QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Veterans Affairs
Support Services for Veterans
February 15, 2024
Thank you for being here. In a way, my questions have been answered, but I’m going to ask them again, I guess.
The rate of suicide among former military members is significantly higher in proportion to the general public. For women veterans, it’s a staggering 50% higher, and for men, it’s upwards of 30% higher. It would be good to know that Veterans Affairs is serious about addressing some of the underlying problems of despair among veterans, such as PTSD, lack of housing and feelings of alienation from the society they were sworn to protect.
Can you tell me if there are any new and significant programs in Veterans Affairs you might be considering to address these problems?
Thank you so much for that very important question. You are right; when it comes to access to mental health services, and when we looked at the rates of suicide amongst veterans, they are higher than the national average. As a result, we want to make sure those proper services are put in place.
That is why, as I indicated, two years ago we made the change with respect to Veterans Affairs Canada that when veterans were applying for mental health services, instead of having to go through the evaluation process, the adjudication — if individuals are asking for those services, it is evident there is a need immediately. So why are we making them wait?
From there, what we did is we made that change immediately. If someone is asking for the mental health services, they will be approved and be able to access those services immediately. Again, as I have indicated, over the past two years, 16,000 veterans have applied and received those services. They have been fast-tracked. Again, we have to be there for our veterans in their time of need and not make them wait when they need psychological services that are required.
With respect to housing, significant investments have been made. In Budget 2023, we announced an $80-million amount to address veterans’ housing. Within the next few weeks, we are going to be awarding the contracts to the different groups that will be providing those services, rent supplements and wraparound services to make sure we can set up our veterans for success.
Many of our former military rely upon medication to see them through their day-to-day struggles. Over time, their lives are put in danger by the very opioids they are prescribed. A multitude of veterans have come forward to me and others as advocates of psilocybin and MDMA, saying that the benefits of these two psychedelics far outweigh any benefits from prescribed drugs. Some have gone as far as South America to acquire them, saying it is what has kept them alive in their time of need. May we see some serious research into the advantages of these two drugs?
Again, a very important question that you ask. I believe you were one of the senators who spearheaded the research in that very important area.
We have to recognize — and I think we all recognize — that our collective understanding of traumatic stress injury has certainly evolved over the years. As such, our treatment approach has evolved as well.
Having been a former social worker in my previous life, I worked with many individuals who suffered from post-traumatic stress injuries, and many of them chose different therapy mechanisms, be it psychosocial, be it pharmaceuticals, et cetera.
We also recognize that psilocybin is an area of great interest at this point in time. There is some research that is being conducted. In fact, last week I was in Hamilton at the Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence, and I was speaking to Dr. Ramesh Zacharias. We were talking about a number of issues, but I also talked about the research that’s being done in the area of psilocybin.
