Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I apologize for not being here on March 7. I'm very unwell. I have a serious blood condition. My eyes are bad and my concentration is poor. So if you could please be patient with me, I'd appreciate it. I'll do my best. I see that we're short of time alread

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, sir. Before I start my remarks, I would like to mention that my mother, Marie Richard, is here with me. She's a Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal recipient for this year. I'm very proud of her. She's a co-founder of the yellow ribbon support group, from back when we went

Veterans Affairs committee  That is a good question. Do I think that it is linked to depleted uranium? Yes. I was tested by an independent team, as well as the services that had been offered to us by the Canadian system in 2000, and in that regard, clearly, the test was rather inconclusive. All of the gov

Veterans Affairs committee  I thought it was interestingly late, but on the other hand, should I be surprised? No. I was quite curious about how the committee that was appointed by Minister Blaney would go ahead with this, because it is complex. Depleted uranium is something that I had never heard of when

Veterans Affairs committee  I was never asked. I did write one e-mail. It was never responded to. I guess it went into cyberspace somewhere. I tried. Like so many veterans, I think at this point now we've kind of lost trust and faith in Veterans Affairs. We've seen what they have not done for us. So when

Veterans Affairs committee  I did one e-mail, because I didn't believe in this report.

Veterans Affairs committee  It is a reasonable approach. I must say I'm disappointed in the choice of scientists. General Morisset says there's no testing to be done for depleted uranium, but there is. That wait is not acceptable. There are treatments available. When our soldiers come back and may have been

Veterans Affairs committee  I will share it if I can track it down. I've had a lot of computer problems, but if I can, I will be glad to share it.

Veterans Affairs committee  What would it look like? First of all, it would look like a blank card, carte blanche. I don't believe we should have to prove anything. At the end of the day, we were selected to go. We left healthy; we came back sick. It's not up to me to pay thousands of dollars to get teste

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, with veterans, just like in the United States, something like the research advisory committee on Gulf War illnesses, where it's based on science, research, and facts, by scientists, not Veterans Affairs Canada.

Veterans Affairs committee  Well, I think it's like anything. If you don't deal with it, it doesn't exist.

Veterans Affairs committee  To me there should not be a cost associated to any care for veterans regardless of what it is.

Veterans Affairs committee  I think it's all of the above, but the fact that the headquarters of Veterans Affairs is in Charlottetown is far from being helpful. It should be here in Ottawa.

Veterans Affairs committee  It's an illness on its own.

Veterans Affairs committee  I wish I knew the answer, sir.