Veterans Affairs committee  I have been on the board since 2009, Mr. Stoffer.

Veterans Affairs committee  I know we get a number of applications back to the minister under section 85, but I'd refer that to Ms. Sharkey to see if she has that information. If not, I can provide it to you.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman and honourable committee members. Thank you for inviting me today. I am joined by members of my management team: Dale Sharkey, the board's Director General, and Kathleen Vent, Acting Director of Legal Services. We are here today to talk about the board and to bring you up to date on the improvements we have made since our most recent appearance, last March.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes. When the members or the veterans who we serve come before the board at review, which is the first level following a decision from the department that it is not accepted, the veteran has the opportunity to come before us and is provided with representation at the review level—free representation that is—by the Bureau of Pension Advocates or a service officer from the Royal Canadian Legion.

Veterans Affairs committee  In addition, if I may add, if the veteran is not satisfied following his review hearing, he or she has the opportunity to then take it on further to the next level, and is again provided with legal assistance at no cost on appeal. We presently, in this fiscal year, have an approximate 30% further success rate in addition.

Veterans Affairs committee  The decrease in the part of the main estimates with respect to VRAB deals with the statutory benefits that we have no control over. There is an adjustment with respect to those figures for the coming year. It has nothing to do with the amount that we use for our spending in our programs.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes; at review, where there's a two-member panel, that's correct. The benefit of the doubt is a legal principle. It's been in effect for many years. It's a legal concept that's been discussed with lawyers, but it's embedded in the legislation. We have it in section 39 of our Veterans Review and Appeal Board Act.

Veterans Affairs committee  Most certainly, I can provide that.

Veterans Affairs committee  Mr. Chairman, I'd first of all like to state that I'm not prepared to speak to individual cases at the board, or matters that deal with individuals' privacy. I'd like to say to Mr. Stoffer that at the board, and across the board, one of the basic tenets in an independent administrative tribunal is that he who hears, decides.

Veterans Affairs committee  Well, at the Veterans Review and Appeal Board, it's correct that we are arm's length. We report to the House of Commons through the minister, and we are a quasi-judicial tribunal. We are there to serve the veterans. And the veterans, if they are not satisfied with the decision they receive at the department, have the opportunity to only be dissatisfied and be eligible to make an application to come before our board.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good afternoon, honourable committee members. I am pleased to be here today to talk to you about the board's main estimates for 2012-13 and about how we are serving Canada's veterans. With me is Karen Rowell, our director of corporate operations, who has been with the board since its creation in 1995.

Veterans Affairs committee  We can provide Federal Court decisions to that effect, Mr. Chairman.

Veterans Affairs committee  With respect to the way the tribunal deals with all applicants, and especially those with mental health issues, we are conscious of trying to make it more comfortable for them. We work with their representatives to be accommodating to their needs at the hearing. We also try to obtain as much information as possible about their individual situations, because each case is dealt with on its own merits.

Veterans Affairs committee  It's not at all a question of competency of members.

Veterans Affairs committee  We interpret the legislation and do our best to review the decisions of the department to the benefit of the veterans. That's our role within that framework. We understand the frustrations of veterans. We're committed to improving our own methods to provide them—