July 2024

News

Discover Service after Service: The National Veterans Employment Strategy

Increasing meaningful employment opportunities for Canadian Veterans is the goal of Service after Service: The National Veterans Employment Strategy. It launched on 28 June 2024.

The strategy was developed based on feedback VAC received through consultations from 2022 to 2024 with several stakeholder groups, including Veterans from various backgrounds, their families, other government departments, members of the Canadian Armed Forces, equity-deserving groups and employers interested in boosting Veteran employment. We thank everyone who participated. It was your valuable feedback that helped us develop our employment strategy.

The Strategy is focused on four strategic objectives:

• improving services and expanding programs for Veterans
• creating and recognizing Veteran ready employers
• positioning the public service as a leader for Veteran employment
• building trusted partnerships.

These objectives outline our commitment to work with other government departments, for-profit and not-for-profit employers, and stakeholders to:

• review current policies and programs, and coordinate efforts to improve employment related services
• develop digital resources and tools for Veterans, employers and partner organizations
• develop criteria to recognize Veteran ready employers
• promote the Public Service Employment Act and other employment programs and services, and
• build a community for employers to share resources and best practices.

VAC is committed to regularly updating the Strategy so that it effectively addresses new research and the changing needs of Veterans. We will continue to support all Veterans in their transition to life after service.

If you’re interested in knowing more, check out Service after Service: The National Veterans Employment Strategy today.

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New Projects Commemorate No. 2 Construction Battalion in Nova Scotia

Earlier this month, Veterans Affairs Canada announced that its Commemorative Partnership Program (CPP) has approved over $124,000 in funding to support five new projects in Nova Scotia, each commemorating No. 2 Construction Battalion and its legacy. The funding was announced at the annual No. 2 Construction Battalion Remembrance Ceremony in Nova Scotia on July 6. Another call for applications will open this fall, to provide funding for additional projects.

No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, also known as the Black Battalion, was created on 5 July 1916 during the First World War. Members of No. 2 Construction Battalion showed resilience, determination and strength in the face of adversity. Having to overcome racism both at home and overseas, their commitment to the war effort was unwavering.

Following the end of the First World War, the unit was officially disbanded on 15 September 1920, without ceremony or recognition for their service or sacrifices on behalf of Canada.

A total of $2.25 million over five years will support projects commemorating No.2 Construction Battalion across the country. Funding is provided by the Department of National Defence/Canadian Armed Forces and delivered through VAC’s Commemorative Partnership Program.

This dedicated funding addresses one of the recommendations outlined by the National Apology Advisory Committee (NAAC) by creating opportunities for education, remembrance and honouring of No. 2 Construction Battalion.

For more information on the CPP program, including funding for war memorials, please visit the Commemorative Partnership Program web page.

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Game on! Meet Team Canada for Invictus 2025

On July 10, all eyes were on Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Kingston for the official announcement of Team Canada, who will compete at the next Invictus Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., in February 2025.

The Games use the power of sport to inspire recovery and rehabilitation. They can also promote a wider understanding of, and respect for, all who serve in uniform.

The Games will take place 8 to16 February 2025 in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia. More than 500 Veterans and serving military personnel from over 20 nations, including 56 Team Canada members, will compete in nine winter and indoor adaptive sports. This will be the second time Canada will host the Games, having previously hosted in Toronto, ON, in 2017.

Visit the Soldier On website to learn more about team members.

The Games focus on rehabilitation, mental health support, employment advocacy, and general well-being of the global military community. The journeys and experiences of competitors and their families—throughout the Games and also their lives and careers—are important snapshots of the military experience and should be shared.

Over the coming months, VAC and other Invictus Games partners will be sharing these incredible stories of the resilience shared by Canada’s service members, Veterans, their families and friends. These stories will hopefully inspire others facing similar adversity, demonstrating ways to move forward while highlighting useful resources, programs and services along the way. Sharing the experiences of competitors and their families may also help all Canadians to better understand, respect and recognize those who served and sacrificed for our country.

Read, watch, and listen to stories from Invictus Games Alumni on the Invictus Games webpage.

For more information on the 2025 Games events, or information on how to attend or volunteer, visit the Invictus Games 2025 website.

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Updates to the PTSD Coach Canada app

If you use PTSD Coach Canada, the mobile app for learning about and managing the symptoms associated with PTSD, you may notice some updates to version 3.0.

The new version is easier to use, and includes new tools and updated resources, including a self-guided safety plan for suicide prevention.

PTSD Coach Canada supports Veterans, serving CAF and RCMP members, first responders and anyone dealing with the effects of traumatic experiences. Family and friends can also learn from this app.

While not intended as a replacement for professional care, the App can be used before or as part of a care plan with a mental health professional. Paired with professional care, the app provides dependable resources you can trust.

