MP Cheryl Gallant: Our Troops are Doing Well and Doing Better

June 19, 2009

 

Photo: Mcpl Jody Mitic, Cheryl Gallant, MP; Brigade Cmdr. Col. Dean Milner: and Minister of National Defence Peter Mackay in Petawawa recently at a support the troops rally

OTTAWA, ONTARIO… MP Cheryl Gallant, (Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke) is pleased to confirm, as a Member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence, the release of its Report on the provision of health services to the Canadian Forces., entitled DOING WELL AND DOING BETTER.

“As the Member of Parliament for the Riding that includes CFB Petawawa, one of Canada’s largest and most active bases, I have a personal interest in the well-being of our troops and their families. I believe our Committee did a good job in identifying those areas where improvement may be needed to give our soldiers absolutely the best in medical care,” said Cheryl Gallant, MP.

The study, begun in February 2008, with a focus on post-traumatic stress disorder, conducted an objective examination of the root causes of main difficulties facing military health care in Canada today. The report offers 36 recommendations to the Government.

“Our Committee welcomed Eganville resident Reverend Allan Studd to appear before the Standing Committee as a witness. Reverend Studd was formerly a Military Chaplain at CFB Petawawa and a reservist with the 1st Air Defence Reserve Unit in Pembroke. Today Reverend Studd is an accredited Marriage and Family Therapist.”

“I am particularly pleased that as a result of his testimony before our committee, RECOMMENDATION 32 by the committee has requested that the Canadian Forces include members of Alan’s profession, Registered Marriage and Family Therapists, be added to the dependents’ Extended Health Care schedule of covered benefits. We recognized that treatment should be multi-disciplinary, and should include the family,” observed MP Gallant.

“I was very pleased he accepted my invitation to share his insights with our committee. With the recent Afghanistan rotation coming from CFB Petawawa, he shared my concern that our women and men and their families in the Canadian Forces receive the best of treatment.”

The report acknowledges that the Canadian Forces health care system is among the best of its kind in the world. It also notes that the Canadian Forces recognize that the well-being of military families is a crucial cornerstone of troop morale, operational effectiveness and personnel retention. However, as effective as current Canadian Forces health care and social support programmes are, there is room for improvement. Moreover, the provision of adequate health care services for Canadian military personnel and those family members who need it, is not solely a Canadian Forces issue. There are others who can and should help.

Doing Well and Doing Better: Read The Report