Mr. Chair, first of all, I think the situation I've been placed in as veterans ombudsman is not really terribly disadvantageous, although there have been some criticisms raised that I should be part of the decision-making process, that I should be reviewing individual cases. It's my feeling at this point in time that there are some very high-priced and very intelligent people who are serving on the Veterans Review and Appeal Board, and they have a tremendous cadre of lawyers working in the Bureau of Pensions Advocates, but there are some problems with the systems.
As I mentioned earlier to one of the questions, we've been studying this and we've actually got a bit of a game plan formulating amongst my senior staff right now to try to work with Veterans Affairs—and I say “work with Veterans Affairs” because although we're here to provide a service for the veterans, we're also providing a service to Veterans Affairs and the Veterans Review and Appeal Board by troubleshooting their situation and offering them recommendations that will allow them to service the clients in a much faster manner.
On top of that, we also have the clause of compelling circumstances, where, if we expect that the review and appeal process will take too long, we are allowed to intercede. It doesn't tell us how we can do that without getting into the actual decision-making process or the solicitor-client privilege. Suffice it to say, however, that I'm going to prod the edges of the battlefield in that area and see ways where we can do it, particularly for our war service veterans.
My four priorities are the veterans who are suffering potential harm or undue hardship and the aged and the infirm. Once we get the horsepower behind us, we intend to address those as a matter of urgency.