N.S. murder-suicide a painful reminder of plight for ex-soldiers affected by PTSD

The murder-suicide of a former Canadian soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and his family has brought back painful memories and lingering frustrations for Tracey Matters.

Five years ago, her brother Greg, an ex-soldier suffering from PTSD, was shot and killed in a confrontation with RCMP in British Columbia.

The deaths of Lionel Desmond, his wife Shanna, their 10-year-old daughter Aaliyah, and his mother Brenda this week is something that will undoubtedly haunt their loved ones, she says.

“It’s still a struggle every day,” Matters tells Yahoo Canada News. “I think about Greg 100 times a day and I miss him terribly.”

Despite a rising tide of PTSD, also called Operational Stress Injury, there is still a long way to go to providing the support sufferers need, she says.

Her brother received a medical discharged from the Canadian Forces in 2009 after 15 years that included service in Bosnia. Already diagnosed with PTSD, Greg, 40, did not tell his family about his struggles, Matters says.

“He kept it a secret… it was only after a period of time that he said he’d been medically discharged,” she says.

It was Greg’s family that had to find a doctor and psychiatrist to treat him. The improvement was immediate, she says, but then came the September 2012 confrontation with RCMP at the rural home he shared with his mother near Prince George, B.C.

An RCMP emergency response team was deployed to arrest Greg for assaulting his brother, dressed in fatigues and armed with semi-automatic weapons.

RCMP say he was armed with a hatchet and approaching an officer when he was shot twice in the back with an M16.

A coroner’s jury made nine recommendations, most of them aimed at RCMP training. They also recommended improved monitoring by the Canadian Forces of the “physical, emotional and financial health” of military members, including after discharge.

And the jury recommended support and education on PTSD for loved ones of military members.

But Tracey Matters says it seems that support still falls short.

“I don’t know if anyone has taken notice,” she says.

There is a stigma attached to PTSD that prevents sufferers from getting help, she says.

“Not everyone with PTSD is suicidal. PTSD doesn’t mean you’re a dangerous person,” Matters says. “It is an injury, it’s not a mental illness. It can be treated and people can be supported to get through this terrible time in their life.”

Lionel Desmond, a former member of the 2nd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment based in Gagetown, N.B., left the military 18 months ago, already suffering from PTSD. He served in Afghanistan in 2007.

In Desmond’s case, the province has announced an investigation into services provided by the provincial health care system. Neither the Canadian Forces nor Veterans Affairs, which operate 10 operational stress injury clinics across the country, have committed to an investigation of his case.

An investigation by the Globe and Mail last year found that at least 72 Canadian veterans of the war in Afghanistan have died by suicide.

Tracey Matters expects the number of Afghanistan war veterans with PTSD will continue to grow.

She encourages family members to be assertive advocates, research the illness and be dogged in finding the right treatment and support.

“They need the right program, they need the right support and they need 24-hour access to some kind of crisis service and so do their families,” she says.

She blames RCMP for his death.

“The way the police handled the situation was absolutely appalling,” she says.

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP completed an investigation into Greg’s death in October 2015. The report and its recommendations were turned over to the RCMP commissioner for a response.

The complaints commission continues to await that response and the report has not been released publicly.

“That’s a long time to wait so we still have lots of questions,” Matters says.

Greg’s mother, Lorraine Matter, has also filed a civil lawsuit against RCMP. Her brother’s death led Tracey to join an organization in Australia, Legacy, that provides support for the families of veterans.