November 2023

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Women’s History Month

A “vétérane” is a “vétérane”: adopting more inclusive language

Canadian women have played significant roles in our country’s war efforts for more than a hundred years. It’s high time to drop the qualifiers and call a “vétérane,” a “vétérane.”

Earlier this year, Veterans Affairs Canada adopted a new French term in order to become a more inclusive and respectful department.

Previously, when referring to women Veterans in French, the term “femme vétéran” (woman Veteran) was used. Now, VAC is using “vétérane” to refer to a woman Veteran in French. This is in keeping with the practice of using “vétéran” in French to refer to a male or gender-neutral Veteran.

This small but meaningful language change was a result of feedback from the 2023 Women and 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans Forum, where participants discussed barriers facing these groups.

The term is now used in VAC’s internal and external communications, and it brings VAC in line with similar changes made by the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to modernize military ranks in French.

VAC is committed to fostering a more diverse and equitable environment for all Veterans and the staff who serve them. The words we use matter, and we’re proud to better represent the more than 74,000 women Veterans who have so proudly served Canada.

Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund

A safe space for women Veterans

Erin Kinsey, co-founder of the Women's Fighters Healing Garden is pictured with donkey Bert and a participant at the facility.
Women Warriors’ Healing Garden co-founder Erin Kinsey (left) with Bert the Donkey (center) and a participant.

Dr. Erin Kinsey was wounded in the Persian Gulf Conflict during her United States Air Force service. After moving to Canada, she struggled to find a community where she felt included and recognized as a woman Veteran.

Together with neuroscientist and social worker Dr. Elaine Waddington Lamont, they founded the Women Warriors’ Healing Garden (WWHG) in 2017 to fill a gap in the community. They wanted to create a space that blends holistic therapy with outdoor activities and grassroots advocacy.

WWHG is a rural oasis just outside the Ottawa city limits in Orléans. At the Garden, women Veterans come together through activities that help them build relationships and find healing in a community that highlights the needs of women, Indigenous, and 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans. At WWHG, participants engage in wellness activities like beekeeping (a form of therapy developed for First World War Veterans), art therapy, campfires, feeding chickens, or taking long walks with Bert, their donkey.

Erin and Elaine work with their staff and volunteers to offer “curated safe spaces” for diverse women Veterans to come together and build bonds with the land, the animals, and each other.

VAC commends WWHG as a recipient of the Veteran and Family Well-being Fund as they continue to foster inclusivity for women, Indigenous and 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans in a space of reconciliation, validation, and healing.

If you want to learn more and support WWHG, please visit their website.

Dr. Cyd Courchesne’s Health Corner

When you feel overwhelmed, reconnect with nature in an activity that lets you channel your energy into a positive outcome, like gardening or going for a walk.

 

Programs and services

Free mental health services through the Strongest Families Institute

Canadian Veterans and their families can now access free mental health services from anywhere in the world, thanks to Strongest Families Institute (SFI).

This award-winning charity offers bilingual support to all of Canada’s military, Veterans and their families, including those located outside of the country, through virtual coaching rooted in cognitive behavioural therapy.

With programs that address anxiety, depression, stress, behavioural challenges and more, the Strongest Families Institute helps participants enhance their well-being and quality of life without the cost, stigma, or travel requirements. This help is available to anyone who has served in the Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP, as well as their family members. This support extends to Veterans’ adult children and their families.

The organization uses evidence-based education delivered by a highly-skilled team including members of the military and Veteran community experienced in military culture. With support from VAC’s Veteran and Family Well-being Fund, SFI has expanded their mental health supports.

Programs offered to Veterans and Veteran families include:

  • Parents Empowering Kids
  • Defeat Anxiety
  • Chase Worries Away
  • ICAN Adult Anxiety and Depression

Please help spread the word so that Strongest Families Institute can continue to make positive impacts in Canada’s Veteran and military communities.

Eligible Veterans and families can sign up directly through the SFI website or by calling toll-free at 1-866-470-7111. Participants can also sign up through Military Family Resource Centres or through their primary healthcare professional.

 

Ready to reduce holiday stress? Atlas has you covered

A yellow road sign reads “Holidays ahead” and the title of the resource is given: “Coping with the holidays: Some tips for reducing stress and making your own traditions.”

How are you and your family aiming to manage the holiday season? The Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families has a great tip sheet for approaching challenges that can arise at this time of year. It is called “Coping with the holidays: Some tips for reducing stress and making your own traditions.”

It lists strategies and resources to help you and your family face holiday challenges together. These include emotional grounding techniques, special activities suited to you, a safety plan for socializing, and downtime.

It draws on the advice of Veterans, their family members, and research on best practices.

This resource will boost your preparations for the season.

