Well, I'll make the best use of it, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for inviting us to appear before you today. We truly believe in the importance of the work under way and appreciate the opportunity to contribute to it.
As mentioned earlier, I am Major-General Erick Simoneau, deputy commander of military personnel command. With me is Brigadier-General Colleen Forestier, doctor and director general of health services.
As you know, the Canadian Armed Forces are often deployed overseas and operate in austere and high-risk areas. Therefore, we take the risk analysis very seriously to provide our members with the best possible protections. This includes the responsibility of commanders at all levels to comply with all relevant regulations and policies, including Health Canada standards and guidelines, as well as the use of all available methods to protect our personnel.
From a medical perspective, this is achieved through the Canadian Forces' health services, which operate 33 clinics and subclinics throughout Canada, in addition to two in Europe and some at sea, where our Canadian Armed Forces are tasked to serve. Our health system also holds comprehensive records of our members' health, including any potential risk and exposure to hazards. It provides clinical assessment and treatment that allows us to provide copies of this information directly to our members and Veterans Affairs Canada.
We very closely follow progress made in science and learn from that, but we cannot do this alone. We collaborate with Veterans Affairs Canada, the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research and Statistics Canada, among others, to conduct multi-year population level comparisons of CAF members' health. This allows us to identify potential hazards, mitigate risk and provide the highest level of support for any CAF members in the course of their service.
The health and well-being of our members is our priority, and we are committed to the highest standards of care for those who serve Canada.
Mr. Chair, thank you, I will give you back the floor.