Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Let me start by saying I'll be supporting the motion, but some of the comments made by Mr. Richards cannot go unchallenged.
He stated that the department has changed its story several times. That is not true. The department officials changed their testimony when new evidence came to light after the original testimony was given.
He said that the status of the investigation is unclear. It isn't. The officials have testified unequivocally with respect to the status of the investigation.
He indicated that there are numerous veterans—at least four others. Well, if there are, that has not been presented to the committee. Maybe there are. Maybe there are people talking to Mr. Richards who have chosen not to come before the committee, or who have chosen not to come before the committee and provide anything to corroborate what they've said. That may be so but, to quote the minister, we can deal only in facts.
He says we're starting to hear about at least eight other cases. Maybe he's starting to hear about eight other cases, but the committee isn't. He says he's connecting stories through what the minister has told us and through what the media have told us. The minister has also been unequivocal with respect to having to deal in facts. He's been unequivocal in saying that what has happened is entirely unacceptable. To enter into the realm of speculation and then to repeat it so many times as to make it sound like fact is completely unfair.
The motion is reasonable. The motion is one that deserves to be supported. The narrative and the speculation that are being produced without substantiation can't be allowed to stand untested.
There was a suggestion that one could imagine why someone might alter a file. Wow.
Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but they're not entitled to their own facts. In my view, they're not entitled to do a drive-by smear of the people who work at Veterans Affairs. That can't go unchallenged.
As I said, I'll be supporting the motion. I will be quite interested in hearing—