25 January 2024
Virtual Meeting via Microsoft Teams
Care and Support Advisory Group Members
- Mary Boutette, The Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre (Member Co-Chair)
- Alexa Pasha, Royal Canadian Legion
- Major (Retired) Bruce Henwood, National Council of Veteran Associations
- Major (Retired) Linda Lander, Canadian Military Intelligence Association
- Second Lieutenant (Retired) Walter Callaghan, Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto
- Captain (Retired) Rod Holowaty, Zone Commander Legion District 3 Zone 1
- Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class (Retired) Debbie Eisan, Aboriginal Veterans Autochtones
Regrets
- Marie-Andrée Malette, Canadian Caregivers Brigade
- Reverend Ken MacLaren
- Sergeant (Retired) Andrea Newton
- Major (Retired) Jorma Hamalainen, NATO Veterans Organization of Canada
- Lieutenant Navy (Retired) Sylvain Bouliane, VeteransCanada.ca
Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs
- Jonathan Wiseman, Special Assistant, Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Affairs Canada officials
- Jane Hicks, A/Director General, Service Delivery and Program Management (Veterans Affairs Canada Co-Chair)
- David Keedwell, Director General, Intergovernmental Programs, Veterans Affairs Canada
- Gladys Bradley, A/Strategic Advisor, Service Delivery and Program Management, Veterans Affairs Canada
- Kristy McGuigan, Senior Advisor, Engagement and Events, Veterans Affairs Canada
Observer
- Kirsten Johnson, Director, Veterans Intervention Unit, Office of the Veterans Ombud
Presenters
- David Howard, Homes for Heroes Foundation
Land Acknowledgement, Welcome and Opening Remarks
The VAC Co-Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and offered a land acknowledgement indicating that she is located on the traditional land of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. Each member of the group briefly introduced themselves.
Presentation – Homes for Heroes Foundation
David Howard, CEO and Co-Founder of the Homes for Heroes Foundation, gave a presentation on their “tiny homes” projects to combat homelessness among Veterans. The presentation highlighted how and why the Foundation was formed, the focus of their work to date, current challenges, and the future goals and vision of the organization, including expansion into other provinces.
The group praised the work of Homes for Heroes, and entered an extensive discussion period with David Howard. Discussion topics of note included: data collection; tailored services to women Veterans; intersectionality; Indigenous programming; scalability to smaller communities; commemoration within Homes for Heroes’ villages; and, media awareness.
Update – David Keedwell, Director General, Intergovernmental Programs, Veterans Affairs Canada
David Keedwell, Director General, Intergovernmental Programs, provided an update on the Veteran Homelessness Program, led by Infrastructure Canada. Results of the program are forthcoming, as internal review of applications are finalized.
David also provided the group with takeaways from the Roundtable on Women Veterans in Halifax on November 7, 2023 – indicating to the group that feedback was quite positive, and that his team is planning future roundtables focused on intersectionality, including Indigenous Veterans.
Roundtable
The group had an extensive conversation on Veterans’ homelessness and housing. Key discussion points included meeting Veterans “where they are at”; precariously-housed Veterans; outreach and data collection; land acquisition and use; intergovernmental and jurisdictional challenges; the role VAC – as a Department – should play in combatting Veterans’ homelessness; and, collaboration between organizations in the field to avoid any overlap.
Review of Previous Record of Discussion
The group was asked to provide feedback on the November 23, 2023 Record of Discussion by end-of-day.
Next Steps and Closing Remarks
The VAC Co-Chair will work to plan an informal group meeting with the Ottawa Mission, in advance of the upcoming Stakeholder Summit, as they was unable to present today as planned. Next steps also included potentially planning an informal meeting between those attending the summit, as well as taking the group’s feedback on the homelessness file to the Department.