QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Veterans Affairs
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
October 23, 2025
Thank you for being here. I’m going to try again because I was a member of the committee that looked at the issue. The time is now with regard to dealing with PTSD.
My colleague across the aisle just gave you the statistics, which speak to the failure of how we are dealing with PTSD in this country, more specifically, how we are dealing with our veterans. New treatments have emerged, and other countries have taken steps to ensure that those treatments are offered with scientific evaluation and support.
Our plea to you as the minister is that you need to be the strongest advocate so we can have other ways to treat our veterans and their PTSD symptoms because they are begging and crying for help. I’ve heard their voices first-hand.
Can you commit to the Senate that you are going to take this back and plead with your colleagues to fund a study working with Health Canada and the Health Data Research Network to ensure we can get veterans the help that they need?
Thank you, senator, for your question.
As I referenced, Veterans Affairs is committed to reviewing all new scientific information that comes forward as it relates to possible treatments. Our Table of Disabilities, with which department staff are equipped so that they can make decisions, undergoes regular review as new information comes forward and as we have the opportunity to go back and look at all items over a period of time. This is a continuous, ongoing process to ensure that we are responding to the best available information and scientific research.
Minister, if I may follow up, the evidence that we need and the scientific work that needs to be done must be supported and funded by the government on behalf of our veterans in this country. It is not going to happen magically; it will happen because the department is supporting and advocating for this to happen. If we are going to have new evidence on how to treat PTSD, we need to fund those studies to make that available.
Can you commit that you will challenge your colleagues to provide some of the funding to ensure that this scientific study is done rigorously so we can have the evidence to support our veterans?
As I mentioned, we do have funding that goes towards supporting research that is done. The Atlas Institute has been mentioned, as well as the supports that we give to CIMVHR by bringing together research that is taking place and publishing it around the world.
I will continue to advocate to ensure that the needs and benefits of our veterans are at the top of my priority list and that we are making sure those voices are heard.
