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Record of discussion - 2 February 2023

Thursday, February 2, 2023
12:00-14:30 (ET)

Advisory group on families members

  • Colonel (Retired) Telah Morrison (Co-Chair)
  • Jenny Migneault
  • Laryssa Lamrock
  • Laurie Ogilvie, Military Family Services
  • Lieutenant (Retired) Robert Bell
  • Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Steven Deschamps
  • Lieutenant Commander (Retired) Charls Gendron, Royal Canadian Legion
  • Namita Joshi, True Patriot Love Foundation
  • Nora Spinks
  • Tamara Kleinschmidt, Trenton Military Family Resource Centre
  • Yvonne Watson

Regrets

  • Superintendent (Retired) Dave LeBlanc, RCMP Veterans Association

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)
  • Karen Rose, Senior Analyst, Events and Engagement Directorate
  • Samuel Duguay, Project Officer, Events and Engagement Directorate

Presenters

  • Nathan Svenson, Director, Research, Policy and Research Division
  • Teresa Pound, Manager, Data and Analytics, Policy and Research Division
  • Jacinta Keough, Senior Project Officer, Policy and Research Division

Observer

  • Joanne Ghiz, Office of the Veterans Ombudsperson

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.

Follow-ups from previous meeting

  • The VAC Co-Chair referenced Record of Discussion (ROD) from the October meeting, that was distributed with the agenda and available on the VAC website, and whether there were additions or items to further discuss.
  • A member emphasized the need for the group to review the challenges for Veterans accessing emergency services or with complex health care needs. Hospitals are overwhelmed and are sending Veterans in need home.
    • The VAC Co-Chair committed to sharing this concern with the Policy team and adding it as an on-going discussion item.
  • A member reinforced the need to keep sight of the request to have families receive their own identifier and access to VAC Account.  Further discussion included reference to a Veteran passport or wallet which would include family members.

Presentation - Veteran data from the 2021 census

The Director of Research with the Policy and Research Division presented on Veteran Data from the 2021 Census The presentation covered new content in Census 2021, what the census showed for Veterans, and how the census data supports enhanced well-being measurement for Canadian Veterans. The discussion included:

  • The statistics around children in the Portrait of Canada’s families slide and possible reasons why Veterans vary from the general population. For example 41.8% of couples families (married or common-law) are without children compared with 61% of Veterans (married or common-law), while 41.8% of couples families have children compare with 32.9% of Veterans.
    • Points raised included that possible reasons for fewer children among Veteran families may be the impact of military lifestyle with the many postings and deployments, as well as the lack of financial stability and security, and military women choosing to have children later and then sometimes it is too late. Members were interested in investigating to have a  better understanding of the reasons behind these statistics. Members talked about the need for qualitative data that would include consulting those with lived experience in order to understand and determine if there are specific needs to address. It was confirmed that the analysis as to the why is not currently available.
    • It was acknowledged that the data reflects family households and would not have included children that are older and live outside of the home on their own. 
    • A request was made to add statistics for still-serving members for comparison.
  • Interest was expressed in understanding the research done by Military Family Services and linkages with statistics on still-serving members and data on families. An infographic from a 2017 study was shared with the members.
  • VAC’s forecasted number of Veterans in Canada is higher than the Census 2021 data and it was asked whether this reduced number could impact funding for programs such as the Caregiver Recognition Benefit. It was explained these statistics would not impact program funding and that VAC was working with Statistics Canada on how to validate these statistics and the methodology used.
  • A question was asked if the data from the Census will be made public and it was clarified that the data had not been published, but it is accessible to the public upon request.
  • Next steps, included using Census responses as a base for collecting additional data through future national surveys, such as the Canadian Survey on Disability, the Indigenous Peoples Survey, and the Canadian Veteran Health Survey to build a more complete understanding of the full Veteran population.
  • Members were invited to reach out to Research with questions or feedback which  will be considered for incorporation into their priority list of information to request from Statistics Canada.
  • There was a general consensus that these statistics are useful and that group needs to explore programs and services and what can be implemented to better support families.

Expectations and priorities

The Co-chairs set the stage to discuss priorities to shape an agenda for a future meeting. Points raised included:

  • Health care as a priority including the fact that Veterans often have long waits to meet with practitioners for any specialized services/care.
  • It was reinforced that the groups need to be explicit in breaking down the components of health care and how they impact various genders.
  • Other key areas for ongoing discussion to included: Mental health, VIP for survivors, psycho-educational knowledge of mental health and resources for families.
  • Consider the needs of families of non-medically releasing members, as support services are available for families of medically releasing Veterans, but services for a non-medical release are lacking.
  • The need to gather data on the situations of families and caregivers as many lack knowledge on the benefits and services available to them and need to be made aware of the benefits they can access.
  • Reasons as to why many caregivers are denied when they apply for caregiver benefits. There is also the fact that children serve as caregivers and should be able to access the caregiver benefit.
  • That the group investigate families experiencing addictions or substance abuse disorder as there is a lack of data and support in this area.
  • Importance of the quality of life framework in particular in regard to social integration.
  • Consistency and understanding of mental health terminology in view of a holistic approach.
  • Questions arose regarding the awareness of medical practitioners on OSI, PTSD and veteran care in general. The VAC co-chair referenced work done with the College of Physicians – Best advice caring for Veterans: Best Advice Guide (patientsmedicalhome.ca)
  • That current resources and benefits be reviewed and as to how they can be revamped or updated rather than completely reinvented. This includes an understanding of what has been supported through the Veteran and Family well being fund from a family lens.
  • Other advisory groups need to be encouraged to consider a family lens when exploring their respective areas of focus.

Next steps and closing remarks

  • The member Co-Chair provided a summary of key themes and areas of focus, including health care as it relates to families and caregivers, access to the Caregiver Recognition Benefit and the Veterans Independence Program.
  • The VAC Co-Chair confirmed that information on the usage of the Caregiver Recognition Benefit and Veteran Family Program would be forwarded when available.
  • 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.
  • The VAC Co-Chair confirmed that the Department is still working on a collaborative platform for advisory group members to participate in ongoing discussions and members are encouraged to continue using email.
  • The Co-Chairs shared the plan to host a face-to-face meeting sometime in April and committed to follow-up with members to find an optimal date for members.
  • The Co-Chairs thanked members for their participation.
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