Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
In the December ombudsman report, “Battling Operational Stress Injuries”, of course she looks at what has and has not been attained by the department at this point.
Trying to prioritize 31 recommendations is a very daunting task, and no one expects that all 31 can be done instantly. Given our continued presence in Afghanistan and the fact that we are seeing more of these cases coming home, as a framework this would indicate that clearly we need to be better prepared in terms of dealing with the personnel who are coming home. In her report she clearly says there is a need...“so that they can continue to be contributing members of Canadian society”, within the forces or outside, that it is absolutely paramount, and that we still have very much what is considered an ad hoc system.
I want to go back, just for more clarification, to the data system, and then I want to go to recommendation 9. On the data system, maybe I didn't hear it correctly. To me that is the most important thing in terms of being able to understand what you have to deal with presently in terms of the information, in terms of the personnel affected by these injuries. Can you tell us when you see this completed? To me this would be one of the most paramount things given the fact that we're seeing increased casualties and certainly response from people coming home from Afghanistan in particular.