Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, committee members, for the opportunity. And to the Auditor General, thank you, and to our distinguished guests, thank you very much for your service to your country as well.
I have the privilege and honour of representing the Shearwater air base. Twenty percent of my riding is either currently serving or retired military personnel along with their families, and I couldn't help but notice that in the brief you presented to us, sir, you didn't mention the word “families” in the first paragraph.
I don't know if you recall, but last year in The Globe and Mail there was an article of a soldier sitting in the background, and his kid was in the front, and the caption was “Dad, if you die in Afghanistan, I'll never forgive you as long as I live. Now go serve your country.”
There was an ombudsman report from André Marin, the former defence ombudsman, slamming both the Ontario and federal governments for ignoring the needs of children who have lost parents in Afghanistan. And I couldn't help but notice at exhibit 4.3 on page 14 of the Auditor General's report that although there's a moral obligation for the Government of Canada to provide treatment to family members or their loved ones who suffer from PTSD and other concerns, there's no legal requirement. It goes on to say that they're unable to extend member care to include family support because of resource shortages.
As everyone knows, when you're serving overseas for your country, or serving anywhere in the world, your thoughts are always back home with your family, and if the families aren't getting the care they need, then I don't think the soldier can perform up to speed as we would ask them to do.
Is the defence department improving family services, not just through MFRCs but through resource allocations and things?
My other question is about reservists. When reservists come back, they don't go to a base. They either go to universities or back to their jobs. And we found on the veterans affairs committee that the Government of Canada has a hard time tracking where the reservists are, to see how their mental or physical states are.
My question is for the Auditor General. Did you also include reservists' information when you were doing your data report?
And to the military, what are you doing to include reservists, to ensure that they're well cared for?