Senate QP: O’Regan talks veterans issues

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The topic was veterans affairs, the special guest star was minister Seamus O’Regan, his first time at the Senate since taking over the portfolio. Senator Larry Smith led off, asking about a court challenge related to cuts on the medical marijuana programme for veterans, and in particular the minister’s comments on the need for research around the benefits for veterans with PTSD. O’Regan, after noting his last visit to the chamber being in 1990, said that they were deferring to the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and as such, they did not prescribe or authorise medical cannabis, but will only reimburse for up to three grams a day. When Smith asked if cost was a factor in reducing the reimbursement from ten to three, O’Regan said that it was not a cost issue, but they were trying to strike a balance.

Senator Martin noted the contributions of Korean War veterans, asking if there will be a military parade at the National War Memorial for Korea Day, and if there was a budget for the 65th anniversary of the armistice. O’Regan said that he and veterans would travel to Korea for ceremonies, and they had other events planned around the country.

Senator Day asked about the standards for service dogs and the decision to pull out of the national standards development. O’Regan noted that while the Canadian General Standards Board were tasked before his time, but they were not able to come up with a standard, and that when the Board pulled out, he supported the decision because he was afraid that the standards for PTSD would be diluted, so he was searching for an alternative. Day asked for more details on going forward, and O’Regan said they were working with international standards.

Senator Omidvar stood up to say that Smith asked her question, and she asked that the ten gram reimbursement be restored.

Senator Wallin asked about financial resources for injured veterans under the new pension for life programme. O’Regan first stood up to respond to Omidvar that he doesn’t want to be involved in medical cannabis because it should be between a veteran and their doctor, and anything over three grams should be from a psychiatrist. As for Wallin’s question, he assured her that the new benefit will be better off, and that the previous pension programme from 1919 did not take into account the complexity of mental health and rehabilitation, and that the New Veterans Charter did not evolve and grow as it was intended to. He added that the new programme will tailor programmes to individual veterans and give them increased support at times they need it.

Senator Wells asked about continued court challenges launched by veterans, to which O’Regan says that he can’t stop them from going to court if that’s what they want to do, and while he’s not comfortable with it, in the Equitas case, much of what they are demanding are in the new Pension for Life programme. He also noted that they pay for legal support against themselves when veterans appeal their decisions.

Senator Dagenais asked about the memorial book for the War of 1812, which has been completed but not yet placed in the memorial chamber in the Peace Tower. O’Regan apologised for not having a more timely answer, but said that they were working with Public Works and the Sergeant-at-Arm’s office to make it happen.

Senator Joyal asked about the coming 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, and what commemorations were planned. O’Regan said that he would travel to France for ceremonies and would forward more details, but noted that young people are more involved now than they were in his youth. 

Senator Boyer asked about Indigenous veterans who have not had a positive experience within the Armed Forces, and what steps were being taken to ensure that they are attracting and retaining new recruits among Indigenous Canadians. O’Regan noted that it falls more under the minister of defence’s ambit, but could say that the minister was a champion for more inclusivity.

Senator Richards asked about the ratio of veterans to case workers who can offer psychiatric support, and if they can do anything to reduce the current burden. O’Regan said that they have hired 460 new front-line staff in the past two years and have new offices and programmes, and said that he was seeing a culture change happening within the department, in part because his first instruction to staff was to give veterans the benefit of the doubt. He also noted that the backlog has increased because they are getting more calls because now veterans know they are being responsive, which is why he was trying to get ahead of.

Senator Doyle asked about the creation of new Victoria Cross medals, and a monument for recipients. O’Regan said that it’s important to get commemoration right, and that the previous government made commitments that they couldn’t fulfil or that they hadn’t consulted on. He said that they had chosen a new site for an Afghanistan memorial, and continued to work on other memorials.

Senator McIntyre asked about transitional supports, and O’Regan said that they need to be better at training soldiers to become veterans, which is a big transition, noting that his role as associate minister of National Defence was about trying to make that transition role easier, which means wrestling two separate bureaucracies. He digressed to a story about letting veterans use the base gym was a small but extremely helpful measure to help them transition.

Overall, O’Regan has a particular frank way of speaking that is particularly refreshing, and his talking about ways that he has been trying to reform the culture in the department through things like the ministerial directive that veterans be given the benefit of the doubt was something we don’t often see from ministers. He also kept his answers direct and didn’t meander all over the map, as some have, which left plenty of time for a lot of questions, for which he was able to generally supply responses, and in one case, apologized for the “disrespect” of not having provided an answer sooner that he had promised in committee. You don’t see enough of that from ministers.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Senator Linda Frum for a light blue jacket with a white top and black slacks, and to Senator David Wells for a tailored black suit with a white shirt and a red striped tie. Style citations go out to Senator Peter Harder for a maroon jacket with a white shirt, black slacks, and a cranberry spotted tie, and to Senator Mary Coyle for a black dress with large red florals. Dishonourable mention goes to Senator Patricia Bovey for a yellow jacket with a black top and skirt.