In this edition:
- Programs and services
- Veteran voices on chronic pain: New video and upcoming webinar
- Connect this summer: Seasonal workshops and Peer Support Groups
- May is Mental Health Month
- Giving a voice to the Veteran and family community, one story at a time
- Free help with VAC forms
- Engagement
- Peggy Harris: Keeping the peace
- Dennis Mackenzie: Honouring lost friends
- Commemoration
- The Danger Tree: A century-old symbol of remembrance
- Explore new commemorative learning resources
- Commemoration calendar
Programs and services
Veteran voices on chronic pain: New video and upcoming webinar
For many Veterans, chronic pain is more than physical. It can shape thoughts, strain relationships and impact daily life in ways that are often unseen and misunderstood.
The Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans (CPCoE) has a new video that uses real Veteran voices. It sheds light on the realities of living with chronic pain, the challenges of being unheard and the lasting influence of military culture. It also highlights moments of strength, connection and the path toward support. Please watch and share this video with your network.
The Chronic Pain Centre also invites you to join a live webinar on 17 June 2026 at 12:00 p.m. ET. The webinar will share key insights from a national roundtable that brought together experts in women’s health, chronic pain and Veteran care.
Despite growing awareness, chronic pain in women remains under-recognized, under-researched and often under-treated, impacting both women Veterans and civilians.
Learn more at the CPCoE events page.
Connect this summer: Seasonal workshops and Peer Support Groups
Slow down, connect and spend time with others this summer. The Defence Community Support and Resource Centre (DCSRC), formerly the Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre, is offering the following seasonal programming in partnership with Veterans Affairs Canada:
What is peer support? Info Session
Learn more about DCSRC programs, services and upcoming activities in a one-hour info session on 17 June at 12:00 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. ET in the language of your choice. No need to register, just click on the MS Teams link at the appropriate time.
Learning together Peer support group
Take part in structured learning and peer-led discussion on topics related to sexual misconduct. It runs for eight sessions starting in June.
Earth rhythm meditation and writing
Reconnect with yourself and your environment through guided meditation and reflective writing. No writing experience needed.
Sessions: 25 June (6:00–7:30 p.m. ET) and 23 September (6:00–7:30 p.m. ET)
Yoga flow for beginners
An easy and supportive introduction to yoga flow, practiced on a mat. Sessions begin in July.
For more information or to sign-up, please email the DCSRC.
The DCSRC provides accessible, trauma-informed support for people affected by sexual misconduct during service, in the workplace, or in a military environment. For confidential support, contact their helpline toll-free at 1-844-750-1648; available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
May is Mental Health Month
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. This Mental Health Month we ask you to remember that mental health challenges can affect anyone, including Veterans, former RCMP members, families, caregivers and those who support them every day.
Finding the support you need is an act of strength. Whether someone is looking for counselling, peer support, resources for operational stress injuries, or tools to support overall wellbeing, programs and services are available.
Mental Health Month also reminds us of the importance of checking in with one another, reducing stigma and encouraging open conversations. Small acts of compassion and support can make a meaningful difference.
Giving a voice to the Veteran and family community, one story at a time
Digital storytelling is a powerful way to connect, reflect and learn—especially when it includes the voices of Veterans and families. These stories open the door to understanding experiences that often go unseen, creating space for empathy, conversation and shared insight.
The Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families invites you to a free screening on Thursday, 25 June 2026 to explore a new series of digital stories created with and told by Veterans and Veteran family members. The people in these stories courageously trace their journeys of reclaiming identity, reshaping pain into purpose and moving beyond silence by embracing the strength of community.
From left to right: Colin, Connie, Danielle, Marissa, Mike, Paige
This event will include a screening of six short videos and the opportunity to ask questions with the featured storytellers, while offering you the chance to reflect on what might ring true with you about your own journey.
Being part of a powerful conversation on how healing—through awareness, support and community—can turn into a lifelong journey of rediscovery and transformation. Register for the digital stories screening today.
Free help with VAC forms
We are here to help you. Call us toll-free at 1-866-522-2122 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 pm local time). Send us a My VAC Account secure message.
Need a My VAC Account? Register today. Request an in-person appointment using our online booking form or by calling 1-866-522-2122.
Please note that our service locations offer in-person services by appointment only. Our staff at any Transition Centre can also assist you.
Service Canada officers at locations across the country can guide you and answer questions about VAC benefits and services.
