(Return tabled) Question No. 864 Ms. Kirsty Duncan: With respect to mental health and suicide in the Canadian Forces (CF), including regular forces, reservists and veterans, as well as among Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) veterans: (a) what does history and research show from the First World War (WWI) and the Second World War (WWII), regarding the percentage of Canadian veterans who suffered some degree of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and how it might have impacted their ability to (i) hold down jobs, (ii) maintain relationships, (iii) overcome substance abuse, (iv) maintain their will to live; (b) how are suicides tracke ...[+++]d for CF regular forces, reservists and veterans, including RCMP veterans, (i) has the tracking method changed over time (from 2000 onwards) for any of these groups, including name changes (e.g., suicide versus sudden death) and, if so, how, why and when, (ii) how are suicides tracked among veterans who may not be known to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) and who may be under other types of care (e.g., in hospitals) or in homeless shelters, prisons, etc.; (c) what are the identified gaps in tracking for each of the identified groups and, for each gap, what action items (i) are planned (including predicted start and completion dates, and necessary funding), (ii) are being implemented (including predicted completion date and necessary funding), (iii) have been completed to address the problem; (d) how are suicides investigated for each identified group today and, for each group, for the years 1990 to the present (or years available), (i) what percentage of victims were known to either the Department of National Defense (DND) or VAC prior to the suicide, or to the medical, social-aid or prison system, (ii) what percentage had attempted suicide before, (iii) what percentage suffered from an identified Operational Stress Injury (OSI), including PTSD, anxiety, depression or substance abuse, (iv) what percentage suffered from acquired brain ...

It is necessary to designate the competent Member States' authorities as well as the central access points through which access is done and to keep a list of the operating units within the designated authorities that are authorised to access the VIS for the specific purposes of the prevention, detection and investigation of terrorist offences and other serious criminal offences as referred to in Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA of 13 June 2002 on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between Member States .

Requests for access to the VIS should be made by the operating units within the designated authorities to the central access points.

5. At national level, each Member State shall keep a list of the operating units within the designated authorities that are authorised to access the VIS through the central access point(s).

Mr. Ian MacKay (Unit Head, Special Access Unit, Clinical Trials and Special Access Programme, Senior Medical Advisor Bureau, Therapeutic Products Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch, Department of Health): The special access program was originally designed to address the needs of small numbers of patients, as you've described.

In this light it recalled, while acknowledging that the security forces have shown some measure of restraint recently, the necessity of further action by the Belgrade authorities on the withdrawal of security forces used for civilian repression, unimpeded access for observers, the full return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes and free and unimpeded access for humanitarian organisations and supplies to Kosovo.