There are people suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome who come to see me at my office, including members of the Armed Forces. Perhaps their view is not an accurate one -- I am not here to judge -- but these people tell me that when they go to the Department of Veterans Affairs, they are represented by people in the Department and have the sense that they are the underdogs in the system, to use their term. If they don't agree with the decision, they appeal. Once again, government or departmental employees -- I'm talking about you -- hear their arguments. They tell me that even the lawyers are paid by the Department.
Veterans who are represented before the Board have the feeling they are the underdogs. When they're represented in the Federal Court, again they have the sense that they are the underdogs having to fight the big federal machine. These are the veterans themselves telling me this.
For that reason, I tend to think that if your Board came within the purview of the Department of Justice, rather than the Department of Veterans Affairs, people might have a different perspective. It might not change the decisions in any way, but at least there would be the appearance that average Canadians and veterans were being treated fairly.
I don't know whether you are understanding my message or my cry from my heart. I'm not criticizing here. This is what people have told me and I'm only passing that along to you. I have tried to describe how they feel about their dealings with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Board, the Federal Court, the Appeal Court...