On Parliament Hill

Last week, the Honourable Julian Fantino and the Honourable Rob Nicholson announced new and expanded mental health initiatives for Veterans, serving military members, and their families. Once implemented, the strategy will strengthen Canada’s world class treatment, care and research for Canadian Armed Forces members and Veterans.

These initiatives, which amount to an investment of approximately $200 million, have been developed collaboratively by the Department of National Defence (DND), Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) and Health Canada. They reflect the most innovative thinking and evidenced-based approaches to mental health and suicide prevention, leading to world class care and treatment for mental illness and injury.

To combat mental illness in support of our military members and Veterans, we are investing further in education and treatment and providing greater support to families. These initiatives underscore our unwavering commitment to our military.

This will mean better access to mental health professionals, to education about how to identify and respond to mental or emotional stress, and to supports for military families who are facing this challenge.

New mental health supports for CAF personnel, Veterans, and their families include:

• A major new Operational Stress Injury clinic, with front-line mental health professionals and experts, will be established in Halifax, and additional satellite clinics opening in St. John’s, Chicoutimi, Pembroke, Brockville, Kelowna, Victoria and Montreal to speed access to mental health services for those with mental health injuries.
• Expansion of the Road to Mental Readiness education campaign to further reach CAF members and their families.
• The digitization of CAF member health records to speed the transfer of medical documentation to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC).
• A new four year pilot project to expand access to the Military Family Resource Centres at seven locations across Canada to medically releasing CAF personnel and their families for two years post release. Up to 1,200 medically releasing Veterans and their families will take part in the pilot.
• Additional research to find better treatments, promote faster recoveries, and achieve better outcomes for Veterans and serving members with mental health conditions and their families.

Our Government is proud of our men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces. As a grateful nation, it is our responsibility to ensure that they have access to the mental health support and services they need, when they need it.