Watchdog says soldier group unfair to own staff

The federal government organization whose job it is to help soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders unfairly treated some of its own employees who were dealing with the same ailments, according to two reports by the Canadian Forces ombudsman.

The two veterans, hired to help fellow soldiers dealing with mental health issues, complained to the ombudsman that they were forced from their jobs after a series of runins with management at the Operational Stress Injury Social Support (OSISS) program. That organization is managed jointly by the Defence Department and Veterans Affairs, but the retired soldiers filed their complaints against the Canadian Forces and the DND managers to whom they reported.

In the case of one soldier, retired Master Cpl. Kevin Clark, the stress created by the events at OSISS led to a significant deterioration of his health, according to the report prepared by the office of Canadian Forces Ombudsman Pierre Daigle.

Clark’s health and financial situation further worsened after the combat veteran’s final paycheque was clawed back. The organization had claimed that Clark, who suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder, had taken too many sick days and was required to reimburse the government.

Daigle’s office also received a third complaint of unfair management practices and procedures in OSISS, but did not make any findings on that, Postmedia News has learned.

The two reports are potentially damaging to efforts by the federal government and the Canadian Forces to send a message that they care about soldiers dealing with mental and other stress issues. OSSIS is one of the organizations that is supposed to help such individuals.

The soldiers filed their complaints with the ombudsman in 2006 and 2007. The reports have yet to be made public. Both soldiers involved say they left OSSIS after disputes with Lt.-Col. Stephane Grenier, then the organization’s program manager.

In the second case, a retired combat veteran complained OSISS management had “misused allegations about his work” made by a psychologist and others, and did not give him an opportunity to respond to those allegations or even view such documents. The ombudsman also found in his favour.

In an interview in late May with the Ottawa Citizen, Grenier said he believes Daigle’s two investigations are flawed. He said the report’s conclusions are in error and that he had tried over a lengthy period to assist the employees.

The Canadian Forces issued an email on Friday noting that it could not comment on the reports.