Core Obecjtives
Addressing the needs of serving members and their families has framed the priorities for Seamless Canada. Through a range of surveys, three core objective themes have emerged amongst the many relocation challenges facing military families: spousal/partner employment, child and youth education (including childcare) and access to healthcare. The SCSC therefore focuses its attention on these themes. Engagements with the provinces and territories aim to reduce these traditional sources of stress and create a more seamless posting experience.
The following pages outline the main concerns identified by military spouses/partners, and the impacts on their families, which have informed the Seamless Canada initiative core objectives:
Spousal/Partner Employment
Employment opportunities
Military spouses/partners often have difficulty finding gainful employment in a field that matches their education, experience and interests. Differences in employment opportunities between provincial/territorial jurisdictions can leave highly-educated spouses without work, under-employed, or without employment in their primary language. Job loss can lead to financial and mental health concerns, as well as contributing to family stress. In today's economic climate, Canadian families, including many military families, are reliant upon two incomes.
Professional Licensing and Recertification
Additional licensing/certification requirements may exist for those transferring professional licenses during relocations. Spouses may require re-certification to maintain employment in the new provincial/territorial jurisdiction, leading to financial losses and out-of-pocket costs.
Seniority and Pension
Most military spouses/partners are civilians who will have to leave their employment when their family is posted. Due to frequent relocations (average of moves are three times more than civilian families), military spouses/partners face challenges with the transferability of seniority and pensions. Loss of seniority influence employment conditions, pay scale, and long-term impacts to the advancement of their career. The inability to transfer pensions decreases financial security upon retirement.
Work/Life Balance
Military spouses/partners are often unable to work due to the lack of childcare, which directly impacts the family's financial stability. Many face issues balancing household/caregiver responsibilities while their spouse is deployed, further compounded if they are searching for employment, due to the volume of their responsibilities and lack of support.
Retention
Exit surveys show that many CAF members choose to leave their military careers due to spousal/partner employment barriers, contributing to the personnel shortages being experienced by the CAF, and impacting operational effectiveness.
Child and Youth Education
Curriculum Differences
Each province and territory has unique curriculum and graduation requirements. No overarching regulation exists in Canada to govern the equivalency process. Compared to other Canadian students, military children changing school systems may experience learning gaps, need to repeat a grade or delay their graduation. All of this can have an adverse impact on a student's educational and personal development, as well as their mental health.
Individual Learning Plan
Children with disabilities are especially vulnerable to abrupt changes in their learning process. Military children with special needs may face interruptions to their individual learning plans or in some cases, have to be re-evaluated in their new educational environments. Special needs programs and classification vary by province and territory, and school boards are autonomous.
Childcare Access
The Canadian childcare system has challenges related to access (availability, affordability, flexibility) and these challenges are further amplified for military families. With each posting, military families fall to the bottom of childcare waitlists. They may face lengthy periods without childcare, which can have profound impacts on overall quality of life especially when extended family are far away.
Emergency Childcare
The working conditions of CAF personnel at times require immediate response, which can create significant pressures for after-hours/emergency on-call childcare, especially for dual-service couples, single parents and for children with special needs.
Post-Secondary Education
Colleges and universities often offer lower rates for students residing in that province or territory. Military children who experience a relocation near or after entrance to post-secondary education may face challenges relating to residency requirements. Relocation may also impact their access to financial supports.
Access to Healthcare
Access to Physicians
Exacerbating existing access challenges within the Canadian healthcare system, military families are required to access a new physician each time they move. Starting over means prolonged wait times, reliance on emergency departments and a lack of continuity of care.
Waitlists
Families lose their place on family medicine and specialty care waitlists when posted.
Specialist Care
Not all posting locations can offer the same access to specialized care, such as surgical care, mental health supports or services in a preferred language. Some families must travel great distances to retain a specialist, and not all services are covered through private insurance plans.
Continuity of Care
Moving to a new community can interrupt care plans. A lack of standardization across provinces and territories can result in an interruption of treatment for military families.