A "military ethos" is preventing Canadian veterans from seeking the help they need for such problems as post-traumatic stress disorder, a coroners inquest into the death of Greg Matters heard Wednesday.
Tim Laidler, who served in Afghanistan in 2008 before leaving the military, said "very thorough" support is available through such organizations as the Veterans Transition Network, a non-profit group that provides counselling services.
"The problem is it's not within the military ethos and the veterans' culture to actually access that service, to stand up and ask for help," Laidler said in giving testimony at the Prince George courthouse via telephone from Vancouver.
Matters was a 15-year veteran of the Canadian military who did a tour in Bosnia before receiving an honourable discharge in 2009. It was not until late 2010, however, that he began receiving counselling for PTSD, the inquest has heard.
An RCMP emergency response team shot and killed Matters on his family's Pinko Road property on the evening of Sept. 10, 2012, some 40 hours after he ran his brother off the road. Matter's possible state-of-mind at the time of his death has been a major topic during the inquest.
By that time, Matters had also received a $6,000 lump sum payment and a pension of $123 per month from the federal government. Although not much, Laidler said many receive no pension whatsoever, simply because they haven't gone through the process.
He said there are about 700,000 veterans in Canada but just 200,000 have stepped forward to seek help of any kind. Laidler, who is the executive director of Veterans Transition Network, said it typically takes three months to find the eight veterans needed to participate in a three-month program.
"The philosophy of 'if you build it they will come' just doesn't work," said Laidler, who is graduating from the University of British Columbia with a masters degree in counselling psychology.
Laidler pointed to himself as a typical example.
"I was 22, I was overseas, I saw a whole bunch of things happen," Laidler said. "I came home and I was a hard charger, wanted to go back an finish my undergraduate degree at UBC and didn't need any help from anybody."
It took almost a year of strong encouragement from a friend until Laidler admitted he needed help for his own version of PTSD and entered a program provided by Veterans Transition Network.
"Once I did take the program, it totally opened me up and realized to me that I have changed since I was in Afghanistan," Laidler said.
Laidler said he spent a long time being angry and channeling his experiences from Afghanistan into rage. With the help of professionals, he tapped into some of the deeper emotions, "those feelings of remorse and pain from overseas, and started to process them through."
He also said there is a "big misconception that PTSD is going to turn everyone into Rambo."
"You have these symptoms of anger and rage but one of the many symptoms is you're afraid of any interactions, and getting that sort of awareness out to the public is something that could go a long way to helping," Laidler said.
Asked to suggest recommendations the inquest jury could make, Laidler said "better and more outreach" is the key. He also agreed providing help to veterans' families is worthwhile.
