Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Commodore, for joining us. I guess now that you are retired maybe you can speak a bit more freely about some of the concerns you may have had during your tenure since 2009 as surgeon general.
We've looked at a number of studies, particularly about mental health. I'm going from the ombudsman's reports starting in 2002 to 2008, our own committee's report in 2009, and reports out of Petawawa in 2012 which were quite disturbing. There seems to be a pattern in that the problems are being identified in terms of the ability to deliver on programs for soldiers. I'm thinking particularly in this moment about mental health services. One of the problems identified is that although the desire may be there, the actual ability to deliver is not.
I note, and perhaps you can speak to this, that you raised some significant concerns in the spring of this year after the budget directives came down. You thought the mental health services being provided were being undermined by budget cuts. Did you have similar concerns about the failure to have resources available to deal with the recommendations that were made in terms of additional support services?
I'll follow up with another question, but did you have similar concerns as surgeon general from 2009 until your retirement in July?