September 2026
VAC's monthly digital newsletterPrograms and services
Giving a voice to the Veteran and Family community, one story at a time
Digital storytelling is a powerful tool, especially when it includes the voices of Veterans and their families. Their stories help us to understand experiences that can often go unseen. Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families invites you to a free screening on Thursday, 17 September 2026, of a new series of digital stories created with and told by Veterans and Veteran family members, who bravely trace their own journeys of reclaiming their identities.
Among them are two couples who shared their experiences from both perspectives, offering a unique look at how service, trauma, resilience and growth can be experienced differently—and together—within the same family.
This event will include the opportunity to ask questions to the featured storytellers. Be part of a powerful conversation on how healing—through awareness, support and community—can evolve into a lifelong journey of rediscovery and transformation. Register for the digital stories screening today.
25 years of operational stress injury peer support
On September 16, the Operational Stress Injury Social Support (OSISS) program will celebrate its 25th anniversary. A partnership between Veterans Affairs Canada and the Department of National Defence, the program provides free, confidential peer support to Veterans, Canadian Armed Forces members and their families who are living with operational stress injuries (OSIs).
Read more about the OSISS 25th anniversary
What makes it unique is its peer-support model. Everyone providing support has faced similar challenges themselves. They understand what recovery can look like and offer support without judgment.
For 25 years, the Operational Stress Injury Social Support program has helped thousands of people across Canada to feel less alone, find hope, and connect with the services and resources they need. As the program marks this milestone, we recognize the peers, volunteers, and families who have helped build this trusted community of support.
Learn more about OSISS, including how to contact a Peer Support Coordinator or Family Peer Support Coordinator.
If you need immediate mental health support, call the VAC Assistance Service anytime at 1-800-268-7708 or use the online chat to set up an appointment. The service provides free, short-term psychological support with a mental health professional. You do not need to be a VAC client to access this service.
New toolkit supports Veteran engagement in research
The Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans (CPCoE) has launched a new Veteran Engagement in Research Toolkit. Developed with Veterans, the toolkit responds to consultations held with Veterans, families, researchers, clinicians and community partners. It aims to support respectful collaboration and will help to ensure the experiences of Veterans living with chronic pain are included in research projects.
Read more about this new toolkit
The toolkit includes:
- Guiding principles and best practices
- Access to new educational modules on Veteran engagement in research
- Access to a new national database to connect Veterans and researchers
- Conversation frameworks, checklists and communication guidance
- Recommendations for compensation and acknowledgement
- Practical tools and downloadable resources to support partnership
Download the toolkit today. You can also watch CPCoE’s new promotional video and join the promotional campaign across all CPCoE social media platforms, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). If you have questions about this new resource, you can send an email.
Explore new peer support activities this fall
This fall, the Defence Community Support and Resource Centre, in partnership with VAC, is offering activities through its Peer Support Program. Open to members of the Defence community who have been affected by sexual misconduct, they provide an opportunity to connect with others, share experiences and learn coping strategies.
Read more about these activities
Fall activities include:
- Earth rhythm meditation and writing: This seasonal workshop combines guided meditation with simple writing activities to help participants slow down, reconnect with themselves and their surroundings and focus on the present moment. No writing experience is needed.
- English: September 23, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. (ET) | French: September 24, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. (ET). Register before September 18, 2026.
- Zentangle® - Creative coping: This 90-minute virtual workshop uses simple, repetitive drawing patterns to support mindfulness, relaxation and focus. No art experience is needed. All you need is paper and a pen.
- English: October 8, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. (ET) | French: October 9, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. (ET). Register before October 2, 2026.
Sessions are held virtually on Microsoft Teams, in both official languages, and are open to all. Find more information on these activities.
To sign up, please send an email.
Ketamine research study for Veterans living with chronic pain, PTSD, or both
Researchers at Queen's University are looking for Veterans aged 18 to 65 who are living with chronic pain, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or both to participate in a study about ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and mindfulness therapy.