The app’s features include:

• reliable and current information on PTSD and effective treatments
• convenient, easy-to-use tools to help with self-assessment and the management of distress associated with PTSD symptoms
• a self-guided safety plan for suicide prevention
• information on crisis support and how to get help.

The PTSD Coach Canada app is based on a U.S. version developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Department of Defense. We revised the app’s content to fit the Canadian context in partnership with the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Mental Health Association.

What if I don't have a mobile device?

No problem. You can find the educational content of PTSD Coach Canada on VAC’s website.

You can download the PTSD Coach Canada app for free from your preferred app store.

iOS Android

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Programs and services

Podcast: Parenting with a post-traumatic stress injury

“During the day while he’s at school, I try to prioritize my therapy so that I’m at least able to cope with day-to-day things so that if something big happens in life, I still have that resource in front of me,”

Beynen is a Veteran and former Air Force medic. She recently joined Laryssa Lamrock and Brian McKenna, co-hosts of the Mind Beyond the Mission podcast, for an episode called Parenting with a post-traumatic stress injury. (Laryssa Lamrock is the spouse of a Veteran, while Brian McKenna is a Veteran, himself.)

Lamrock and McKenna work with Beynen at the Atlas Institute of Veterans and Families. In this podcast, they discuss their shared experiences on an array of topics, including:

• managing personal well-being while caring for a child
• finding balance as a single parent
• healthy coping mechanisms for difficult days
• emotional numbing and the impacts it can have on relationships
• prioritizing self-care and seeking support, and
• the importance of open communication with children and youth about mental health.

Listen to the Mind Beyond the Mission podcast on your favourite listening app, or on the Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families website.

The Atlas Institute also offers supportive articles and resources for Veterans and their families, including:

• What are post-traumatic stress injuries?
• For families: Supporting yourself when your loved one is struggling with a post-traumatic stress injury
• MindKit, a mental health education hub for young Family members of Veterans living with a PTSI.

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Spotlight on women Veterans

Commodore (Retired) Laraine Orthlieb’s Naval Legacy

When Commodore (Retired) Laraine Orthlieb joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1959, roles for women were limited. Orthlieb began her military career as a nurse. She left the military for a time to work as a civilian registered nurse before returning to the Naval Reserve in 1974. Her return sparked a determination to break out of established gender stereotypes. She had her military operational specialty changed to Naval Control of Shipping with hopes of going to sea—something that was not possible for women at the time.

Lieutenant Orthlieb persisted, advocating that women in the Navy be included in sea training. She also raised funds for onshore accommodations, since women were not allowed to sleep aboard the ship then. Her efforts convinced her commanding officer that women could join the ships’ crew, although the stakes were high if they failed.

“We knew that if we did not perform well, we might never get the chance again,” Commodore Orthlieb explained. “The other women and I did an excellent job onboard the ship! That was the beginning—that first experience of finally getting the opportunity to go to sea.”

Breaking through this ceiling for her fellow servicewomen, she continued to a fruitful career in the Navy. She became the first woman to command HMCS Tecumseh, a Naval Reserve Division in Calgary. The height of her career included a promotion to Commodore, making her the first woman to achieve the position of Flag Officer in the Royal Canadian Navy in 1989. Despite ongoing skepticism and resistance, Orthlieb’s rise in the ranks proves the importance of gender equality.

Commodore Laraine Orthlieb retired from the CAF in 1989.

July marks the establishment of the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service, which was the starting point for women’s service in the Royal Canadian Navy.

Veteran’s story

Kareth Huber

As a newly minted 17-year-old Canadian Armed Forces Safety Systems Specialist, Kareth Huber says she felt she was exactly where she was supposed to be in her life.

Growing up, she heard stories of her uncles’ and grandfather’s service as her family moved from base-to-base with her military aircraft mechanic father.

“I was proud of being a soldier. I was always destined to be that,” she said. Read her full story.

Commemoration

He’s finally home: the entombment of the unknown Newfoundland First World War soldier

On July 1, a once-in-a-lifetime experience came to St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador. Thousands gathered in the capital city to pay their respects to the remains of an unknown Newfoundland First World War soldier: first during the official lying in state, and again when they were laid to rest in a new tomb at the National War Memorial.

These events, among others, marked the final stage of the journey of the unknown soldier to his final resting place, after the governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador, and their official delegations, travelled to France in May to repatriate the remains of an unknown Newfoundland First World War soldier.

Did he have freckles?

To bridge the gap between then and now, and to help students make a personal connection to the tomb and who might be inside, Veterans Affairs Canada developed new learning resources for the classroom. Through history and art, youth will imagine who the person in it was, where he was from, his hopes and dreams for the future.

