Veterans Affairs committee  A lot of countries in the world have women in their armed forces. Whether all occupations are open to women differs across the world. In terms of how they deal with their women veterans, the United States has a completely different system. They provide health care directly to their veterans.

Veterans Affairs committee  would say that it's a different system. Go ahead, Dr. Kelly.

Veterans Affairs committee  That is a great question. I hadn't thought about that. You're talking about your medical when you join the Canadian Forces. I certainly don't remember anything about reproductive health in my medical, but that was 40 years ago and I can't speak about what it is today. In terms of what VAC is doing, when I first took up this job I remember getting a briefing from Veterans Affairs.

Veterans Affairs committee  There is a CAF-VAC joint steering committee. I am not certain what the scope of their mandate is and what they look at. What they are doing jointly would be a great question for them. I can't remember the second part of the question. I'm sorry.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'll be honest with you, Mr. Chair. I'm not certain.

Veterans Affairs committee  In the scoping review we did, we went into a fair bit of detail, so it's quite academic. If there is time, I would like to invite my colleague Dr. Kelly to go over some of that. Maybe it will give you a sense of some of the things we have found evidence for.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, we don't see any difference in the nature of the complaints. You have to understand that the Department of Veterans Affairs has approximately 175,000 to 180,000 clients. We receive about 2,000 complaints a year. So that is a tiny proportion. We know that the complaints we receive from men and women are the same.

Veterans Affairs committee  I left the Canadian Armed Forces four years ago now, and we are well aware that there is a change of culture underway. I can't comment on what is happening in the Canadian Armed Forces. When I said we wanted to be treated like one of the guys, I had just enrolled, in 1982. I remember it very well.

Veterans Affairs committee  Research is needed on that specific question, because we don't know. We observe that service affects women's physical health and to some extent also their mental health in different ways. However, we don't know why. The study we did has just brought this to light now. I think that is the exact question that has to be answered, and I hope there are researchers who will look into it.

Veterans Affairs committee  Given the manner in which we serve in the Canadian Forces or the RCMP, it's demanding service. As I mentioned in my remarks, the way women were integrated was to bring them in and just treat them like one of the guys. What we understand today is that in doing that, there have been harms.

Veterans Affairs committee  I don't have the answer to that. I think this is a big part of the gap in the research. I'm going to ask my colleague Dr. Kelly whether there is anything in our scoping review that she might be able to point to.

Veterans Affairs committee  When you're in the military—I'll speak for the military because that's my service—it's your whole life. It's not a nine-to-five job. It's an “every minute of every day” career. It's the life you've chosen and it's all-encompassing. The day you walk out the door.... I still have trouble with it.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I did receive a response from the minister. I understand that the department is looking into the matter and is reaching out to the women they have found who are in that situation. They're reaching out to them to clarify where they're at. I don't know how else to say it better than that.

Veterans Affairs committee  No. We all understand that public servants and our departments must do due diligence. What we understand is that the women they found in their file search put in their statements that they had been compensated and that it was the same compensation. However, they did not know that; they didn't know what they were....

Veterans Affairs committee  First of all—and this is what I say at every town hall I go to—the people at Veterans Affairs care about what they do. I cannot believe and I will not believe that anyone would be retaliatory. I know that it may feel that way to some veterans, but it is not the case. In my heart I believe that.