QUESTION PERIOD — National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs
Business of the Committee
September 21, 2022
Honourable senators, my question today is for the Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs.
As you know, retention and recruitment have been an ongoing problem for the Canadian Armed Forces, or CAF. To that end, I have been contacted by members of the CAF who are concerned that, given the health care accessibility crisis in Canada, medical support for their immediate family members will be next to impossible to obtain when they are posted to any new location in Canada.
As you are all well aware, members of the forces currently have access to military medical personnel, including doctors and nurses, but their family members do not. Therefore, when they are posted to a new location, their quality of medical care will continue, but their family members have to join a waiting list for a family doctor that, in many provinces, can be thousands of names long.
This growing problem means that every posting is creating stress in military families.
Could you advise the Senate what issues the Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs intends to study over the next year and if the concerns I have raised today on behalf of CAF members’ families could also be looked at during that time?
Thank you for the question — it’s an important one — and thank you for providing it to me in advance.
First of all, we know that access to primary health care is a challenge for Canadians right across the country, but it’s particularly a concern for the family of members of the Canadian Armed Forces who have no choice but to relocate. It’s almost part of the job description, and we know that causes particular challenges.
It is an issue that I think deserves the attention of the Senate and the National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs Committee in particular. We will certainly endeavour to give it that attention.
You might know that we are currently midway through a comprehensive study of security and defence in the Arctic. That is in the context, particularly, of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Backed up behind that study, likely in the new year, is an important study on cybersecurity. Nevertheless, we will look for opportunities to explore this issue. We know it’s a very important one.
On that note, I also acknowledge that you have written to the Minister of National Defence on this matter. When the minister is next before us — and I think that will happen in the near future — we will be sure to follow up with her on your letter and with our own enquiries.
So thank you for that question on a very important matter. I hope this answer is satisfactory to you.
That’s a wonderful answer. Thank you very much.
