Thank you very much.
As Ms. Gravel said, the National Centre for OSIs, which I direct, is part of Sainte-Anne Hospital. We have a three-part mandate: to provide clinical services at the hospital for OSIs, to provide OSI expertise to the department and on an outpatient basis, and to develop access to services across the country.
One of the major characteristics of this last component is the establishment of a network of clinics. The Department of Veterans Affairs offers no direct service to its clientele, except at Ste. Anne's Hospital. The services covered by Veterans Affairs are offered through provincial health services and private service providers, the cost of which is reimbursed by the department.
We also have networks of private service providers across the country that offer specialized programs, such as comorbidity programs for PTSD and substance abuse. As regards the OSI clinics, apart from that in Sainte-Anne, we've entered into agreements with institutions under provincial jurisdiction. Under those agreements, we provide the provincial institutions with funding so that they can establish clinics for our veteran clientele. However, those clinics are also accessible to members of the Canadian Forces and the RCMP.
So the department's only OSI clinic is located at Ste. Anne's Hospital. Our other clinics were established under agreements reached with the provincial institutions. I think that's an important difference, having regard to the fact that the Canadian Forces are responsible for their own clinics, which are operated by their personnel.
I wanted to be sure to clarify that point.