The sad saga of Afghan-Canadian military advisers

OTTAWA—We are now in the midst of Remembrance Week, and most Canadians are wearing a poppy to pay tribute to the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of Canada. It should also be a time for civilians to reflect on those veterans who returned home with either physical or mental wounds due to their experiences on foreign battlefields. Thanks to advances in psychiatric science, we better understand what used to be termed “shell shock” during the Great War, or “battle fatigue” during the Second World War, which resulted in the sufferer being officially labelled as “LMF”—“lacking moral fibre.” While veterans’ benefits have improved considerably in recent decades, not all Canadians sent into war zones are treated equally. By this I refer to the dozens of Afghan Canadians who served as language and cultural advisers (LCAs) with the Canadian Armed Forces during the decade-long war in Afghanistan. These individuals wore uniforms and body armour, and went on patrols outside the wire to act as interpreters for our troops, but they did so as term employees of the Department of National Defence. They were recruited for their knowledge of Dari or Pashto languages, and their understanding of Afghan cultural practices. Commanders and troops alike considered them to be invaluable. As they were not soldiers, they did not rotate home every six months, with many of the LCAs serving in theatre for more than two years consecutively. Some of these individuals were wounded, and many currently suffer from PTSD. The problem for these LCAs arises from the fact that—as federal employees—they had six months after completion of their contract to apply for any medical compensation. They are not entitled to benefits from Veterans Affairs Canada. As the effects of PTSD are not necessarily evident in the first six months, those LCAs now suffering from the invisible wound of PTSD have found themselves in bureaucratic limbo. Initially, the military directed those affected LCAs to the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). However many of the injury claims by the LCAs have been rejected for the simple reason that WSIB officials are not familiar with those who have suffered mental trauma as a result of exposure to a conflict zone. Sadly, this story of neglect was first flagged more than five years ago by then-Canadian Forces and DND ombud Greg Lick. He first wrote a letter to then-defence deputy minister Jody Thomas on June 18, 2019, urging the department to urgently resolve the issue of compensation for the LCAs. On Remembrance Day that same year, the CBC's Murray Brewster broke the story of Mohammad Amin—last name withheld for privacy—who had served as an LCA with the military in Kandahar, and was subsequently denied medical treatment for his PTSD. The result of this double whammy of the ombudsman's request and sympathetic media exposure? Nada. To their credit both Lick and Brewster have stuck with this crusade. On Sept. 29, 2023, Lick wrote directly to Minister of National Defence Bill Blair to raise this issue to the political level. On Oct. 19, 2023, the CBC headlined Brewster's story “Ombudsman blasts Ottawa's 'inadequate' efforts to help injured Afghan military advisers.” The official reaction? Again, nada. On March 8, Lick again wrote to Blair—only this time he took the unique step of offering a solution to the impasse facing the LCAs: he cited as precedent the federal government's decision in 2017 to pay cadets injured in a 1974 grenade explosion at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier in Quebec. This resulted in the March 12 CBC story by Brewster entitled “Civilian advisers who served in Afghanistan deserve compensation now, ombudsman says.” Surely this time Blair would leap into action? Again, nada. Lick left the Ombud’s office in July, but his successor—acting ombud Robyn Hynes—has taken up the cudgel on behalf of the LCAs. On Aug. 28, she wrote to Blair notifying his office that she is launching a probe into Ottawa's treatment of these Afghan-Canadian LCAs. In a statement to The Ottawa Citizen last week regarding that ongoing investigation, Hynes noted, "We really thought we could get these individuals what they need and deserve through face-to-face engagements and letters with senior leadership of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, including the minister." Hynes also acknowledged that this could be a last throw of the dice for the Ombud’s office: “At this point, we have very few tools left in the toolbox to encourage action. The report we will release in December will hopefully achieve that aim.” Let's hope for the sake of those former LCAs that Blair's office follows the military's philosophy of not leaving a soldier or a team member behind. Canada owes these individuals the treatment and compensation that they earned serving the country.We shall remember their service. Scott Taylor is the editor and publisher of Esprit de Corps magazine. The Hill Times