Thank you, Chair.
As I sit here, I'm getting more and more frustrated. Every day, I get a phone call or a message from a veteran who is struggling. Every day, I get a phone call or a message from a family member who has lost a loved one. I've seen first-hand the impacts that service dogs can have on our veterans and our first responders, and I find it absolutely mind-boggling that those who have been tasked to look after the veterans who have served our country come before this committee and point fingers—it's the provinces or....
Ms. Heber, your testimony about a veteran whom one of your colleagues found in obvious distress, and you couldn't find out how that veteran was.... This is unbelievable. It's been four years. We have countries that are doing yeoman service and that we can learn from. We have Wounded Warriors Canada, which is developing its own standards, and yet.... It is so frustrating. Now we're seeing first-hand why, when our veterans are dealing with VAC, they get this cold response back. It's absolutely shocking for me. Seriously, we have to be better. It's just unbelievable. Surely we have enough well-educated people.
Ms. Heber, you have a ton of degrees and diplomas and certificates behind you, and I'm sure all of our witnesses are from learned educational facilities. Surely we can come up with standards or agree to some standards so that we can supply our veterans with the much-needed support. Wouldn't you all agree, whether it is a prescribed treatment that you approve of, or maybe a security blanket....? I'm not sure, but the feeling I got was that that's what was being implied. If it saves veterans from taking their life, shouldn't we be doing everything in our power to find a way to supply that? Shouldn't we be doing everything in our power to make sure that our veterans aren't ending up on the street, homeless, that they have all the supports they need? I'm staggered at your testimony today.
Ms. Garrett-Baird, how long have you been with VAC?