Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you all for coming. You've certainly given us a great deal to think about.
At the end of the Second World War, it was said that Canada was the best country in the world in providing for its veterans. We want to continue to ensure that happens and that soldiers are getting the help they need. Clearly we have heard today that they're not. Regardless of what we have heard from the higher ranks, there seems to be a failure to understand that there is a major problem here, and there's a failure to communicate that effectively. Clearly there's a failure to diagnose it, as many of you have mentioned, and a failure to respond effectively to this operational stress injury situation.
Dr. Belliveau mentioned earlier that she wanted to see an audit at Gagetown. The Minister of Veterans Affairs seemed to be supportive, but has not come out officially in support of the need for transparency. Can you tell us why there would be reluctance to do that?
On the adequacy of services, you've indicated that services are not there. We hear this all the time, and people are falling through the cracks. The fact is we're up to 11,000 people who are suffering, from 3,500 just five years ago. We don't have the infrastructure in place to respond. I assume you're telling us that the situation in Gagetown is not dissimilar to those in other places across the country. We need to respond effectively in our recommendations to that.
Can you comment on this transparency issue?
I will give the Minister of Veterans Affairs credit, in that he is responding, but obviously he's not able to respond as quickly or effectively as we need, given the load.