Ombudsman flags concerns over the lack of mental health support for Primary Reserve members participating in domestic operations such as fires and floods

6 September 2023 – Ottawa, ON

Primary Reserve members participating in domestic operations are not having their mental health needs well supported.

National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces Ombudsman Gregory Lick came to this conclusion after investigating this issue over the previous year. The findings are presented in a report titled Hidden Battles: A systemic investigation into the identification of mental health needs and support for Primary Reserve members participating in domestic operations.

The report outlines six recommendations to Defence Minister Bill Blair to help ensure Primary Reserve members are taken care of, treated fairly and with respect, and receive the benefits to which they are entitled.

The investigation revealed:

• inconsistencies related to mental health, including barriers to accessing supports before, during, and after a domestic operation;
• a lack of procedural oversight to identify and support mental health needs;
• cultural challenges such as self-imposed, social, and structural stigmas that continue to be a barrier to accessing mental health supports; and
• limits to mental health care access caused by the class of Reserve Service employment before or after a domestic operation.

Lick’s office investigated how the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) identifies the mental health concerns of Primary Reserve members participating in domestic operations (such as fires and floods) and how those needs are supported. They compared the treatment of Primary Reserve members to Regular Force members.

Hidden Battles comes after progress reports examined three previous investigative reports on the health and wellness of Reserve Force members. Most of the recommendations made in these reports from 2016 and 2017 have yet to be implemented.

Quote

“In Canada, we increasingly rely on our part-time Reserve Force to help provide security, search and rescue missions, and responding to natural disasters. But we do not always provide them with the mental health support they need before and after operations."

Gregory A. Lick – National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces Ombudsman

Contact

Andrew Bernardo
Director, Communications and Parliamentary Affairs
613-992-6962
andrew.bernardo@forces.gc.ca