Thank you, Madam Chair.
Through you to our witnesses. Thanks for the candour and the input you're providing on this very important study.
Mr. Chauhan, our deepest condolences on the loss of your brother. Your ability to share your experience, as a veteran, as a soldier and a family member who lost one to suicide is invaluable to this committee.
If we had more time, I'd love to drill down with Madame Archambault about the role of the military family resource centres and what can be done differently there. I'd like to talk more in depth with Madame Cyr about pet therapy and the importance of it to mental health for our veterans and those who are currently serving in the Canadian Armed Forces and how we can provide better opportunities for pet therapy.
Because of the time we have, I want to focus on Mr. Chauhan and his expertise.
I really appreciate all the comments you made earlier. You talked about the town hall situation and whether or not veterans would come out. When I was parliamentary secretary to the minister of defence, we had a number of town halls across the country. They were off base, so people could come forward both as veterans and currently serving members to talk about their injuries, both visible and invisible. I was very surprised by how forthright they were and how many complaints they had. I was able to have senior officers with me dressed as civilians, who were able to hear for the first time about where there were gaps in the programs.
You talked about how measurement drives behaviour and the metrics around that. I've always believed that if you don't measure it, you can't manage it. If we're going to make these significant changes.... You mentioned the Israel Defense Forces and how they've been able to get their numbers down. If you look at the metrics they're using, what do we need to do differently here in Canada, so the Canadian Armed Forces can make the changes that are so necessary for reducing suicide?