Veterans Affairs committee  Well, I'm not a medical doctor. I have a PhD in sociology. But yes, I direct the Institute on Aging here at the University of North Carolina, where we're part of a national health promotion network that focuses on evidence-based practice in health care.

Veterans Affairs committee  A lot of it can just be done by people who don't actually have training in one of the traditional or complementary health professions such as those you mentioned. Public health people are being trained in this area in departments of public health, in Canada as well as here. There's a new name for it now.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, but I do want to express my appreciation to all of you. I was also able to appear in person before a Senate committee in the summer, and had the same reaction there, as all of you really dug into this report. I appreciate the kinds of questions you were asking and your commitment to this.

Veterans Affairs committee  That's outstanding.

Veterans Affairs committee  I can tell you one of them off the top of my head, and that's Nova Scotia. I just cannot remember what the other one is. I am sorry. I could find that out for you if you like.

Veterans Affairs committee  No. That's why we have this committee. I think what we've come up with is going to be part of a screening tool. There actually will be more than one screening tool. But the PRISMA-7 screening tool that is used, on page 35, which is from one of these projects in Quebec, is the kind of thing that, literally, someone with five minutes of training could actually administer if someone called in to Veterans Affairs Canada.

Veterans Affairs committee  You know, I would like to think that there is. This may be wishful thinking. I have been in the health promotion field since I came to the University of Toronto, I guess. We had, actually, the first health promotion master's program in the country. This was back in 1978. I really would like to believe, and the data would show it, that there is increasing participation in physical activities by younger people and that it is extending somewhat in the later years.

Veterans Affairs committee  That's true.

Veterans Affairs committee  That is basically correct. I don't know how much you've been able to pick up on this ecological model that we have in the report, but it's also possible that, for example, at the local area offices of Veterans Affairs, additional steps could be taken to enhance, let's say, physical fitness, at a community level.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, it is. I want to emphasize, “if they need them”. Again, a lot of them won't. A lot of people are robust until they die at the age of 90 or whatever and aren't going to need any. So we want and need criteria; we still want criteria of eligibility, but not based on anything other than need.

Veterans Affairs committee  That's what we believe. You hit it right.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, we did have one meeting a few months ago in Charlottetown.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes. At that meeting, we were asked if we would form two committees to help in moving forward with the report. One of them is going to deal with screening. Again, the academic gerontologists and the health services people are familiar with screening. This committee is going to be meeting in about two weeks in Toronto.

Veterans Affairs committee  I agree with you. Since we give our advice, effectively, to the minister through this structure, my job would be to pass that on as a request. I can't release reports myself, but I can recommend that they be released. I'm sure they'd be happy to do so.

Veterans Affairs committee  Will do. Thank you.