In this edition:
- News
- Introducing the Invictus Games Team Canada 2023
- New Letter of Understanding between Assembly of First Nations and Veterans Affairs Canada advances reconciliation
- Organizations receive funding through the Veteran and Family Well-being Fund
- Programs and services
- You need to complete your transfer to Canada Life health insurance plan before July 1
- Grieving someone who is alive: Veterans and family members from the Atlas Institute discuss
- Veterans’ stories
- Regaining balance: Jerry Rideout
- Commemoration
- Canada remembers peacekeeping in Cambodia
- Canada remembers D-Day
- Commemoration calendar
- Engagement
- Building a more inclusive future for all: GBA Plus
- Community engagement funding up to $25,000 now available
News
Introducing the Invictus Games Team Canada 2023
On 17 May 2023, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Soldier On announced Team Canada, introducing the competitors who will be representing our country in Germany this September during the 2023 Invictus Games.
Be sure to keep a close eye on our social media channels (along with Soldier On) as we approach the 2023 Invictus Games in Düsseldorf, Germany. We look forward to sharing their stories and introducing you to these amazing competitors in the coming months.
More to come from Germany later this year – and we can’t wait to welcome competitors from around the world to Canada in 2025 as it will be our turn to host the Invictus Games!
Go Canada Go!
New Letter of Understanding between Assembly of First Nations and Veterans Affairs Canada advances reconciliation
A new Letter of Understanding signed by the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and Veterans Affairs Canada took another step toward reconciliation between Canada and the Indigenous Peoples of this land.
Signed on 12 April 2023, the letter outlines a number of priorities, including:
- assessing and expanding outreach activities to First Nations Veterans and their families
- establishing clear points of contact for First Nations Veterans to the Department
- increasing Indigenous programming in commemoration activities, and
- supporting the establishment of a historical record of First Nations Veterans and soldiers who have served in times of war, military conflict and peace, including those undocumented by Canada.
The Department has staffed an Indigenous Veterans team to work with representatives from the Assembly of First Nation Veterans Council to achieve these goals.
The spirit and principles contained within the Letter of Understanding with the AFN reflect the spirit and principles we apply in our work with all First Nation, Métis, and Inuit organizations and communities.
Stay tuned for future updates!
Organizations receive funding through the Veteran and Family Well-being Fund
In May, 21 organizations learned that they will receive funding from the Veteran and Family Well-being Fund (VFWF).
Between 2018 and 2023, VAC has issued five calls for applications to the VFWF, resulting in $42.6M in funding awarded to 77 organizations to implement 123 initiatives. The VFWF provides funding to private, public and academic organizations striving to improve the lives of Veterans and their families through innovative projects, initiatives and research.
This year’s projects will help Veterans in a wide variety of ways, including addressing homelessness, retraining, employment, mental health, and research, along with supporting women, Indigenous and 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans as well as their families.
We will feature stories about these organizations and the work they do in the months ahead. In the meantime, you can learn more about them by consulting the full list of recipients.
Programs and services
You need to complete your transfer to Canada Life health insurance plan before July 1
Are you a Veteran or survivor with Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) coverage? It is very important that you complete your positive enrolment with Canada Life to ensure your benefits continue uninterrupted.
As of 1 July 2023, the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) administrator will change from Sun Life to Canada Life.
If you are a Veteran or survivor with Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) coverage through VAC, you should have received an enrolment package from Canada Life containing forms for completion.
You must return your forms using the postage paid return envelope by 15 June 2023 to avoid coverage termination and claims payment interruptions.
If you have not received a package, or if you have any questions, contact Canada Life by email, or call 1-855-415-4414.
Keep your personal information up to date
To ensure a seamless transition, please keep your personal information up to date with both Sun Life and Canada Life until 30 June 2023.
To do this, visit Sun Life PSHCP Members Services and select updating your positive enrolment information, or call the Sun Life Call Centre at 1-888-757-7427.
Please note that the change will not impact the benefits available to members and their families, nor the Public Service Health Care Plan premiums.
For more information, visit Canada Life PSHCP or call 1-855-415-4414.
Grieving someone who is alive: Veterans and family members from the Atlas Institute discuss
Veteran Brian McKenna asks a poignant question: “How can I have led 34 folks in a foreign country, and now, I can’t go to Costco?” He is cohost of The Mind Beyond the Mission podcast from the Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families, exploring grief in episode 5.
The discussion covers how grief is not always linked to a death. We can also grieve the loss of someone who is still alive and who has changed. Grief is something we can have even for ourselves—for who we were, compared to who we are now.
Brian and cohost Laryssa Lamrock are joined by Polliann Maher, the Lived Expertise Lead for Families with the Atlas Institute. Laryssa and Polly talk about their experience of grief as family members and Brian looks back on who he was as a member of the military. Their moving exchange on what they miss about themselves and their loved ones helps us understand the many ways loss can affect us. The trio reflects on how processing these complex emotions helps them build the strength to thrive.
To listen, look for The Mind Beyond the Mission podcast in your favourite listening app, or via the Atlas Institute website: Episode 5: "Grieving the loss of someone who’s alive."
