Record of discussion - 4 May 2023

Thursday, May 4, 2023 (virtual)
12:00-16:00 (ET)

Advisory group on families members

  • Colonel (Retired) Telah Morrison (Co-Chair)
  • Jenny Migneault
  • Laryssa Lamrock
  • Laurie Ogilvie, Military Family Services
  • Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Steven Deschamps
  • Namita Joshi, True Patriot Love Foundation
  • Nora Spinks
  • Tamara Kleinschmidt, Trenton Military Family Resource Centre

Regrets

  • Superintendent (Retired) Dave LeBlanc, RCMP Veterans Association
  • Lieutenant Commander (Retired) Charles Gendron, Royal Canadian Legion
  • Lieutenant (Retired) Robert Bell
  • Yvonne Watson

Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs

  • Michael Unsworth, Special Assistant – Northern & Western, Minister’s Office

Veterans Affairs Canada officials

  • Faith McIntyre, Director General, Communications Division (Co-chair)
  • Pam Harrison, Senior Director, Engagement and Events
  • Jeff Gallant, Manager, Engagement and Events
  • Lisa Matte, Project Officer, Engagement and Events
  • Meghan MacKinnon, Project Officer, Engagement and Events

Presenters

  • Nathan Svenson, Director, Research, Policy and Research Division
  • Lynda Manser, Associate Vice-President, Military Family Services
  • Dr. Jennifer Lee, Director of Research Personnel and Family Support
  • Tania Guertin attending for Danica Arseneault, Director, Re-establishment and Financial Well-Being, VAC
  • Tammy MacWilliams, Acting Director, Transition and Program Support, VAC
  • Cameron Winters, Service Performance Monitoring
  • Chantal Basque, Manager of Mental Health Benefits
  • Sylvie Plourde Farrell, Policy Analyst Veterans Affairs
  • Tania Guertin, National Manager Wellbeing Program
  • Sophie Martel, Benefits Program Officer
  • Lynne McCloskey, National Manager, Home Care Programs
  • Debbie Barry, Acting Senior Director, Disability and Health Care Policy
  • July Drury, Director of Mental Health
  • Linda Maclean, Acting Manager, Strategic Policy
  • Ghada Makhlouf, A/Manager of National Programs

Observer

  • Joanne Ghiz, Office of the Veterans Ombudsperson 

Land acknowledgement

At the start of the virtual meeting, the VAC Co-chair acknowledged that the meeting is taking place on the ancestral and unceded land of the Mi'kmaq First Nation. The member Co-chair also mentioned that they are presenting from the unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin First Nation.

Opening remarks

  • The Co-Chairs welcomed participants and the meeting opened with roundtable introductions. An overview of the agenda was provided and it was noted that the intent of the meeting is to capture topics of priority and areas of focus to create a solid agenda for a face-to-face meeting and build upon all the other questions that were brought up at previous meetings and continue this base of information.
  • Research data and a summary of existing programs and services accessible to families from all angles, including mental health, financial, Caregiver Benefit (CRB), and Veterans Independence Program (VIP), were divided into separate categories for the panelists’ presentations.

Research data

  • The Director of Research with the Policy and Research Division presented Veteran Data from the 2021 Census to continue a discussion from the February meeting on census data and what research exists across the areas and what is planned. Some of the key items of discussion included:
    • Revamping the strategic framework which is currently being reviewed every 2 years
    • Looking at gaps in services and best practices evolving within the department
    • Veteran Community Health needs assessment
  • Also discussed was the Federal Quality of Life Framework, which is being led by the Treasury Board Secretariat.
  • Military family data were presented by the Department of National Defence's Director of Research, Personnel, and Family Support. The following was the presentation's high points were:
    • Retention strategies and military families
    • Childcare and housing
    • Upward trend in single members in the CAF
  • A member inquired about the number of single CAF members; data covers the proportions of male/female/married and dual-serving members. Due to the rising number of single family members, the term "family" may need to be redefined.
  • The survey results from 2022 were also covered. Work-life balance, wellbeing, relocation, housing obstacles and employment are the top 5 problems affecting CAF families.
  • The associate Vice-President of Family Services provided an overview on gaps in services. The pre-release stage was the biggest gap in the release process, harming both career and financial stability. A second research on domestic abuse and family dissolution is expected.

Programs and services

  • Director of Mental Health and Manager of National Programs provided and overview on programs and services available to Veterans and Veteran families in Mental Health, key points were highlighted such as:
    • The pre-release stage was the biggest gap in the release process, harming both career and financial stability. A second research on domestic abuse and family dissolution is expected.
    • The findings of a second study on domestic violence and family breakdown are anticipated in the fall. Since most people started talking about their mental health openly in the previous year, there has been a significant drop in services during COVID 19.
    • VAC provides services to veterans with complex mental health issues and operations stress.
  • An overview of the Caregiver Recognition Benefit was provided by the National Manager of the Wellbeing. Only up-to-date medical data required for qualifying criteria.
  • The Veteran Family Program provides post-service access to Military Family Service Programming, Mental Health First Aid Course, Telemedicine program, but only serves medically released veterans.
  • The Veterans Independence Program provides support for community-based home and residential care, and provides a grant to primary caregivers and survivors to assist with routine tasks.
  • The new Mental Health benefits would automatically render members eligible according to the new mental health benefits that were implemented in April 2022.
  • The Mental Health Benefits are not a family benefit and are only available to CAF members.
  • A consultation was open between November and December 2022 and the purpose of the survey sent out via Let’s Talk Veterans platform was to better understand how the supports were helping veterans and caregivers.

Next steps and closing remarks

  • The member Co-Chair provided a summary of key themes and areas of focus to further discuss during the next face-to-face meeting. Topics of discussion will include health care as it relates to families and caregivers, access to the Caregiver Recognition Benefit and addressing gaps in policy.
  • Military Veteran Program is meeting in June, an AGF member was invited to attend, further details to follow.
  • The representative from the Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs thanked members for a great discussion and confirmed that the direction of the group is in line with the priorities of the Minister.
  • A face to face meeting was discussed with the group. A Google poll will be sent to the group to solicit preferred meeting dates.
  • The Co-Chairs thanked members for their participation.
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