Joint Personnel Support Unit

February 18, 2011

MP Brown is joined by Colonel Meloche and members of the Canadian Armed Forces at the opening of the Base Borden Integrated Personnel Support Centre.


In the provision of care and support to its ill and injured personnel, the Canadian Forces (CF) are far ahead of where they were ten years ago. As part of an ongoing process to improve the level of services, the CF has established a network of 24 support centres to meet the needs of ill and injured personnel from the Navy, Army and Air Force, providing them with an integrated “one-stop service.”  These support centres, known as Integrated Personnel Support Centres (IPSCs), operate under the Joint Personnel Support Unit (JPSU), which is headquartered in Ottawa.

The mandate of the JPSU is to respond to requests for support and report to the chain of command on issues of concern raised by ill and injured CF personnel, veterans, and their families. The JPSU accomplishes the following:

• It improves the quality of care and services provided to ill and injured CF personnel.
• It ensures that military personnel have access to the same high standard of care and support across the country.
• It reduces the potential for gaps, overlaps and confusion, ensuring that no CF member “falls through the cracks.”
• As military personnel move frequently, the JPSU concept recognizes that people heal better and faster when they are close to their family and their social support network.
• The JPSU gives military personnel a new mission – to heal (recover), to regain their strength (rehabilitate) and to choose their best way forward (reintegrate).

The principal aim of this initiative is to ensure that all Regular Force and Reserve Force personnel, veterans, and their families are provided an equitable level of care and support regardless of environment or location, through centralized command and control.

Services

The JPSU provides a Canadian Forces and Veterans Affairs Canada integrated “one-stop service” for ill and injured CF personnel, veterans, and their families. It supports currently serving and releasing CF personnel, both Regular Force and Reserve Force. It caters to both referrals and walk-in clients, to long-term injured personnel and to members considering retirement. It responds to queries from family members regarding support services and programs for ill and injured personnel, and provides referrals as appropriate.


The services made available through the JPSU include the following:

• Casualty tracking;
• Casualty administrative support and advocacy;
• CF Case Management;
• Return to Work (RTW) Program coordination;
• Service Income Security Insurance Plan (SISIP) financial services;
• Liaison with Military Family Resource Centres, local base support representatives and local unit Commanding Officers; and
• Veterans Affairs Canada client and transition services.

The JPSU improves on earlier initiatives in several key ways. It provides one-stop access to services and benefits, simplifying the process for clients seeking assistance. It reduces the potential for gaps and overlaps, and the potential for confusion among service providers. Veterans Affairs Canada staff become engaged earlier in a releasing member’s transition process.

Structure

The JPSU is the central military unit of the IPSCs which are located as follows:

Phase 1 (Announced - Mar 2009)

• Vancouver, British Columbia;
• Edmonton, Alberta;
• Shilo, Manitoba;
• Toronto, Ontario;
• Petawawa, Ontario;
• Valcartier, Québec;
• Gagetown, New Brunswick; and
• Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Phase 2 (Announced - May 2009)

• Esquimalt, British Columbia;
• Calgary, Alberta;
• Wainwright, Alberta;
• Winnipeg, Manitoba;
• Kingston, Ontario;
• London, Ontario;
• Meaford, Ontario;
• Ottawa, Ontario;
• St-Jean, Quebec;
• Moncton, New Brunswick with a satellite in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; and
• St-John’s, Newfoundland.

Phase 3 (Announced - Feb 2011)

• Comox, British Columbia;
• Cold Lake, Alberta with a satellite in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
• Borden, Ontario;
• Trenton,  Ontario; and
• Bagotville, Quebec;

Individual IPSCs are structured and staffed based on the size and relative needs of the population they serve. With the announcement of phase 3 there will be 266 positions filled across Canada.