Good afternoon. It's my pleasure to address the committee today on behalf of Wounded Warriors Canada as your committee continues to examine the ways to better support Canada's veterans and their families. Before I address the specific topic of service dogs for veterans, I believe it would be helpful to present a broader perspective on the mission of Wounded Warriors Canada.

Wounded Warriors Canada today stands as a national mental health service provider for veterans, first responders and their families. Our services offer culturally appropriate group-based interventions that are clinically facilitated and grounded in evidence that draws upon leading trauma research. In addition, we offer programs designed to create trauma-informed workplaces. These 10 clinically facilitated evidence-informed programs are at the heart of all that we do. Our investment in service dogs is in addition to these core programs.

Given that clinically facilitated evidence-informed programs are at the heart of what we do as a national mental health service provider, there is a simple question: Why has Wounded Warriors Canada invested approximately $3 million for the provision of service dogs for veterans and first responders since 2013? The answer to us is simple. These investments are based on the life-changing effects that we have seen and that have been demonstrated in significant studies that have been produced in the last decade.

The finding of a study funded by Veterans Affairs Canada through Université Laval reaffirmed the efficacy of properly trained and well-behaved service dogs. Most recently, in 2020, Purdue University in the U.S. found that the task of disrupting episodes of anxiety ranked among the most important and often used tasks among service dogs.

The findings of a randomized trial study released on January 5, 2020, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs showed that participants paired with a service dog experienced a reduction in the severity of PTSD symptoms compared with participants paired with an emotional support dog, and had fewer suicidal behaviours and ideations, particularly 18 months post-pairing.

Wounded Warriors Canada funds providers that screen, intake, train and pair these amazing dogs with their handlers. Program eligibility for funding is measured against three core principles: one, the establishment of a consistent, defined, transparent and measurable national standard for all funded PTSD service dog providers irrespective of their province; two, formal recognition of all Wounded Warriors Canada funded service dog providers across the country that meet or exceed the standards that are published and are willing to work in a co-operative manner with other Wounded Warriors Canada funded service dog providers; and three, the implementation of a clinically informed set of prescriber guidelines applicable to all applicants for a PTSD service dog.

This process is seeing results. In November 2020, following a six-month, three-phase process established at our national service dogs conference, which was held in Victoria in February 2020, just before the country locked down because of the current pandemic, we welcomed Fire Team K-9's located in Pembroke, Ontario, as our latest probationary Wounded Warriors Canada funded service dog provider.

Due to the ongoing support of the veteran and family well-being fund, Wounded Warriors Canada is currently looking at adding another provider, which will help veterans in the Meaford area and in the province of New Brunswick. We anticipate that the review process will be completed by the second quarter of this fiscal year. We will continue to seek providers that are willing to work collaboratively within the framework of our three key principles.

Our program would not be at the maturity that it is without the amazing and ongoing support of Canadians. Having said that, we remain amazed by the commitment and professionalism of our providers, who continue to lead and set an example in working in a collaborative and congenial manner in an often siloed space.

I know that the committee will hear from Dani Forbes, the executive director of National Service Dogs in the coming days. We are proud to have National Service Dogs as one of our funded providers. Dani did outstanding work on the Canadian General Standards Board standards committee. She is someone we rely on as a leader in training our nation, along with Mike Annan of Vancouver Island Compassion Dogs. Both Dani's and Mike's advice is key when we look to add a provider to our group.

Dani's and Mike's organizations have gone through the further rigorous steps to become ADI- accredited as well.

I hope the committee will listen carefully to Dani's words, especially with respect to standards, when she appears before the committee, as I'm just hearing today how important this standards piece is over and over again.

Both Médric and Jocelyn Cousineau have recently been awarded the meritorious service medal for their leadership in this space. This is both well deserved and long overdue. We are proud to have Paws Fur Thought as part of our group. They were among the first to recognize the need for prescriber guidelines, and their wise counsel is invaluable.

While I look forward to the committee's questions, I do have one ask of government, and with this ask I will conclude my remarks.

There is a glaring and obvious need for national standards when it comes to service dogs in Canada. We as an organization applaud and appreciate the earlier efforts of the Government of Canada to establish those standards through the Canadian General Standards Board process. The committee worked hard; however, the need for unanimous consensus proved to be its Achilles heel.

When it comes to standards, we work with our own published set of standards, which are informed by the hard work done at CGSB and provinces like British Columbia that have established standards. However, it is ultimately the role of government to establish standards. Service dogs are about the health and wellness of our veterans, first responders and ultimately the general population.

There's one thing this current pandemic and history informs us of. When it comes to the health of Canadians in general and veterans in particular, the government must lead from the front.

Thank you.

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