Absolutely. We are piloting one right now in the Montreal office, and we'll see how it works. When they send documentation, they make a phone call to ask five days later if they have received their documentation. We're trying to facilitate, make readable, I guess, the letters we're sending out, to make sure that the veterans understand the content. We're trying to use a language that is understandable, not jargon.
We have to be careful, though. Right now our first application approval rate is 84%, so a lot of people are being approved for what they come in for, but 16% is still not being approved yet. We are working on that. We're looking at how we can make this.... In the adjudications, I have a team who now calls the veteran before sending the letter to say no. They will call and say that based on the information we have, it doesn't look favourable. Is there anything you can add to the file that may help us make a favourable decision?
There are some exceptions. We had somebody claim that we addicted them to cocaine when they were in Afghanistan, and we should pay. When we get a claim like that, we're not going to make the phone call. I apologize. We're going to deal with him in a different way, and this is an actual case. But they call and ask if the veteran is okay, and can something more be provided, because if the veteran doesn't provide anything more, then that's their file.
A lot of that is being done, but we are trying to put a much more human, personal touch, and that's the care, compassion, and respect.
Sometimes the answer is no. Let's be honest. It's not service related. There will always be those letters that say no, but let's do it in a way that is not traumatic for the veteran.