This House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs meeting was held to study suicide prevention among veterans. Appearing as witnesses were Marc-André Bernard, a psychologist; Samara Symonds, a former civilian RCMP employee; Shane Nedohin, a retired JTF 2 operator and farmer; and Dr. Nicholas Held, Interim Scientific Director of the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMVHR).
Marc-André Bernard testified that the unique nature of military service, including the merging of personal and professional identity and the suppression of emotions, creates specific suicide risk factors during and after service. He argued that the transition to civilian life is a difficult process of acculturation, and that standardized rehabilitation services like PCVRS are often unsuited to veterans, particularly those whose military identity was central to their being. He recommended ensuring continuity of care during release, including assigning a civilian family doctor before discharge, and moving away from repetitive, redundant assessments that increase humiliation and shame.
Samara Symonds described her experience navigating Veterans Affairs as onerous, isolating, and adversarial, noting that her mental health injury was often discounted compared to physical injuries. She highlighted the gap in mental health treatment for family members, stating that her petition (e-6654) calls for service-related mental health care for families in their own right, a recommendation the veterans ombudsman has made for nearly a decade. She noted that current VAC assistance service is insufficient and that spouses often struggle without dedicated support, even as they are the primary caregivers for veterans.
Shane Nedohin testified that a letter from VAC denying that explosions cause traumatic brain injuries pushed him to the planning phase of suicide, and that he was brought back only by his family and the Concussion Legacy Foundation. He criticized the PCVRS program as being more akin to parole than support, arguing it forces veterans to use Lifemark facilities, threatens to withhold pay and benefits for non-compliance, and duplicates benefits already available through Blue Cross. He recommended that veterans be given the choice of their own care providers and that the government stop "weaponizing" pay and benefits against them.
Dr. Nicholas Held presented research showing male veterans are 1.4 times and female veterans 1.9 times more likely to die by suicide than civilians, with different timeframes for risk after transition. He highlighted that suicide must be considered from a whole-health and whole-life-course perspective, and that risk factors include chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, and depression. He recommended continued investment in longitudinal research and data linkages, improved cultural competency of health care providers, and a whole-of-community approach to suicide prevention, noting that a 2018 round table had already made similar recommendations that have not been fully implemented.
The committee heard that chronic pain is highly comorbid with mental health issues and suicide risk, and that there is no perfect mechanism for translating research into policy. Dr. Held noted that research into treatments like psilocybin is ongoing but requires careful evaluation of both benefits and potential harms. Mr. Nedohin disagreed with the pace of government research, arguing that private industry should be leveraged more heavily, and stated that he personally found psilocybin to be a massive help. Ms. Symonds added that flexibility in treatment options is crucial, and that veterans often have to provide extensive justification for non-pharmacological therapies while medications are covered without hesitation.
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