to you about some of these changes, I want to take this opportunity to provide the committee with a brief update on the wait-times initiative plan that was submitted to ACVA in June 2020, and to thank the committee for its report “Clearing the Jam”. Since the minister's last appearance in November, we have hired more than 350 additional staff from across the country to strengthen our capacity to make more, and more timely, decisions for veterans on their disability benefit applications. These staff are now trained and are making decisions, and this will be one way that we will reduce wait times for veterans.
In addition, I want to note that, since March 23, 2020, the start of the pandemic, Veterans Affairs Canada has issued nearly $1 billion in new disability benefits to veterans.
Over the last few years, we have expanded the programs and services that contribute to the well-being of veterans and their families. We are making sure that these programs are available to the veterans who want and need them.
Newer programs like the education and training benefit provide veterans with funding for post-secondary education, training, or shorter courses like workshops or seminars, while career transitions services assist veterans by providing individualized support for job search skills and career counselling. Finally, the veterans emergency fund is there to help when veterans are facing a financial crisis or emergency, and is available to veterans whether they have a service-related disability or not.
Faced with a prolonged pandemic environment, we know, our most vulnerable veterans are at risk, and so we have made more than 18,000 calls to check on them. We have reached out to connect with our case-managed veterans, those with health-related issues, those who live in remote areas and those at risk of homelessness. We are currently reaching out to all of our women veterans. In all cases, we can use these opportunities to make adjustments to programs and services based on the needs of these veterans.
Of course, COVID has had a significant impact on long-term care facilities. As VAC supports about 4,000 veterans in long-term care facilities across the country, we are working with long-term care homes and family members to make sure our veterans are safe. In some cases, we are ensuring that veterans have the supports they need if they want to bring their family member home. We've also been paying for personal protective equipment for veterans who receive face-to-face treatment, and we've waived the need for prescription renewals during the pandemic and extended our telehealth coverage.
Given that COVID-19 has had a negative financial impact on some veterans, we've changed the veterans emergency fund to cover costs related to COVID-19 and allowed for a maximum funding of $10,000. All these measures are in place to ensure that veterans can continue to receive the help and support that they need.
These examples of programs and services are important, but we also recognize the need to highlight the impact that mental health can have on our ability to take care of ourselves. That is why Veterans Affairs Canada offers a range of supports to mental health services for our veterans and their families.
With access to over 12,000 mental health professionals across the country, the VAC assistance service, which is available 24-7 to veterans and their families, and with 11 operational stress injury clinics and satellite service sites, there are multiple ways to access support and treatment. In the COVID environment, many of these services can be provided virtually, allowing all veterans, even those who live in remote areas, to be able to continue to access safe support and treatment.
Recognizing the critical role of families in supporting our veterans, Veterans Affairs provides a benefit to caregivers of veterans with serious disabilities and expanded the veteran family program to the 32 military family resource centres across Canada. This program is there to help veterans and their families transition to post-military life and connect them with community resources.
There's still much research to be done on mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The centre of excellence on PTSD and related mental health conditions is funded by Veterans Affairs Canada and is doing some excellent research on the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of veterans, the mental health of veterans' families, peer support and types of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, to name a few.
More and more, veterans and their families are coming to us and finding services and supports they need. We continue to adjust as new information becomes available.
We've given our employees the necessary tools and support to work from home so that they can support our veterans and their families. We'll work together to have a positive impact on the well-being of veterans and their families.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Nishika Jardine
View Nishika Jardine Profile
Nishika Jardine
2021-02-17 18:44
Thank you.
Good evening, Mr. Chair and committee members.
Thank you for this invitation to speak with you. As you know, I was appointed to the veterans ombudsman position this past November. I'm appearing before you today for the first time. I'm joined by my colleague, Duane Schippers.
I'm honoured to share our latest study and our report on mental health treatment benefits for family members of veterans.
The foundational principle for our study is the understanding that, when a military member serves, their family also serves. As a result, we believe that family members of veterans deserve access to funded mental health treatment when their own need is connected to military service. This is something that does not currently exist for those family members not participating in a veteran’s treatment plan.
This issue isn't new to us. We first recommended in 2016 that Veterans Affairs Canada fund mental health treatment for the family members of veterans in their own right and independent of the veterans' needs.
In the fall and winter of 2019-20, our office received a number of complaints regarding this issue. In February 2020, we launched an in-depth study to bolster our earlier recommendation.
