Veterans Affairs committee  Sir, I can comment on your first comment before you got onto this point.

Veterans Affairs committee  You were asking about the wait for the CF pension. The delivery of that pension is based on the exigencies of the service as to whether they have the people in place. SISIP recognizes that this can be a problem. On a case-by-case basis, we will identify that this individual is getting a pension and make an estimate so we can start a SISIP LTD fund and they will have some flow of money while they wait for the pension to come through.

Veterans Affairs committee  Beyond what Colonel Blais has said, from our side of the house, when we're dealing with the clients--I've dealt with clients pre the existence of the JPSU and post the existence--we see a dramatic difference. When we're looking at centres like Edmonton or Halifax, where there are JPSUs, the process is extremely simple.

Veterans Affairs committee  On the SISIP side, we also have a job search assistance program. Essentially we take each individual client and walk them through it. We teach them how to write their résumés and how to do their covering letters. We walk them through job search methods, including interview techniques.

Veterans Affairs committee  I can be very short.

Veterans Affairs committee  On the SISIP side, about nine months before release, when the member is provided with his disclosure package telling him that he will be medically released, he gets our SISIP package. The application form was developed in conjunction with the OSISS program, so it's specifically designed for individuals who have psychological disorders to simplify it for them.

Veterans Affairs committee  As an answer, what we need to do is focus on what we have right now. Unfortunately, we have a lot of different organizations trying to attack a lot of different problems all at the same time. So I would suspect, in order to advance the most benefit for the members themselves...under the new Veterans Charter they have excellent opportunities for increased medical and psycho-social support.