Coming back to the question whether the ombudsman should be accountable, we just heard from Mr. Marin, the former National Defence and Veterans Affairs ombudsman. I think he did a superb job, so much so that he was told his contract wouldn't be renewed.
I really like nominating people because our meeting is public. We also heard from Mr. Leduc, who is the ombudsman at the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue veterans hospital. I don't know whether my colleagues will agree with me, but it emerged from this meeting that Mr. Leduc was an employee of the hospital's executive director: he answered only what she wanted him to answer. She also protected her friend Mr. Leduc when he was asked questions.
We heard from Mr. Côté, who is the National Defence ombudsman. Personally, I wasn't satisfied with his performance because we could see that he had both hands tied and couldn't really react because of the system in place in the Canadian Forces. His bosses are the general of the Canadian Forces and the Minister of Defence. He's protecting his job. He doesn't want to bite the hand that feeds him.
I don't blame either Mr. Leduc or Mr. Côté for acting that way because they're protecting their professional lives. However, it would be wasting our time and taking the wrong direction to have a Veterans Affairs ombudsman who would take the side of his real boss, who is the minister, instead of that of veterans.
I'd like you to comment on what I've just said. If you want to refrain from doing so, I'll understand, because I know you're often in a poor position to answer that kind of question.