The House National Defence Committee is currently investigating issues surrounding ill and injured Canadian Forces members, and a stream of witnesses, including currently-serving soldiers, military family members, and representatives from veterans’ groups have come forward to discuss their experiences in dealing with various government organizations tasked with providing care for military personnel and veterans.
Citing a lack of resources, a shortage of qualified personnel, and difficulty in navigating Veteran Affairs Canada and the Department of National Defence bureaucracies, witnesses described a system failing in its responsibility to effectively deal with the varied and complex nature of the illnesses and injuries suffered during military activity.
On June 3, the committee heard testimony from family members of former Canadian Forces members. They shared similar stories of loved ones coming home from Afghanistan with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and being disappointed by a medical and social support system insufficient for their needs.
Gregory Woolvett, whose son, Mast. Cpl. Jonathan Woolvett struggles with alcoholism after returning home from Afghanistan with PTSD, told the committee of his deep involvement in his son’s struggle to get adequate care. As evidence of his difficulty and frustration in dealing with government officials, Mr. Woolvett stated that medical officers at CFB Petawawa told him that Mast. Cpl. Woolvett “was not injured” and that his son “was an alcoholic.”
Heather Allison, mother of a former nurse in the Canadian Forces, also spoke to the committee, and told members that her daughter, Sgt. Karri Allison, suffers from “PTS” (Heather Allison said she rejects the term ‘disorder’ as she considers the ailment to be an injury as opposed to a disorder), and said her daughter has overdosed twice since her return from Afghanistan. Karri Allison was not at last week’s committee meeting.
In an emotional testimony, Heather Allison told the committee, “I’m a very proud mom of a soldier. Not so proud a Canadian right now, to be honest.”
Ms. Allison lamented the lack of care her daughter received upon her return from the battlefield, saying that “It’s been a long battle…fighting, kicking and screaming” to get the proper care for her daughter.
The military spends $50-million annually on mental health care.
Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan has led to the emergence of PTSD as an issue of concern for military members and their families. According to statistics from Veterans Affairs Canada, 11,600 serving and non-serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces members are suffering from mental health injuries such as PTSD, up from 6,587 in 2008. Of those11,600 members, 3,411 have served in Afghanistan.
Those numbers represent a snapshot of a broader picture that shows tens of thousands of Canadian Forces members struggling with some type of illness or injury.
Statistics from Veterans Affairs Canada demonstrate that 136,467 military personnel (Second World War, Korean War, Canadian Armed Forces, and the RCMP) are in receipt of services from Veterans Affairs. Of those 136,467, 51,232 are War Service Veterans (WWII and Korea) and 75,341 have Canadian Armed Forces service; this includes 12,794 listed as still serving members, and 62,547 that have been released from the Canadian Armed Forces. An estimated 1,428 are considered totally and permanently incapacitated.
One aspect to military personnel care that a collection of activists say is of crucial importance is the abolition of the Lump Sum Disability Award component of The New Veterans Charter. The Charter, implemented in 2006, states that a lump sum of up to $250,000 can be awarded to a soldier who is assessed by the military to have a 100 per cent disability rating. Before the Charter, a soldier would be eligible for a life-long pension instead of a lump sum.
Mike Blais, a decorated veteran and president and founder of The Canadian Veterans Advocacy, was at the House Defence Committee meetings on June 3 and June 5, and he told The Hill Times that his organization’s top priority is to jettison the lump sum payment, and return to the pension plan. Mr. Blais said that a pension for disabled soldiers is far more just than a single payment.
“In 2006, Canada went to war for the first time since Korea. When the New Veterans Charter was implemented on April 1 of 2006, the battle had just started. No one forecasted the degree of fatalities and causalities we would have, or the impact this unjust legislation would have. It’s not fair,” said Mr. Blais.
Mr. Blais also expressed that it was unfair that soldiers who served in Afghanistan and suffered significant physical injuries along with PTSD are only eligible for a fraction of what he is eligible for.
“I’ve had two back operations. I’m deaf in my right ear. My pension will be…if I live to 80, three, four times more than a man who lost…two legs, a testicle, a brain trauma injury. $250,000 is all they give him? It almost makes me embarrassed because I’ve been out for almost twenty years now, and I’ve already been given $250,000…and my sacrifice doesn’t compare to his sacrifice. That’s why the system is all out of whack.”
On June 5, fourth-generation soldier Cpl. Glen Kirkland gave testimony to the House Defence Committee. The 29-year-old Mr. Kirkland said on his second to last day of duty in Afghanistan when he was caught in a Taliban ambush, a rocket hit his vehicle, and three of his fellow soldiers were killed instantly.
Cpl. Kirkland described waking up “on fire,” and wading through “human soup” to escape the burning vehicle.
“I’ve lost 75 per cent of my hearing. I now wear hearing aids forever. I lost some sight, and still have metal chunks inside of me. I have scars from being on fire, and because of the attack, I suffered a brain injury, and as a result, my brain has stopped telling my pancreas to produce insulin. I have to inject myself six to 10 times a day to stay alive,” Cpl. Kirkland told the committee.
“I suffer from PTSD so badly that I haven’t been able to visit my home in Vancouver for years. Survivor’s guilt haunts me everyday,” Cpl. Kirkland said.
Cpl. Kirkland said that he phoned his father while in hospital in Afghanistan.
“My dad said, ‘Don’t worry, Canada will take of you,” Cpl. Kirkland told the committee. “My dad was wrong.”
Cpl. Kirkland told the committee that he has been denied medical necessities on multiple occasions.
He said that a medical specialist the military sent him to prescribed him a specific type of insulin, but the military considered that type of insulin too expensive, and that a “President’s Choice” brand was offered to him instead. Cpl. Kirkland was then told that he would have to find his own needles to inject himself.
“I expected to be treated like a human being. But unlike a human, I was given no compassion,” said Cpl. Kirkland.
Cpl. Kirkland also told the committee that his “massive hearing loss” required hearing aids “with amplifiers on the back,” and that when he asked medical officials at CFB Shilo in Manitoba for eyewear that did not interfere with the amplifiers, he was told that when he leaves his house in the morning, he would have to decide whether he needed to “see more or hear more that day.”
Near the end of the appearance, Liberal MP John McKay (Scarborough-Guildwood, Ont.) asked Cpl. Kirkland if he had received a call from a commanding officer prior to appearing before the committee. Cpl. Kirkland responded that he had received a call from CFB Shilo, and that he felt “bullied” by the commanding officer, and under threat of receiving a dishonorable discharge.
“I almost didn’t come today…I was very intimidated. I was told to report to Shilo right away. And to get a fucking haircut,” said Cpl. Kirkland.
During Question Period on June 6, NDP MPs Annick Papillon (Québec) and Peter Stoffer (Sakville-Eastern Shore, N.S) each demanded that Defence Minister Peter MacKay (Central Nova, N.S.) guarantee that Mr. Kirkland not “suffer any retribution for his testimony.”
Mr. MacKay responded in the House that Cpl. Kirkland is a “Canadian hero,” and that he will “receive proper benefits,” and will “of course suffer no consequences” for his testimony.
Original Article
Source: hilltimes.com
Author: MATT MOIR
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