Dozens of children of Ontario-based soldiers serving in Afghanistan are being denied the mental health care they need amid a dispute over who will pay for the service, according to a report.
The Globe and Mail reported in its Thursday's edition that the provincial and federal governments can't agree on who should pay for the therapy sought for the more than 40 children who suffered mental trauma in their parents' absence.
About 90 military families have sought assistance at the Phoenix Centre for Children and Families, which serves Renfrew County, including CFB Petawawa. In 2005, only 10 families sought help.
There's now a four-month waiting list for treatment for such conditions as attention deficit disorder and anxiety, Phoenix Centre executive director and therapist Greg Lubimiv said Wednesday,
Lubimiv told the newspaper he has petitioned both Queen's Park and Ottawa for more funding.
But so far, the defence department has rebuffed the requests, saying it only looks after the mental health of soldiers, not their families.
"There's no mandate to provide these services to the family members," Lieutenant-Colonel Dave Rundle, commander of CFB Petawawa told The Globe.
Mary Anne Chambers, Ontario's Minister of Children and Youth Services, pointed the finger at the federal government.
Chambers told the newspaper she increased the budget for children's mental health care to $467 million, a $38-million increase since 2004, when the Liberal government came into office in Ontario.
But Lubimiv said this means his centre's $1.5-million budget has only seen a 3-per-cent increase, which is not nearly enough to cover the surge in requests for help from military families last year.
A spokesperson for federal Health Minister Tony Clement told The Globe he is prepared to talk to his provincial counterpart, but he reiterated that it is the province's responsibility to take care of mental health care issues.
