Mr. Chairman, here is what happened.
In July, I met with Mr. O'Connor, the then Minister of Defence, as well as with the Chief of Defence Staff, the same gentleman who is in the position today. The minister set out his expectations very clearly, and put into effect the very concrete recommendations I made. Subsequently, things seemed to be happening. As I said, two senior officials—two majors-general—went to Borden to talk about the issue and speak to the troops. Thus, we agreed that a report on the current situation would be submitted on December 1.
As a result of the commitments made at the time, I was rather optimistic, something that you will see reflected in the letter. But I would remind the member once again that last week's interview leads me to believe that, for every step forward, we have perhaps taken a half-step back.
There is something I would like to add. The member said that we work on two issues. For the record, I would simply point out that we do in fact work on a very large number of issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder, assistance to families, and many others.
There is one last point I would like to make to the member: my conversations with my mother are highly confidential.