Protest September 24, 2012 Parliament Hill - The Funding of the OSISS program for the RCMP would have prevented the deaths of Bosnian Military Veteran Greg Matters and RCMP Cpl. Hinds.

My name is Eric Rebiere Former Military Veteran and RCMP disabled veteran. Recently Greg Matter'swas shot and killed by an RCMP tactical unit at his residence near Prince George BC. He was a Canadian military veteran who has served in Bosnian and was suffering  
from PTSD. He was being treated by a psychiatrist at the OSI clinic in Vancouver. According to the news media, an altercation took place between Greg and his brother at their mother’s house in Prince George resulting in the RCMP going to his residence. The RCMP tactical team ( Emergency Response Team ) was eventulally called in and Mr. Matters was shot dead during the confrontation.

I will not speculate as to what happened because I was not there.  I will say that I have in vain been trying to advocate the Harper Government since 2008 to fund the OSISS program for the RCMP. This program also includes the education about Occupational Stress Injures like PTSD at all levels. The RCMP have their fair share of PTSD cases resulting from duties in Canada and while on mission abroad i.e. Afghanistan and other locations.

Within the last year, RCMP Cpl Hinds from Richmond BC who was diagnosed with PTSD tragically  committed suicide . It is my  opinion that this suicide could have been preventable if the Harper Government had funded the OSSIS program in 2006 when it was recommended by a senior RCMP Occupational Health and Safety Officer. It was again recommended in 2010. I have copies of both recommendation documents and will be handing them out during the protest I am organizing on Parliament Hill.

As a trained volunteer for the OSISS here in Kingston since 2006, I had recently had to deal with a suicidal disabled military veteran who is doing just fine now because of the OSISS protocols learned. He is now stable and getting on with life. I can personally say that the Occupational Injury Social Support Program (OSISS) created by Lt/Col (retired) Stephane Grenier works and saves lives.

If the OSISS program was funded by the Harper Government as requested in 2006 and again in 2010 by the RCMP Occupational Health and Safety Officer, I have to ask myself if Cpl. Hinds would be alive today. The answer is yes. As for the death of Bosnian Veteran Greg Matters, I strongly believe that if OSISS was funded by the Harper Government which includes an educational aspect of this program at all levels of the RCMP about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,  other OSIs and how to deal with PTSD injured military/RCMP veterans or the general public for that matter, Greg Mathers and Cpl. Hinds would be alive today and reunited with their families.

In short, the constant reluctance to not fund the OSISS program for the RCMP is nothing short of NEGLIGENCE on the Part of the hardnosed, uncaring  and callus right wing Harper Government that has put saving budget money as a priority over the lives of brave serving and retired veterans from the Military and RCMP who have served this country and become injured as a result. Enough is enough of this NEGLIGENCE.

Every employers who is aware of dangers and issues that affect the well being and lives of employees have a duty to deal with it under the labour laws of this country. Band aid solutions do not cut it. The Canadian military were in this position in regards to the high rate of suicides within their ranks and dealt with it successfully by creating the Occupational Stress Injury Social Support Program. It is evident that this program does works.
The New York Police Department who also experienced a high rate of suicides within their rank and file are associated with an organization called POPPA which is a mirror image of the OSISS program. This program resulted in cutting their suicide rate by 80%!!!!!!! Are you listening Mr. Harper, Vic Toews and Commissioner Paulson????

On Monday September 24, I will be on Parliament hill not as a former RCMP disabled veteran but as former Military disabled veteran to give Greg Matters and Cpl Hinds a voice. I strongly believe that both these tragic incidents could have been avoided if the heartless conservative government gave a damn. This has become not just a public safety issue but an officer safety issue because one day a disabled veteran be it RCMP or Military my get triggered and kill or injure a police officer no matter what service they belong to. It can happen both ways. ARE YOU LISTENING MR. TOEWS, this is a PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE.

Mr. Toews recently said to a CBC reporter on camera when asked about funding more programs for the RCMP i.e. OSISS he with his pissed off look flatly stated that no there will be no more money for the RCMP! Well Mr. Toews like your boss Mr. Harper, I hold you and Mr. Harper responsible for the needless and preventable deaths of both Greg Matters and Cpl. Hinds. How many preventable suicides have occurred within the RCMP ranks and with the RCMP veterans? How many more Military veterans must die all because you do not want to provide an invaluable asset like OSISS to the RCMP in order to de-escalate potentially violent situations involving disabled veterans suffering from PTSD ??

To give the Thailand National Police 12 million Canadian tax payers dollars (veterans pay taxes to) in an attempt to curb illegal alien smuggling is a joke while Mr. Harper, Mr. Toews wilfully neglects the desperate needs of the men and women of the RCMP who strap on that sidearm every day. This is incomprehensible. Mr. Harper, Toews and Mr. Commissioner Paulson you do not have the backing of the RCMP officers period. As a result as stated in my warning to the then Mr. Commissioner Elliot, by not dealing with PTSD in 2008 , it has contributed in the tragedies of what happened to a Bosnian Veteran, Greg Matters and RCMP Cpl. Hinds.

This is evil and certainly not a Canadian Value considering Canada created the concept of Peace Keeping in order to prevent the needles suffering abroad of human beings. Now Mr. Harper is letting this happen right in his own back yard and to what end. More deaths of Canadian Military veterans and the needless suffering by their families? Canadians are not a disposable commodities, they pay for the Harper Governments cushy pensions, salaries and self imposed perks.

I would personally like to see Mr. Harper, Mr. Toews, Mr. Commissioner Paulson and then Mr. Commissioner Elliot all strap on a 60 pound  pack,  ammunition and carry an assault rifle on a 5 day patrol in Afghanistan. I believe it would certainly sober them up as to what our Canadian Military do abroad. It would be a real eye opener for them and give them the bitter reality of what happens in a war zone. Greg Matters’s war never ended until his recent death.

I am asking all military veterans and RCMP veterans and former police officers who agree with this to come and join me on Parliament Hill on Monday September 24, 2012 starting at 0830 to 1600 to protest peacefully and to help me get the word out to the Canadian Public. Enough is enough of this Conservative negligence and the suffering they have and are still causing.

P.S. Anyone who voted for the Conservative Government I would suggest re-evaluate why they voted for these clowns.

Albert Einstein said and I quote “THOSE WHO HAVE THE PRIVALAGE TO KNOW HAVE A DUTY TO ACT”

Eric Rebiere (Former Canadian Military Veteran and RCMP Cst. 37515 LSGC)