 

More secure access to your benefits and services

Multi-factor authentication will add an extra layer of security when you use your GCKey to log into online Government of Canada programs and services.

Multi-factor authentication prevents anyone else from seeing your personal information, even if the account’s password has been compromised. It is one of the most effective tools for enhancing authentication security.

When signing into an existing account or creating a new one, you will be asked to register a device or email address to set up multi-factor authentication. More information will be provided when multi-factor authentication comes into effect. You don’t need to do anything right now.

The change will be made on November 28. The following VAC accounts will require the multi-factor authentication for GCKey:

  • My VAC Account
  • BHSOL—Benefits and Health Services On-Line
  • DPCA—Disability Pension Calculation
  • VFWB—Veterans and Family Well-Being Fund application.
 

Veterans’ stories

Eddy Weetaltuk: An Inuk Veteran who deserves recognition

Canadian Inuk Veteran Eddy Weetaltuk looking out of an airplane window.
Canadian Inuk Veteran Eddy Weetaltuk.

Eddy Weetaltuk was an Inuk soldier—one of the first to serve in the Canadian Army.

He joined the military at 19, and was posted to bases across the country over the next 15 years. Trained as a mortar operator, he fought overseas in the Korean War.

For years, he hid his Inuk identity from his fellow service members, going by the name Eddy Vital.

Indigenous people have a long tradition of military service—one that has long been overlooked and underappreciated.

His reminds us how much Indigenous Veterans have sacrificed to serve in uniform.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis people were often forced to overcome many challenges to serve in uniform. Just to enlist, Indigenous people had to learn a new language, adapt to cultural differences and travel great distances from their remote communities.

Their contributions are woven through every conflict and across every era: from the thousands who answered the call during the First and Second World Wars, to those who served in Afghanistan and in peace support missions around the world.

On Indigenous Veterans Day, we recognize all the Indigenous people who have proudly served Canada. We are forever grateful.

Learn more about the impressive contributions of Indigenous people to Canada’s military efforts.

 

Lieutenant (N) Gerry White: His role in Canada’s proud peacekeeping tradition
Lieutenant (N) Gerry White standing on the deck of a river patrol boat in Cambodia in 1992.

Losing his dad in a tragic mill accident on Fathers’ Day at age eight, Gerry White’s life was marked by adversity.

Three decades later, White, a former RCMP member, now a Naval Operations Officer, found himself deployed to help restore order in Cambodia.

What he witnessed still haunts him but he takes solace in the fact he was able to bring some comfort and joy to children in the aftermath of years of war.

Gerry White’s full story, and many more, can be found on our website.

Read, share and explore to recognize and remember Canada’s peacekeeping efforts around the globe.

75 years of United Nations Peacekeeping

The Canadian peacekeeping tradition is long and proud. More than 125,000 Canadian Armed Forces members have served in international peacekeeping efforts in dozens of countries around the globe.

Their stories are all unique, each having experienced their peacekeeping missions in different ways. However, they all have one thing in common: the commitment, bravery and dedication shown in some of the most hostile and heart wrenching situations gives the world hope.

 

Do you have a story to share about experience in the Canadian Armed Forces? Tell us about it by email.

 

Commemoration

The most unforgettable day of the year

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. It’s an unforgettable day ingrained in the minds of many Canadians.

It’s a time to honour and recognize the Canadian Armed Forces members, RCMP and Veterans who have served Canada, and remember those who gave their lives for our country.

During Veterans’ Week, we encourage you to take an active role in remembrance:

Lest we forget.

 

Commemoration calendar

November 2:
Canadian navy began anti-terrorism duties in Arabian Sea, 2001
November 3:
Liberation of Belgium, 1944
November 5-11:
Veterans’ Week
November 8:
Indigenous Veterans Day
November 10:
Battle of Passchendaele ended during First World War, 1917
November 11:
Remembrance Day and 105th anniversary of the end of First World War, 1918
November 21:
17 Canadian soldiers died in BC train crash en route for service in Korean War, 1950
November 23-25:
Royal 22e Régiment saw heavy action near Hill 355 during Korean War, 1951
November 24:
First Canadian peacekeepers arrived for UNEF mission in Egypt, 1956
Early December:
First Canadian soldiers arrived in Afghanistan, 2001
December 6:
Halifax Explosion, 1917
December 8:
Defence of Hong Kong began, 1941
December 8:
“In Flanders Fields” published, 1915
December 10:
UN peacekeeping forces awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on its 30th anniversary, 1988
December 17:
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan established, 1939
December 18:
Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry soldiers arrived in Korea, 1950
December 21:
Canadians began fighting in Ortona, 1943
December 25:
Canadians forced to surrender in Hong Kong, 1941
 

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.

 

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