Absolutely.
Veterans Affairs Canada gave us those numbers during our management-union meeting on January 15. It's true that the three-year funding for 2023-26 you mentioned is temporary. However, the needs of veterans are not temporary. The backlog will grow to 52,000 cases, including cases for 2026. If these employees' contracts are not extended, wait times will stretch by years and we are going to have a crisis. Veterans Affairs Canada already experienced a crisis when the backlog in processing disability cases reached critical levels. The department had to make huge investments to reduce the backlog.
I am a proactive person. I want us to avert a crisis for our veterans. You're correct that this is temporary, but veterans are not temporary. There is a backlog of tens of thousands of cases.