Saturday February 22, 2020 ~ NATIONAL
~ West Shore Voice News
Randall Garrison, MP (Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke) tabled legislation in the House of Commons on February 6 that would remove the clause that designates self-harm as a punishable offence from the Military Code.
That condition is considered to be a barrier to Armed Forces members who are facing mental health struggles but do not want to come forward and potentially face punishment.
Garrison explained in his delivery of Bill C-203: “The problem of death by suicide of Canadian Forces members is not going away. We are still losing more than one serving member per month to death by suicide, 17 in 2019 alone.” Surviving family members have supported Garrison in this work.
This is the third time Garrison is attempting to make this change. He first tabled this Private Members’ Bill in 2019, seeking to remove the archaic section of the National Defence Act that designates self-harm as a disciplinary offence for members of the Armed Forces.
The bill was blocked by the Liberals and did not pass prior to the dissolution of the previous Parliament, but Garrison says he is hopeful “that all MPs will now work together to pass Bill C-203 and ensure that Armed Forces members can finally access the mental health care they need without fear of reprisal”.
“This section of the National Defence Act is a clear barrier to Canadian Forces members who have mental health issues from seeking the help they need,” said Garrison.
=========== NOTES:
This article was first published on page 3 in the February 14 to 16, 2020 weekend digest PDF edition of West Shore Voice News.