Thunderhead monument: a symbol of resilience, determination and hope

On 1 May 2024, members of the LGBT Purge Fund celebrated the groundbreaking of “Thunderhead,” the future site of the national 2SLGBTQI+ monument, which will be the first of its kind in Canada.

The national monument will serve as a site of respect for the 2SLGBTQI+ community, and a symbol of their resilience through historic discrimination, including the LGBT Purge. During this period, from the 1950s to the mid-1990s, 2SLGBTQI+ members of the Canadian Armed Forces, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and public service were forced to leave their positions simply for being themselves.

The monument was designed as a collaboration among architecture firm Public City, artists Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, and Indigenous Two-Spirit Advocate Albert McLeod. Public City said the monument is “a testament to systemic injustices against 2SLGBTQI+ peoples perpetrated and condoned by the Canadian state, and it memorializes individuals who were lost and harmed by these actions, including the many who were impacted by the [LGBT] Purge.

In 1989, Michelle Douglas was one of many 2SLGBTQI+ service members to be impacted by the Purge. It was her legal challenge that finally ended the military’s discriminatory policies against 2SLGBTQI+ service members. Now the Executive Director of the LGBT Purge Fund, she describes Thunderhead as “a monument of resilience, determination and hope.” She says, “it is not only a monument for LGBT Purge survivors, but for every 2SLGBTQI+ person in Canada who has experienced discrimination and exclusion because of who they are, who they love and how they express themselves.”

The Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, was on site for this historic event in support of the LGBT Purge Fund. The LGBT Purge Fund is a key partner in helping VAC improve support, services and commemorative efforts for 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans, to achieve greater equity for all.

Though it will recognize past wrongs, “Thunderhead” will also serve as a symbol of hope for the future.

Visit the VAC’s Women and 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans web page to learn more about VAC’s work in this area. To learn more about “Thunderhead,” visit Public City's website.

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Commemoration calendar

July 2024

July 31: The Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service is established during Second World War, 1942

August 2024

August 2: Gulf War begins in the Middle East; Canadians later take part in the conflict, 1990

August 4: 110^th anniversary of Canada entering the First World War, 1914

August 7: Creation of the Canadian Army Special Force during the Korean War, 1950

August 8: Battle of Amiens starts; beginning of “Canada’s Hundred Days,” 1918

August 9: 50^th anniversary of the death of nine Canadian peacekeepers in the Middle East when a CAF plane was shot down; genesis of National Peacekeepers’ Day, 1974

August 13: Establishment of the Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC) during Second World War, 1941

August 15: V-J (Victory over Japan) Day; Japanese surrenders, ending the Second World War, 1945

August 15: Canadian troops launch the Battle of Hill 70 in Nord-de-Pas-de-Calais, France, 1917

August 19: Canadians come ashore in occupied France during the Dieppe Raid, 1942

August 21: 80^th anniversary of Canadians helping close the Falaise Gap, setting up the end of the Battle of Normandy, 1944

August 24: Three Canadian warships leave Halifax to serve in the Gulf War, 1990

August 26: The Second Battle of Arras begins during First World War, 1918

August 27–28: The 22nd Battalion suffers heavy losses near Chérisy, France, 1918

August 29: King George V grants the Canadian Navy permission to add the prefix “Royal,” 1911

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Engagement

Soldiers in the arts: Veterans take the stage

Artistic expression can be powerful therapy. The Roland Gossage Foundation’s Soldiers in the Arts program uses theatre and the arts to address traumatic stress and related problems experienced by Veterans and their loved ones.

Soldiers in the Arts launched in 2021 with support from the Veteran and Family Well-being Fund. The program offers participants a space to work closely with professional artists through community arts experiences, professional development and mentorship. Participants report improvements in their self-confidence and awareness, and feel motivated to support their own recovery and transition to life after service.

The Ontario-based program has held workshops in Toronto and Kingston, and hopes to expand across Canada.

Live performances have been one of the program’s highlights. Last year in Toronto, the group produced an original play, Tunnel at the End of the Light, directed and written by Jonathan Guy Lewis. Four of the eight cast members were Veterans. The group followed this show with other successful community theatre performances in November 2023.

Program coordinator Ryan Hawkyard is an actor, photographer, and Veteran who served in the Canadian Armed Forces for 20 years, including three deployments to Afghanistan. He advocates for the arts to help people, and reports that Soldiers in the Arts has been very successful in getting Veterans and their families to tap into their creativity.

With more shows scheduled for the summer of 2024, the program will continue to help Veterans and their families draw inspiration and come together in a positive and inclusive environment.

To learn more about the projects supported by the Veteran and Family Well-being Fund, please visit the Veteran Family Well-Being Fund recipients pages.