If you’re applying for any Disability benefits or need to appeal a previous decision, security cleared Dominion and Provincial Command Service Officers with the Royal Canadian Legion can also assist you with your application, including helping you get all of the information you need to support your application. The assistance is free of charge.
Engagement
Peggy Harris: Keeping the peace
In 2018, Corporal Peggy Harris was deployed to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. This experience changed the path of her career.
The Winnipeg woman was part of a multinational group tasked with keeping the peace between Egypt and Israel. After years of fast-paced operations, her time in Egypt felt calmer.
“You could feel the long-term impact of what you were contributing to,” she said.
“Being part of something with that kind of long-term impact gave the deployment a real sense of purpose.”
She arrived during the final rotation.
Day to day, her work focused on policing, security, traffic control and investigations within the camps and surrounding areas.
Her fondest memories weren’t of the job, but the people she was working with.
Dennis Mackenzie: Honouring lost friends
Corporal (Retired) Dennis Mackenzie lost 10 friends while serving in Afghanistan. Since then, he has lost many more to suicide.
He is now on a mission to raise the veil of secrecy surrounding the topic so that those soldiers are also honoured and remembered for their service.
His guitar gently weeps.
With each strum, Mackenzie channels friends he’s lost both on the battlefields in Afghanistan, and to the post-war anguish that led them to take their own lives.
The former infantry soldier with the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment in Gagetown, New Brunswick, says he lost 10 friends in Afghanistan; including his roommates (Cpl Chris Stannix, Cpl Aaron Williams and Cpl Brent Poland) who were killed on Easter Sunday, 2007. Mackenzie says he named his son Slade after Pte David Robert Greenslade who was also killed that terrible day.
Mackenzie was released from the military in 2013. Post-service, he says the invisible scars of war have taken the lives of more of his friends.
On the back of his Taylor six-string guitar, 80 names are etched on layered walnut—all soldiers lost to suicide.
Commemoration
The Danger Tree: A century-old symbol of remembrance
The Danger Tree replica. Photo: Memorial University of Newfoundland
For more than a century, the Danger Tree has stood as a powerful symbol of courage, service and loss from the First World War, particularly the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel.
On 1 July 1916, the first day of the larger Battle of the Somme, the Newfoundland Regiment suffered devastating casualties on the Beaumont-Hamel battlefield. In less than an hour, nearly 90 percent of the regiment were killed or wounded, many near the foot of the Danger Tree, which became a lasting marker of that day.
Over time, the original Danger Tree deteriorated and has been replaced several times. Each replacement reflected an ongoing commitment to remembering those who fought and died at Beaumont-Hamel, the Somme and throughout the war.
As a living memorial to mark Memorial University of Newfoundland’s 100th anniversary, and ahead of the 110th anniversaries of the Battles of the Somme and Beaumont-Hamel, Veterans Affairs Canada and Memorial University collaborated to create a historically accurate replica of the Danger Tree.
The replica was presented at a ceremony earlier this month, before being transported by the Canadian Armed Forces from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador to France, where it will be permanently installed at the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial as a lasting tribute to the lives lost and sacrifices made during the First World War.
New commemorative learning resources
The end of the school year is getting closer, but learning at any age never stops. A new collection of learning materials is available to support learning about remembrance and Veteran recognition, including resources about:
National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan
On May 4, a groundbreaking ceremony began the construction phase of the National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan in Ottawa. We invite you to watch this video to learn about the meaning behind this powerful new memorial.
June is National Indigenous History Month
First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people have a long and proud tradition of military service to Canada. This legacy of service is a testament to their deep-rooted connection to the land and their communities. As June approaches, explore their voices, share their stories and honour their experiences in uniform.
Check out our Indigenous learning resources.
Learn about inspiring stories of people and events from across Canada’s military history. Discover many innovative learning tools and activities to help you.
Commemoration calendar
June
June 1: The Royal Military College of Canada opens in Kingston, Ontario (1876)
June 2-13: Battle of Mont Sorrel, the Canadian Corps retakes Hill 62 and Sanctuary Wood (1916)
June 6: D-Day, Allies successfully land in Normandy (1944)
June 7: Dedication of the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial in France (1925)
June 12-13: RCAF bombers attack the Schwerte freight yards, their first raid in Germany (1941)
June 11-14: Canadian observers arrive in the Middle East to participate with the United Nations Truce Supervisory Organization (UNTSO) (1954)
June 14: Newfoundland Escort Force ships begin escorting convoys in North Atlantic Ocean (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.