Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, but it wasn't this review; it was an analysis of current programs. Three programs constitute the whole package: VIP, the house program, and long-term care. I would say the start date was shortly after the minister arrived, and he asked us to launch a comprehensive review.

Veterans Affairs committee  May I comment on that, sir, so as not to leave you with the impression that that's the timeline we're working under. We're working on a very compressed timeline. The report we're delivering in the fall places us on a completely different part of where we were in the previous....

Veterans Affairs committee  So we're in the latter stages of this one, even though we're moving faster. Through the previous review, we've gained a heck of a lot of information we can reuse, one being that when you move from an entitlement-based system to a needs-based system, it enhances the service. The new Veterans Charter is working, and we've gained a lot of knowledge from that that we're applying here, so we're saving a lot of time in that regard.

Veterans Affairs committee  Darragh, do you want to respond?

Veterans Affairs committee  When we develop our analysis, we'll look at the available options in terms of addressing the needs that have been identified. They're helping us identify the needs and gaps in service, and the Keeping the Promise document does a really good job of that. We're focused with them now on the needs assessment toolkit, because without that you have nothing to work with.

Veterans Affairs committee  It should be sooner rather than later, exactly.

Veterans Affairs committee  I said that we would welcome input from the committee, Mrs. Hinton, and that we're striving to get the report done as quickly as possible. Everybody is recognizing a sense of urgency around pulling it all together, and we're doing our very best to try to pull a complex subject area together.

Veterans Affairs committee  Do you mean the new Veterans Charter? I think it took quite a number of years, actually. There was work going on for several years before the intense work of developing a policy framework and the legislative package came together. Once that intense work began, it probably took about two years.

Veterans Affairs committee  I think I've already mentioned it, and that is to move to a needs-based approach, where we can actually eliminate all of the complex eligibility rules that say you have to have a disability pension to qualify for this benefit, or you have to have a low income to qualify for that benefit.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'll answer first. There's a range of costs, depending on which option you take. The options are in general terms now, but I would say they range from a very low cost to...overall, because if you do a needs-based approach, you can actually assign a benefit that isn't as expensive as maybe an entitlement benefit because you're giving what they actually need, not what they might have been entitled to under the old system.

Veterans Affairs committee  May I answer your first statement about aboriginal veterans?

Veterans Affairs committee  There has been testimony I think in front of this committee by the department a number of times explaining the benefits that were given to aboriginal veterans. I would simply refer to that testimony that has been given, simply to put it on the record. With respect to the second issue, what I can tell you is that upon the minister assuming his responsibilities, one of his early acts was to request that we launch a veterans health services review, and that element you have identified there would be included in the considerations.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes. There was a problem with the younger veterans as well when we were looking at the changes that led to the new Veterans Charter, that the disability pension became the gateway to getting into related health services that are required relative to the injuries that may have been sustained in service to Canada.

Veterans Affairs committee  We established those client service teams based on our assessment of the need in areas across Canada. So each client service team is located in a geographic area of Canada where it can serve roughly 4,300 clients. We have increased the number of client service teams over the last year from 48 to 50, in recognition of a growing workload.

Veterans Affairs committee  We're hoping to be able to do so in the fall of this year. We've been working very hard on the report for a number of months. It's a very complex subject area, but we're hopeful about getting something to the minister in the fall.