Ottawa, July 2, 2009 – The Ombudsman for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces, Pierre Daigle, today released his 2008-2009 annual report, entitled Serving Canada’s Defence Community.
In the report, Mr. Daigle noted that Ombudsman investigators and intake officers handled 1,561 cases in 2008-2009, including new cases, cases re-opened and cases left over from previous years.
“Over the past year, the office has made a real and lasting contribution to the welfare of Canada’s men and women in uniform, our civilian employees and countless family members in the Defence community,” stated the Ombudsman. He added, “Individual cases form the bulk of the work carried out by our office and, although they usually take place far from public view, they represent a fundamental tenet of our office: We are here to help.”
In 2008-2009, the office also finalized several major investigations, published a special report and case study on post-traumatic stress disorder and other operational stress injuries, and intervened in several significant issues.
In April 2008, the Interim Ombudsman released a special report, entitled Reserved Care: An Investigation into the Treatment of Injured Reservists, following a number of complaints from Canadian Forces Reserve members who indicated that different, and unequal, standards of health care were being applied to those Reservists who were injured while serving their country. The investigation identified major areas of concern, including significant inequities in the provision of health care to injured Reservists. Overall, the quality and quantity of medical care provided to Reservists were found to be largely unpredictable, with some Reservists receiving no medical care at all from the Canadian Forces.
In December 2008, the office published a report, entitled A Long Road to Recovery: Battling Operational Stress Injuries, which assessed the progress made by the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces in implementing its previous recommendations on mental health injuries. The overriding aim of the report was to establish whether Canadian Forces members who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder or other operational stress injuries were being diagnosed and getting the care and treatment they needed in order to continue to be contributing members of Canadian society.
As part of the broader investigation on operational stress injuries, the office also released a case study on its fact-finding visit to Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, entitled Assessing the State of Mental Health Services at CFB Petawawa. During this visit, the previous Ombudsman discovered that a lack of specialized health care services and the burnout of military caregivers were having a negative impact on Canadian Forces members and their families at the base.
In the past fiscal year, the office also worked to resolve difficulties that unilingual military recruits were experiencing in accessing training and/or services in their first official language at Canadian Forces Bases Borden, Gagetown and St-Jean Garrison. Following several letters to the Chief of the Defence Staff outlining the office’s observations and recommendations, the Interim Ombudsman wrote to Mr. Graham Fraser, Commissioner of Official Languages, in August 2008 in order to share the office’s concerns given that these issues fall within the Commissioner’s legislated mandate.
In 2008-2009, the office also conducted an investigation into complaints from injured Canadian Forces recruits and Officer Cadets at the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School in St-Jean, Quebec. In May 2007, the Commandant of the school had directed that any recruit or Officer Cadet who was injured and could not participate in their basic training course for more than 30 cumulative days be released from the Canadian Forces. The Ombudsman considered this direction to be unfair since injured recruits were being denied the same benefits and procedural protections provided to other Canadian Forces members injured in training. The Commandant subsequently issued a verbal instruction cancelling this May 2007 direction, and the Chief of the Defence Staff directed a review of all files of injured recruits released under that direction.
“I am honoured to have been appointed Ombudsman and to have been given the opportunity to build on a year of positive and lasting change for the Defence community,” stated Mr. Daigle. He added, “The work outlined in this annual report represents the efforts of a dedicated team of professionals, and I would like to thank Ms. Mary McFadyen for the leadership and direction that she provided to the office while Interim Ombudsman.”
More information on the office’s investigations and special reports, including the 2008-2009 annual report, is available on the Ombudsman’s website.
For additional information, please contact:
Darren Gibb
Director of Communications
Office of the Ombudsman
Tel.: 613-992-6962
