Veterans Affairs committee  Yes. For instance, in Greenwood, Nova Scotia, a lot of our veterans have services that take place in Halifax and they have to take a bus; they don't have a vehicle available to them. They must take a bus, and it's not covered.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, it's not covered.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes.

Veterans Affairs committee  No. As a matter of fact, when Dr. Marshall appeared before this committee, he expressed a concern that this committee was not given a copy of Keeping the Promise firsthand. That is part and parcel of the communication difficulty, and by the same token, we're quite content that a lot of the recommendations in Keeping the Promise have been or will be implemented.

Veterans Affairs committee  The number I mentioned is the number, I understand, who are out there who have not contacted Veterans Affairs Canada. Perhaps they don't have a reason to contact Veterans Affairs Canada. One of the issues we have with respect to communicating is that the longer we put off communicating with the veterans, the more they're going to pass away, and before you know it, there will be very, very few veterans, save and except the modern-day veteran.

Veterans Affairs committee  A qualified answer to your question is yes. I feel we could operate as one as long as we can keep the identity of the original association--for example, if I were to join the Legion as a member of the federation of veterans, would I be allowed to wear my blue blazer? Would I be allowed to wear my blue beret?

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, there is an effort to get out more communications. It is not particularly addressed to a rural setting. I live in Nova Scotia, in the Annapolis Valley, in a rural setting, although I'm only six kilometres north of a small town called Berwick. On the same token, my neighbour down the road is an ex-military person and he's not aware of the availabilities.

Veterans Affairs committee  It could be better operated. There's room for improvement.

Veterans Affairs committee  A more local phone number, a more local 1-800 number, perhaps, for a province or two.

Veterans Affairs committee  Our relationship with the Royal Canadian Legion as well as Veterans Affairs Canada is in the category of excellent. We get along very well. I enjoy the company of Jack Frost, the president of the Royal Canadian Legion. Although Jack is not a veteran per se, he understands veterans issues.

Veterans Affairs committee  I agree that post-traumatic stress disorder is going to be an illness of the future, although the illness is already here. It's going to be a severe illness of the future for these young men and women who are serving overseas. The difficulties they regularly encounter are reported in the newspapers, and while the media perhaps express it differently, by the same token, I feel it's going to be a recognizable and severe illness now and in the future.

Veterans Affairs committee  Our association is right across Canada. We have 27 chapters. We're part of what might be described as the “big six”, or the “three big and the three little” type of thing, and we're on the “three little” end of it. The criterion for joining our organization is that you must have been awarded the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal that came into effect several years back.

Veterans Affairs committee  The Salute! magazine is sent out by Veterans Affairs Canada and it goes to every one of their clients. In addition, they send to me about 1,000 copies and I distribute 1,000 copies to the peacekeepers. Now the peacekeepers in some cases, of course, will receive two copies, one from Veterans Affairs Canada and one from me.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, but I also feel there could be regional contact. Perhaps under contract, I guess, they can't always do volunteer work on a continuing and regular basis, but perhaps they could have someone who goes out and speaks to the veterans organizations and goes out and speaks to community organizations so that they can expand on the services available to the veterans.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I do. Regarding new veterans, I understand that the general retirement age for a new veteran is 36 years of age, or in that vicinity. Once they leave the forces, for whatever reason—their end of engagement, or some other reason—they want to move on. If they have a problem and it does not surface for a number of years, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, that's when they'll address something.