We published our findings on January 19, 2021. We found a growing body of Canadian research regarding the impact of service on families. Military families are known to be incredibly resilient, but the evidence speaks to the reality that military service carries with it unique stressors that can impact a spouse's or child’s mental health. Frequent postings, long and multiple absences of the military member and the inherent risk of their illness, injury or death are key factors in the mental health and well-being of military families.
The minister, in his response to our report, acknowledged the impact that military service has on the well-being of both veterans and their family members. Currently, the department provides limited individual mental health treatment to spouses and children, but only when the family member’s treatment is directly connected to achieving a positive outcome for the veteran.
This policy ultimately has the effect of creating both inequity and a disservice to those veterans' spouses and children who are essentially barred from accessing funded treatment in their own right simply because their veteran doesn’t need or isn’t in treatment.
From our perspective as an advocate for fairness, family members—meaning spouses, former spouses and children—who are experiencing mental health issues as a direct result of being part of a military family should have independent access to their own mental health treatment benefits.
Let me share some of the stories that we were given permission to relate.
One spouse told us she was not asking for charity. She was asking to get the help she needs to support a man who's already given up too much in the service of his country.
A disabled veteran shared with us that her young children essentially had to take care of her when she came home broken and as a result they had mental health issues of their own. She related how her youngest daughter, who is under the age of 12, has become afraid of being alone. Her daughter needs treatment but she simply cannot afford to pay for it.
Another spouse shared how her veteran spouse suffers from PTSD, which is made so much worse when his episodes cause severe distress to his children. They desperately need professional and age-appropriate treatment to help them make sense of their father's condition, and this is simply beyond her scope as a mother.
The bottom line is that there is a gap in the way the department is meeting its obligation to veterans' families. We have made three recommendations.
First and foremost, that family members including spouses, former spouses, survivors and dependent children have access to federal government-funded mental health treatment when the mental health illness is related to the conditions of military service experienced by the family member. This should be independent of the veteran's treatment plan and regardless of whether the veteran is engaging in treatment.
Second, that the department conduct and publish the gender-based analysis of its policies and regulations for mental health support to veterans' families.
Finally, that the department continue to demonstrate flexibility in meeting the individual mental health needs of family members.
In summary, we believe that this is an important fairness matter in need of both attention and action. We're hopeful that, by publishing our findings, we'll see progress on this issue that recognizes the cost of service that some family members are paying. Your interest in keeping the conversation going is very important to me, as the veterans ombudsman, and to my office.
Thank you again for your invitation to share our report with you.
View Todd Doherty Profile
CPC (BC)
Colonel, your third recommendation encourages Veterans Affairs Canada to continue demonstrating flexibility in terms of urgent mental health needs of family members and veterans. I agree with that. I think we should be doing everything in our power to reduce barriers to mental health services across the board. But we read in the report that very few families are accessing those services. Do you think it is because of the stigma or the ambiguity in terms of the legislation and policy?
Nishika Jardine
View Nishika Jardine Profile
Nishika Jardine
2021-02-17 18:55
I don't know about stigma or uncertainty.
What I can say is that there is no program that exists for family members whose mental health needs are distinct from those of their veteran. At the moment, Veterans Affairs and the.... I should really say it's the professionals who are treating the veteran. If a veteran is in treatment for their mental health issues and the professional who's providing that treatment determines that including their family members is to the benefit of the veteran, then the family members can be brought in for treatment, as well. And that is great. That is an excellent approach by the department.
What we're saying with the gap is it's for those family members who are not part of the veteran's treatment plan for whatever reason.
View Luc Desilets Profile
BQ (QC)
I'll ask you another question.
Obviously, mental health issues have a huge impact on families. We know that the number of sessions is limited to 20 for families, which is less than the number allowed before.
What are your thoughts on this? Should the number increase?
What was the basis for the limit of 20 sessions?
Nishika Jardine
View Nishika Jardine Profile
Nishika Jardine
2021-02-17 19:06
Mr. Desilets, thank you for the question.
The heart of what we are saying in our report is with respect to the family members who don't have any access at all.
With regard to the sessions that you're referring to and the exact number, I would ask the department. That is all related to treatment that is part of the veterans treatment plan.
What we as the ombudsman are seeing and the gap that we are trying to shine a light on is these family members who don't have access in their own right when their treatment isn't connected to the veteran at all, but it is connected to their service because they are part of a military family. They experience all of those stressors that we spoke about just a few minutes ago.
That has an impact on them, and if their veteran isn't in treatment, then they have no access. How that access is done is up to the department to determine, but what we are saying is that this gap needs to be filled.
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