Hon. Marty Klyne: Minister, our office has heard from a group of surviving dependents of service members who lost their lives due to enemy action or service-related illness. They’ve been lobbying for enhanced survivor benefits — particularly access to regular grief and mental health therapy — through Veterans Affairs.
Right now, they fall under the public health system, which doesn’t provide this kind of ongoing support, leaving the PSHCP as their only option.
If a member’s death is deemed service-related, shouldn’t the purview of care, including mental health supports, fall squarely under Veterans Affairs Canada, or VAC?
Hon. Jill McKnight, P.C., M.P., Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence: I appreciate the question. Again, speaking to some of the remarks I’ve made already, the care of the families is of significant importance, as we acknowledge that no veteran serves alone. We need to be supporting the families that have served alongside them.
My conversations with veterans, family members and — in some cases — survivors have only reinforced for me the vital role that spouses and families play in supporting our veterans. I will continue advocating for services that support veterans and their families because, as I said, we need to continue to do better.
Senator Klyne: Minister, five years ago, the federal government restricted access to mental health counselling for veterans’ families. Since then, families have continued to face significant gaps in care, particularly after the death of a veteran or following a family breakdown.
Spouses and children lose access to counselling once they’re no longer legally connected to the veteran, even though the toll of service and loss continues.
The Veterans Ombud’s 2021 report called on the government to ensure that family members, including former spouses and dependent children, have access to federally funded mental health or treatment independent of the veteran’s status. Veterans Affairs Canada agreed with this recommendation, and your department has publicly stated that families deserve this level of care.
Minister, can you please update us on when you intend to legislate the changes needed to ensure veterans’ families have access to mental health supports in their own right?
Ms. McKnight: Thank you again.
I return to my previous comments that there is more for us to do in continuing to support mental health both for our veterans and their family members. In the past 10 years, we’ve seen a 92% increase in the number of new cases coming to Veterans Affairs, and we are continuing to deliver benefits and services to all eligible veterans.
I am going to continue to advocate and advance the modernization of the service-delivery system and improvements that we can continue to make to address opportunities where we could do more.