The Canadian Armed Forces need to update and streamline their communications with bereaved military families, the National Defence and Canadian Forces Ombudsman says in a new report.
The “collaborative review” points out major inconsistencies in the way military families are engaged during the investigations that follow a service member’s death, often resulting in “heartache and confusion for those simply trying to understand next steps in the investigation and if, at all, they have a role to play in it.”
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When a service member dies in unusual or sudden circumstances, the Forces convene a board of inquiry to investigate the contributing factors to the death, and to determine whether it was directly related to military service. The board is convened within 30 days of the service member’s death, and a final report completed within the next year.
However, military families have little information on what to expect during the board of inquiry process, the ombudsman’s review found. The only information they’re given is a single-page pamphlet that is “out of date and is missing practical information.”
“A board of inquiry to us civilians is almost like a boogeyman. We don’t understand it,” one grieving family member said.
What’s more, family members can only access the board’s final report if they file a request under Access to Information laws.
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Things become even more convoluted in cases of suspected suicide, where families may have to deal with up to three concurrent investigations on top of the board of inquiry process. This can result in confusing and seemingly redundant communications from the Forces, the report finds.
For example, a grieving family member may be told that the board of inquiry has access to the deceased’s medical records, but may later be asked to provide consent to allow a different investigative body to view the same records.
Considering all the investigations are within the purview of the Canadian Armed Forces, “multiple contacts… for the same information can be seen by families as redundant and frustrating,” the report states.
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Adding to the frustration is the fact that family members are often themselves not permitted to see the very information that they’re being asked to grant the Forces permission to access.
For these reasons, the ombudsman’s report says the Forces need to do a better job informing military families about boards of inquiry and other investigative bodies, including letting them know which files and proceedings are closed off for legal reasons, and why.
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The report also recommends that families who want information outside of board of inquiry settings — which former defence minister Peter Mackay observed “at times lack the compassion needed by families during these troubling times” — should be given more opportunities to meet with commanding officers to get information on their loved one’s passing.
To this end, all military officers assuming command positions should be trained in casualty notification and administration, the report recommends.
Additionally, Forces departments responsible for bereavement and support services should be imparted with more information, training and transferable expertise to better empower them to assist families, the report adds.
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“Families should not have to chase after information they have a right to access — whether the death happened during operations or not — they should be assisted in their efforts to obtain it,” the report concludes.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Chief of Defence Staff Jonathan Vance said in separate letters of response that they concurred with the report’s findings.
Vance said that the Armed Forces “learned a great deal during the Afghanistan campaign” but conceded that more needs to be done to meet the needs of bereaved military families.
“As you point out, and families have validated, clear, accurate, and consistent information is central to supporting the families effectively and with compassion.”
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