Gregory Lick, Ombudsman for the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), spent the week of January 15 to 19 in Moose Jaw visiting with CAF officers, non-commissioned members, civilian employees, and families.
He sat down on Jan. 19 for an exclusive interview with MooseJawToday.com, and shared some of the issues he's hearing from DND and CAF employees — as well as some of the positive experiences of living in Moose Jaw.
"Each of our visits, pretty well, to any of the bases and wings across the country, and sometimes internationally, are week-long, because it takes that amount of time to get to see everyone we want to see," Lick explained. "For Moose Jaw and every other base, it's about creating awareness of what our office does, how we can support members, what we offer, and a bit about what we don't do, as well.
"And then the other side of it is hearing directly from members about the issues they're facing, the bigger, systemic-type issues ... that we want to look at really deeply."
The Ombudsman's visit included scheduled presentations and consultations with officers, family members, the Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) staff, senior and junior non-commissioned CAF members, public service employees, and the Saskatchewan Dragoons Reserve Unit.
Lick, who took the job in 2018, said that he personally didn't know about the Ombudsman's office before he joined it, despite a 40-year career including many years as the Director General of Operations for the entire Canadian Coast Guard. That's one of the reasons he works hard to raise awareness of the services his office provides.
He still regularly finds that a majority of DND and CAF employees he visits don't know the purpose and scope of the Ombudsman.
"Our job is to support DND and CAF members however we can, but especially in cases where there's unfair treatment," he explained. "We find that people don't know they can turn to us for things as simple as, say, finding out where the nearest MFRC is, all the way up to addressing big, systemic unfairness where I might have take it all the way to the top, with the Minister of Defence or Chief of Defence Staff, and initiate a countrywide investigation. ... The role of the Ombudsman is to speak up without fear of repercussion, which I have to do sometimes, even if it makes the government uncomfortable.
"Oftentimes, people think we're the office of last resort, which sometimes we are, depending on the issue. But for many other issues, we can be the office of first resort, and so it's really important to us to continue promoting awareness so we can help the people we need to."
Lick and his team deal with everything from serious legal cases with widespread repercussions (sexual assaults and harassment, veteran's affairs, civilian contractors with PTSD), to things like helping family members who have been forced to move to find gainful employment. They can't address criminal cases, but they can usually still help members who may be dealing with the justice system in some way.
One surprising current issue is the complicated province-to-province licensing of physicians, which affects military families more frequently because of regular postings. Another huge concern is the cost of housing and living, particularly when it comes to the junior ranks. It is a national, coast-to-coast problem. For example, Lick said recent news from Halifax about military members possibly 'living rough' is extremely concerning and has his full attention.
Fortunately, housing pressure isn't as intense in Moose Jaw. Lick also said he has heard feedback that members are happy with the culture, opportunities, and community connections at 15 Wing.
"Many of the issues that we see here are fairly consistent with what we find across the country, related to benefits, pay issues, cost of living, but some of those issues are not as bad here, which is really good to see, actually," Lick said. "People, we find, want to come to Moose Jaw. That's just great to hear! You don't hear that everywhere, particularly on the really isolated, remote bases and wings, or where there's really high costs of living, such as Esquimalt and Victoria, where it's almost impossible to afford a house at a junior rank level."
Lick said his base and wing visits are important to keep him connected with the communities his office is meant to serve, as well as being his favourite part of the job.
He and his office encourage DND and CAF employees past, present, and even future to check their website, review past investigation and frequently asked questions, and reach out for help, advice, and guidance. The complaint process is completely private, and individual personal control over information is maintained from start to end. The Ombudsman office protects complainants against any form of reprisal.
Learn more at:
- www.canada.ca/en/ombudsman-national-defence-forces.html
- www.canada.ca/en/ombudsman-national-defence-forces/information-about-office/ombudsman.html
- www.canada.ca/en/ombudsman-national-defence-forces/contact.html
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