Veterans Affairs committee  Mr. Chairman, to respond directly to the member's question regarding your wanting the most effective way to do it—and I understand your concern about boards, including courts, and how that would be burdensome on the process—it's my view, and some in the field might disagree, that

Veterans Affairs committee  Correct.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I don't know what I can say by way of elaboration at such an early stage on this project. As I said earlier, the devil is in the details. One needs to move further down the road on this project to see with some precision what is contemplated in order to

Veterans Affairs committee  I'm sure it is both, but to some extent one has to have that very clearly in mind to look at the architecture of this bill. Is it an ombudsman who is going to enforce these rights by simply making a public comment that they're not being respected and that's the end of the matter?

Veterans Affairs committee  Or perhaps the members of Parliament might not be sure that veteran is getting the full representation that he or she deserves. Do you then say, “All right, we're going to have a regime where you can hire a lawyer of your choice, and we'll provide some compensation for your cost

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes.

Veterans Affairs committee  You're right in that the two could be combined. It should be remembered that Mr. Trudeau's charter is a constitutional charter. It's critically important to understand that this charter takes precedence over all other acts, including this one.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, in so far as relations between veterans and the government are concerned. However, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is not affected in any way by it.

Veterans Affairs committee  If we include in the act a declaration of veterans rights, the act will be like all the others. It will not be considered constitutional or quasi-constitutional in scope. It will simply be a piece of legislation.

Veterans Affairs committee  Possibly, it could. It's really up to the committee to decide.

Veterans Affairs committee  Mr. Chairman, certainly the English word “accountable” has become a word of much contention des finances énormes, ces jours-ci. What are the options to have something? First of all, any drafter would look very closely at this language, more closely than perhaps the author of this

Veterans Affairs committee  I don't know how you could have something that could give genuine assurance that didn't have legal standing, because at the end of the day you need to have the ability to go somewhere to a third-party adjudicator and insist on your rights and have your rights respected and enforc

Veterans Affairs committee  A second option? What option might that be?

Veterans Affairs committee  The government could also bring in regulations. If truth be told, to bring in legislation, all that is needed is a bill. However, the government can also make regulations, which are a form of delegated legislation. That's a possibility. Ms. Mortensen demonstrated a model where l

Veterans Affairs committee  That's right.