I'll continue along these lines, because we had the past interim ombudsman here before you, and she, again, has given another report. It was given to the minister in September 2008 and was released publicly in December. The military ombudsman is calling again for the creation of a database to track the number of personnel who are affected by stress-related injuries. It was recommended in 2002 but was never implemented.
I have here a quote from a story by Helen Branswell of The Canadian Press. She quotes a senior official with public affairs at the Department of National Defence, Major André Berdais, who responded to her about that kind of data. It relates to a study that was done in the U.S. Berdais said that this kind of data is not tracked by the Department of National Defence and that it “isn't essential in supporting our primary responsibility of patient care”.
That would indicate a reluctance, in my view, contrary to some of what we've heard today, to implement this recommendation that's been waiting now for seven years to be implemented. I want to ask if what this gentleman articulated is still the position of the Department of National Defence. And how can that be justified when the ombudsman has clearly stated that this kind of tracking is absolutely essential to effectively deal with post-traumatic stress disorder and operational stress injury?