Understaffing plagues veteran support unit
Jobs unfilled months after scathing report
OTTAWA — The unit created to help some of Canada’s most damaged military personnel remains understaffed despite a scathing report into the unit last fall by the National Defence ombudsman.
The Joint Personnel Support Unit (JPSU) is the umbrella for a national network of 24 Integrated Personnel Support Centres (IPSCs) whose job it is to help ill and injured veterans with career transitions, medical appointments and other daily guidance.
In his October report, ombudsman Pierre Daigle said his cross-country investigation had revealed chronic understaffing, inadequate training and chronic burnout among those tasked with caring for the physically injured as well as the increasingly large numbers of mentally ill soldiers.
Postmedia News also reported last week that the mental-health treatment system throughout the military remains chronically understaffed even though former defence minister Peter MacKay called a news conference in 2012 to announce the hiring of more expert personnel.
Prior to the ombudsman’s report, JPSU commander Col. Gerry Blais described staffing as “adequate” and after its release told The Canadian Press “most of the issues have been or are definitely in the process of being resolved.”
According to a statement from the ombudsman on Friday, two-thirds of the promised additional positions remain unfilled, largely because of sluggish hiring.
“The ombudsman is closely monitoring issues affecting the care of ill and injured CF personnel and their transition out of the Canadian Forces,” said Daigle’s spokesman Jamie Robertson, who added that JPSU had assured the ombudsman that adding extra staff remains a priority.
The Ottawa Citizen asked JPSU for an update on its staffing on Jan. 20 following the apparent suicide of air force veteran Lt.-Col. Stephane Beauchemin. Along with the national picture, the Citizen asked for specific figures at Petawawa, Ont., and Ottawa, both considered among the most overloaded and inefficient units. Despite repeated requests, JPSU has yet to provide the information.
According to the ombudsman, total staff throughout the JPSU network is 289, with 253 positions now filled and 36 still vacant.
Of those, 23 are military positions and 13 civilian.
JPSU has apparently not provided the ombudsman with detailed figures on individual support units in a system that has been widely criticized by serving soldiers, veterans of JPSU and military mental health specialists.
Cpl. Glen Kirkland, a severely injured Afghanistan veteran who testified at a parliamentary committee last year, said his JPSU unit at CFB Shilo in Manitoba was hopelessly failing its ill and injured.
“It’s a coffee shop and a ridiculous waste of manpower,” he said later. “They should be teaching guys to get out of the system and not be patrons at a coffee shop. They don’t need sergeants and warrants, they need baristas.”
According to DND, support units across Canada are currently offering “direct assistance” through JPSU to 5,418 ill and injured members and 533 families of soldiers killed while on duty.
Not all serving soldiers being treated for mental injury are in the JPSU system but those who are will either be transitioned out of the forces or returned to work.
In reality, the vast majority are transitioned out.
Before issuing his JPSU report last October, ombudsman Daigle revealed his findings and recommendations to a gathering of JPSU senior staff who were unanimous in supporting its four main recommendations: Increase staffing; Better training for all staff;
“Resilience” training for staff;
Preparing for “emerging trends,” such as an expected increase in mentally injured soldiers needing help.
Ombudsman spokesman Robertson says investigators are tracking adherence to the recommendations and will issue another public report on JPSU’s progress in the spring.