Veteran’s story
Regaining balance
Advancements in prosthetic technology has improved quality of life for Veterans living with amputations. Veteran Jerry Rideout’s favourite leg—built by Moncton Prosthetist Kirsten Simonsen—allows him to enjoy his morning shower.
Canadian Armed Forces Veteran Jerry Rideout served 30 years stationed across the country. He loved his military career, but a foot injury during his second peacekeeping tour in the Golan Heights in 2000 led to the loss of his right leg, and eventually, his medical release.
Do you have a story to share about experience in the Canadian Armed Forces? Tell us about it by email.
Commemoration
Canada remembers peacekeeping in Cambodia
This month, Veterans Affairs’ Heroes Remember proudly features the stories of Tony Beresford and Bettina Fuchs, who both served in Cambodia.
More than a thousand members of the Canadian Armed Forces took part in efforts by the United Nations and other international community to try to stabilize and rebuild Cambodia between 1954 and 2000.
Cambodia became an independent country after the end of French colonial rule in 1953. Conflict ensued in the Southeast Asian country as communist and non-communist groups fought for control. Violence from the Vietnam War also spilled over its borders. The murderous Khmer Rouge regime ruled in the late 1970s, causing great turmoil.
Learn more about the role of the Canadian Armed Forces in Cambodia on our CAF Operations Remembrance webpage.
Canada remembers D-Day
Every year on June 6, we remember the brave Canadians who fought on D-Day and in the Battle of Normandy.
Seventy-nine years ago, some 14,000 Canadian soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy during the Second World War. The D-Day landings marked a turning point in the conflict: the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe.
Canadian aviators were among the first into action, as they flew as a part of the 171 Allied squadrons that attacked that day. The Royal Canadian Navy provided 109 vessels and 10,000 sailors to the massive armada of 7,000 Allied vessels which went to sea on D-Day.
To help D-Day be a success, 359 Canadians gave their lives. Another 574 were wounded and 47 taken prisoner.
We remember them.
Commemoration calendar
- June 1-30:
- National Indigenous History Month
- June 2:
- Battle of Mont Sorrel began in Belgium, 1916
- June 6:
- D-Day and the beginning of the Battle of Normandy, 1944
- June 15:
- Large contingent of Canadian peacekeepers left Cyprus, 1993
- June 25:
- The Korean War began, 1950
- June 27:
- Sinking of the Llandovery Castle hospital ship with loss of 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters, 1918
- July 1:
- The Battle of the Somme began in France, 1916
- July 1:
- The Newfoundland Regiment decimated in the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel, 1916
- July 7:
- Canada’s combat mission in Afghanistan ended, 2011
- July 8:
- 100th anniversary of the dedication of the St. Julien Canadian Memorial, 1923
- July 9-10:
- Caen liberated during the Battle of Normandy, 1944
- July 10:
- 80th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Sicily, 1943
- July 17:
- Operation Athena began in Afghanistan, 2003
- July 27:
- 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, 1953
Engagement
Building a more inclusive future for all: GBA Plus
All Veterans deserve equitable access to programs and services. That’s why we use Gender-based Analysis (GBA) Plus in the design, development, and review of our policies, programs and services for Veterans. We want all Veterans to see themselves reflected in our priorities and our work.
All Veterans deserve fair and equal treatment. GBA Plus is a tool used by the Government of Canada to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people may experience policies, programs and initiatives. It helps Veterans Affairs Canada and other departments develop more inclusive and responsive policies, programs and services.
Federal organizations and public servants celebrated GBA Plus Awareness Week, May 8 to 12. The annual awareness week, hosted by Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE), promotes the importance of GBA Plus and encourages public servants to learn more about its relevance to their work.
GBA Plus at Veterans Affairs Canada
VAC is developing a new departmental GBA Plus Policy founded on our GBA Plus Strategy to help employees better understand and use GBA Plus in their work. The Policy outlines VAC’s commitment to integrating GBA Plus into every aspect of our work.
To learn more about GBA Plus at VAC, visit VAC’s Gender-based Analysis Plus web pages.
Community engagement funding up to $25,000 now available
Is your organization planning to honour Canada’s Veterans? The Commemorative Partnership Program (CPP) can help.
The CPP supports projects that honour those who have served our country. Up to $25,000 is now available for organizations undertaking a commemorative initiative that recognizes and commemorates at least one of the following groups:
- modern Veterans
- women Veterans
- Indigenous Veterans
- racialized Veterans
- 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans
Canadian Armed Forces Veterans who have served our country in domestic operations such as wildfires, ice storms and floods.
Community Engagement funding supports initiatives that engage Canadians in remembrance, such as remembrance activities or the development of commemorative resources.
Applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until 30 June 2023. Projects must be completed this fiscal year, ending 31 March 2024. Processing your application and making a decision may take up to three months. You will be notified when a decision is made.
Applications for Community Engagement funding of $5,000 or less are accepted year-round. Please consult our website for more information!
Applying is easier than ever
You can now apply online through Veterans Affairs Canada’s new online application portal.
If your organization has a plan to commemorate Canada’s Veterans, check out this funding opportunity now.
Do you know other Veterans, family members or others who would benefit from the information in this newsletter? Feel free to share it with them.