Veterans Affairs committee  Frankly, those in the military who have joined quite recently, meaning new recruits and those who have not been in the military very long, will have mostly electronic records. Anyone who left the military five years ago or beyond that will have paper records, because DND is just

Veterans Affairs committee  Many of you have heard the criticism of the department that our processes are too cumbersome and they take too long, that it's hard to understand the procedures and even our applications can be very complicated, and that the decisions we render when we issue a letter sometimes ar

Veterans Affairs committee  Digital imaging is one of the cornerstone technologies we put in place, which we spent a lot of time on last year, because it's one of the foundations for many of the changes that will happen in the future. Right now, most of our records are in Library and Archives Canada. If yo

Veterans Affairs committee  Perhaps I could address that question. Yes, that's exactly what we are doing. We do have service standards already in place, but we've also set targets for where we want to reduce even further. For instance, for our first applications for disability, we've set a target to go

Veterans Affairs committee  Okay. Briefly, we get strong feedback from our veterans organizations. Bernard Butler has spoken to some of our engagements more recently with veterans organizations that extend past the traditional groups we have dealt with. They're very clear. They communicate directly with us.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, that's correct.

Veterans Affairs committee  I can address that question. The department is now in a process whereby we are making sure that our resources are where we need them the most. As is the case with all federal departments, we are making decisions and tough choices around making sure resources are in the right plac

Veterans Affairs committee  The district offices in Atlantic Canada are Corner Brook, Sydney, and Charlottetown.

Veterans Affairs committee  Those are forecast to close. That's correct. There will be no closures within the next two years, and what that shows is that we have a commitment to proper planning and getting things right. We have two years to set things up properly. As we look forward and project over those t

Veterans Affairs committee  We have offices in St. John's, Saint John, Fredericton, and Halifax, and we also have integrated personnel support centres. We have an integrated personnel support centre in Charlottetown, which is a satellite of the one in Moncton, and that will remain in place.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, certainly. I'd be pleased to address this. A great deal has changed since 2009. In 2009 we were on the cusp of making decisions, particularly with DND, that have changed the landscape—we think very significantly—for the releasing member. So let me just summarize those. You'

Veterans Affairs committee  I'd be pleased to. Thank you. Over the last few years, we haven't had a major shift in the number of employees in the department. What we have done, though, over the last number of years, beginning with our pre-transformation work, which we called our “modernization”, was to beg

Veterans Affairs committee  No, you're right—

Veterans Affairs committee  We meet regularly with the RCMP. They're also part of our senior-level committee with DND. We work with them in the transition process in a very similar fashion. They have access to our district offices for information and guidance. Effectively, we can follow the same process wit

Veterans Affairs committee  The issue with respect to Googling has been addressed. Social media is going to be used, and perhaps Bernard could speak more about that in terms of the outreach. It's key that we reach people in the way they want to be reached. For the new veterans, social media is a huge part