The House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs met on October 7, 2025, for its fifth meeting on the study of suicide prevention among veterans. Witnesses included Fardous Hosseiny and Gabrielle Dupuis from the Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families, Marie Blackburn from the Veterans Association Food Bank, Captain(N) (Retired) Philip Ralph from Wounded Warriors Canada, and Oliver Thorne from the Veterans Transition Network.
Fardous Hosseiny and Gabrielle Dupuis presented data showing male veterans are 1.4 times more likely to die by suicide than civilian men, and female veterans twice as likely. They highlighted that suicide risk peaks within four years after release for men but around 20 years post-service for women. They recommended expanding evidence-informed resources, integrating families into care, and improving cultural competency training for service providers, noting that Atlas is developing such training based on Australian models.
Marie Blackburn emphasized that addressing basic needs like food, housing, and financial stability is critical to preventing suicide, as hopelessness from losing these essentials can lead to suicidal thoughts. She described the Veterans Association Food Bank’s peer-to-peer support model and its success in housing six veterans in September who said they might not be alive otherwise. She asked for sustained government funding, noting that Veterans Affairs refers veterans to her organization but provides no funding for its programs.
Captain(N) (Retired) Philip Ralph stressed that untreated trauma is the core issue in veteran suicide, stating, “If you don't deal with trauma, nothing else matters.” He advocated for proactive prevention through culturally informed programs like Warrior Health, which provides 24-7 anonymous mental health access and has been accessed 200,000 times in Ontario. He recommended that all personnel working with veterans, including case managers and elected officials, take trauma-exposed professionals training, and called for immediate funding of evidence-based resiliency programs.
Oliver Thorne reported that over two-thirds of veterans in his programs have experienced suicidal thoughts, and that group-based counselling significantly reduces suicidal ideation. He identified key risk factors including medical release, loss of identity, and social isolation, and warned that recent data suggests increased risk for veterans leaving service between 2015 and 2018. His main recommendation was to implement automatic approval for medically released veterans with mental health injuries to access specialized programs, as Veterans Affairs funding approval rates have fallen by over 60% in the past decade.
During the question period, a motion was moved to extend the study from six to at least ten meetings to accommodate all witnesses. After debate, the motion was defeated, and the committee continued with its scheduled testimony.
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