Question Period Note: Mental Health and Suicide

Why is the Canadian Armed Forces failing to support its members who have suffered mental health issues throughout their service?

• We recognize that military service places unique demands on our members and their families.
• That is why we actively encourage our members to take care of their mental health, and seek appropriate help when they need it.
• We have a wide range of programs and services, including in-house mental health care, to support the needs of individual members and their families.
• As well, we have launched a 24/7 phone counselling and referral service, a 24/7 family support line, and various peer support programs.
• We are also focused on enhancing our mental health training programs to reduce stigma and build awareness.
• Additionally, we continue to conduct research with our Allies and academic partners to better understand and treat mental health conditions.
• Our Government will continue to ensure that our members and their families have access to the mental health care and services they deserve.

If pressed on suicide prevention:

• The loss of a military member to suicide has a lasting and tragic effect on their families, friends, colleagues, and the entire Defence Team.
• This is why National Defence currently provides a robust suite of mental health programs and services to support our members and their families.
• While there is no simple solution, we will continue to work with academics and experts to improve our Suicide Prevention Strategy, and better understand and treat mental health conditions.

Quick Facts

• Each year since 2009, approximately 15,000 Canadian Armed Forces members have received some form of mental health training and education.
• National Defence is conducting research with Allies and academic partners to better understand, identify, and treat mental health conditions.
• Mental Health Care
  • 31 of the 37 primary healthcare clinics operated by the Canadian Armed Forces offer specialized in-house mental health care, including:
    • social workers
    • mental health nurses
    • psychologists
    • psychiatrists
    • addiction counsellors
    • mental health chaplains
  • 4,000 community-based civilian mental health care providers are also registered to provide care to military members.
• Access to mental health services during the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Mental health and spiritual support services have remained available to Canadian Armed Forces members and their families throughout the pandemic.

Background

Primary Healthcare Clinics

• All primary healthcare clinics operated by the Canadian Armed Forces remained open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and offer services including:
  • Family physicians
  • Primary care nurses
  • Nurse practitioners
  • Physician assistants
  • Medical technicians
• The majority of these clinics also offer psychiatric, psychological, and mental health services.

Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) Program

• Launched in 2008 with the introduction of the mobile application in 2017, R2MR is a performance and mental health training and education program to improve well-being and short-term performance, while mitigating any negative long-term mental health problems for Canadian Armed Forces personnel and their families.
• It encompasses the suite of performance, resilience and mental health training that is now embedded throughout Canadian Armed Forces members’ careers. R2MR curriculum is developed based on the latest evidence-based research in the areas of performance, stress management, resilience, mental health and adult education. All Canadian Armed Forces personnel now receive R2MR during Basic Training, throughout leadership courses as they progress during their careers, and at key points before and after they deploy on military operations.
• Performance-based content focuses on training key mental skills that, when applied, can help ensure individuals are able to perform effectively despite varying degrees of stress/adversity. Resilience-based content teaches individuals the key strategies that have been found effective in recovering after experiencing a stressful/adverse event. Finally, mental health content provides insight into the varying degrees of mental health issues and offers guidance for identifying appropriate supports along the spectrum of mental health concerns.
• Recently, the R2MR program has expanded programming for specific high risk occupations and organizations, such as search and rescue technicians, firefighters, military police, submariners and health services personnel.
• R2MR for Canadian Armed Forces family members was developed in partnership with Director Military Family Services and Canadian Armed Forces’ family members, and is delivered by Military Family Resource Centre staff in person or virtually. It will soon be augmented by the R2MR for Family Life website to make the tools and information available anywhere, anytime.

Number of suicides

• In 2020, there were 14 deaths by suicide in the Regular Force, and 2 in the Reserve Force.
• The Canadian Armed Forces closely monitors the rates and trends of suicide and other mental health issues in its population in order to gain a better understanding of underlying issues and to mitigate risks.
  • Only male Regular Force members are used to determine suicide rates and to compare to a similar age-gender group in the general Canadian population.

GBA+

• Mental health: A 2015 Statistics Canada study on Canadian Armed Forces mental health noted that women in the Canadian Armed Forces were more likely to report mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety.
  • This is consistent with Statistics Canada reporting of the general population.
• Suicide: According to the Report on Suicide Mortality in the Canadian Armed Forces (2019), female suicide numbers are low (ranging between 0 and 2 events per year), which precludes the ability to conduct trend analyses.

Responsible Principals: Military Personnel Command

Military Personnel Command