Read more about this study
You must be able to attend appointments at Providence Care Hospital in Kingston, Ontario, including:
- One in-person medical assessment to determine whether the treatment is safe for you
- Four ketamine infusion sessions, if assigned to the treatment group
You will also be asked to:
- Complete five mandatory virtual follow-up visits and questionnaires
- Participate in an eight-week online mindfulness therapy program, if included as part of your treatment
You will receive gift cards to help offset travel and parking costs associated with inperson visits. For more information or to express interest in participating, you can send an email.
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.
Read more about help with your VAC forms
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
Unveiling the Thunderhead 2SLGBTQI+ National Memorial
On August 21, the Thunderhead 2SLGBTQI+ National Memorial was unveiled in Ottawa, where hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the resilience of all queer and trans communities across Canada. Representatives of the LGBT Purge Fund delivered remarks.
The memorial recognizes the harm experienced by members of 2SLGBTQI+ communities. This includes those affected by the LGBT Purge—the time between the 1950s and mid-1990s where 2SLGBQTI+ members of the CAF, RCMP and public service faced discrimination. Many were fired from their work and service simply for being themselves.
The memorial also serves as a place to educate, commemorate, celebrate, and inspire inclusion. By learning from the past, we can help build a more inclusive future for all Veterans.
Highlighting 2SLGBTQI+ Veteran organization work
We are proud to partner with organizations like Rainbow Veterans of Canada and the LGBT Purge Fund to strengthen relationships, learn from lived experiences, and support recognition for all Veterans, including those who were historically discriminated against.
This Pride Season, we are highlighting some important projects being led or supported by our partners. Together, these initiatives help preserve history, honour LGBT Purge survivors and ensure all Veterans are equally recognized and respected.
Read more about Pride Season projects
- In May, Veterans, survivors, community partners, and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members gathered at CFB Borden for the unveiling of the Serving with Pride monument, which honours those affected by the LGBT Purge.
- In June, Canadian LGBT Purge survivors attended the unveiling of the UK LGBT+ Armed Forces Community Memorial. They laid a wreath on behalf of Canadian 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans and took part in discussions on reconciliation and international collaboration.
- Public awareness efforts also continue through the Love in a Dangerous Time: Canada’s LGBT Purge exhibition at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which was extended to January 1, 2027, and the documentary The Fruit Machine, available for personal viewing through the LGBT Purge Fund website.
To learn more about the history and contributions of 2SLGBTQI+ people in uniform, visit VAC's Pride in service feature.
110 years later: Honouring the legacy of No. 2 Construction Battalion
"More than a century ago, hundreds of Black men volunteered to serve Canada in wartime. Many were told they were not wanted. Yet they served anyway."
On 5 July 2026, Canadians marked the 110th anniversary of No. 2 Construction Battalion, a unit whose story reflects both the courage of Black Canadians and the realities of racism and exclusion in Canada's military history.
Read more about the No. 2 Construction Battalion
Formed in Pictou, Nova Scotia, on 5 July 1916, No. 2 Construction Battalion was the largest segregated Black unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. When war broke out in 1914, many Black Canadians volunteered to serve but were turned away because of the colour of their skin. Following sustained advocacy from Black communities, the government authorized a separate unit, allowing Black men to serve, but through segregation rather than inclusion.
More than 600 Black men from Canada, the United States and the British West Indies enlisted. Deployed to France in 1917, they supported the war effort through forestry, construction and engineering work that was essential to military operations on the Western Front. Although denied combat roles, their contributions were indispensable.
For decades, their service remained largely overlooked. Recognition began to grow through the efforts of descendants, historians, and community advocates. In 2022, the Government of Canada formally apologized to descendants and families for the anti-Black racism and discrimination Battalion members experienced. In 2025, the Canadian Armed Forces also issued an apology to racialized service members who experienced systemic racism during their military service.
As we mark this anniversary, we honour the resilience, determination and service of the men of No. 2 Construction Battalion. Their legacy reminds us that remembrance must be inclusive and that the pursuit of equality, recognition and belonging remains an ongoing responsibility for all Canadians.
Veterans’ stories
Patti Gray: Fulfillment in life after service
Patti Gray loved her job in the Air Force, and she was very good at it too. She exceeded expectations, earned praise, and looked forward to a long, successful career—until the bigotry of the LGBT purge derailed her plans, forced her out of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and left her unemployed during a recession.
Michelle Backhouse: Sharing her story
After decades of hiding part of herself, Michelle Backhouse is sharing her story to help others know they are not alone. Backhouse knew she was different since she was nine years old. But she spent decades hiding that part of herself from family, friends and colleagues.
“At that point in my career, in my life, I did not know my full truth.”
Commemoration
Remembering Beaumont-Hamel more than a century later
This summer marked an important anniversary in our military history—110 years since the Battles of the Somme and Beaumont-Hamel.
At Beaumont-Hamel, more than a century later, we remember not only a moment in history, but the enduring legacy of courage and sacrifice that continues to shape Canada today.
Browse the photo gallery below to explore highlights from the commemorative events held overseas.
- Event photo 1
- Event photo 2
- Event photo 3
- Event photo 4
- Event photo 5
- Event photo 6
- Event photo 7
- Event photo 8
- Event photo 9
- Event photo 10
- Event photo 11
Learn more about the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel.
Lest we forget.
The Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation: Recognizing dedicated volunteers
This summer, 19 volunteers from communities across Canada and beyond received the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation for their outstanding service to Canadian Veterans. These individuals all have one thing in common—they have gone above and beyond for those who served Canada.
Image two: Robert Merrick (left) and Francis Aranha (right) in Calgary, Alberta, August 2026.
Image three: Christie Lynne Strazza (left) and Minister McKnight (right) in Edmonton, Alberta, August 2026.
Volunteers play an important role in commemorating and supporting Veterans and they make a real difference in the lives of Veterans and their families. As we look ahead to the fall, and in the lead up to Veterans’ Week, we encourage you to nominate someone who has impacted the lives of Canadian Veterans for the Commendation. Help to recognize someone whose commitment and volunteer service support and honour Veterans, their families and their communities.
Support meaningful remembrance in your community and classroom
You can help your students learn about the contributions and experiences of Canada’s Veterans with free bilingual educational resources. Our learning materials, lesson plans, videos and activities support meaningful learning and remembrance for students of all ages. Explore the full collection of resources. Printed Veterans’ Week materials are also available free of charge each fall. Order now to receive your materials in time for Veterans’ Week and Remembrance Day activities.
Left: Julissa, student researcher for Black Canadian Veterans Stories and The Toronto Ward Museum, holding a printout of pictures of fallen Black Canadian soldiers. Photo courtesy of Black Canadian Veterans Stories.
Funding available for commemorative projects
If your organization is developing educational resources, planning a Veterans’ Week activity or leading a remembrance project, funding may be available through the Commemorative Partnership Program.
Together, we can ensure the stories, contributions and sacrifices of Canada’s Veterans continue to be shared and remembered. Veterans’ Week takes place each year in the days leading up to Remembrance Day on November 11. It is a time for us all to honour the service and sacrifices of Canada’s Veterans and remember those who gave their lives in service to our country
Share your story with The Memory Project
The Memory Project is looking for Veterans and Canadian Armed Forces members to volunteer as speakers and share their stories of service. Bring history to life by sharing your military experiences with students and others in your community. Memory Project volunteers have served here at home, in Korea, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Latvia—just to name a few places!
Your story matters. We can help you share it. Learn more and sign up to become a speaker.
National Peacekeepers’ Day
Last month, just like every August since 2008, Canadians recognized National Peacekeepers’ Day on the Sunday closest to August 9. For it was on that date, on 9 August 1974, that nine Canadian peacekeepers were killed when their United Nations-marked Canadian transport aircraft was shot down in the Middle East. This was the largest single-day loss of Canadian Armed Forces personnel in a peace-support operation.
This year, Veterans Affairs Canada, along with the Canadian Association of Veterans in United Nations Peacekeeping and the Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association, held a ceremony at Reconciliation: The Peacekeeping Monument, in Ottawa, Ontario.
The ceremony paid tribute to the more than 125,000 Canadian Armed Forces members and more than 4,000 RCMP and civilian police officers who served on international peacekeeping efforts in dozens of countries since 1948. As Canadians, we all have a duty to remember the contributions and sacrifices of all those who have served our country.
Commemoration calendar
September and October 2026
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.
ISSN: 1926‑5948