Thank you.
It has been noted and been said, and it's also in the Auditor General's report, that when you sign up you have the unlimited liability, which basically means that I can have a good night's sleep because of the uniform you wear. So I've always thought that we in government or in opposition have what I call the ultimate responsibility, although you never see that written anywhere, to care for you right to your headstone, including that of your family. And in many cases you'll hear the slogan “support the troops”, but when you stand in a crowd and say don't forget to support them when the uniform comes off, you get a blank stare that says, what's he talking about?
Some of the biggest problems I have on the veterans committee are about watching the baton being passed from DND to DVA. It drops a lot. It takes months sometimes for medical files to go from National Defence to DVA for people to apply for pension and compensation benefits. And in fact I hope you never have to fill out the forms for PTSD, because that alone can give you PTSD, in our testimony.
Having said that, and I know my Conservative colleagues are always worried about 40% of doctors filling out forms and things, and they should always talk to their defence minister to fix that up. I don't think necessarily it would be you. But don't you think that in your experiences and in terms of some of the advice that you can give to General Hillier down the road and to the bureaucrats and to the government and to opposition that when it comes to signing up for the unlimited liability we have the ultimate responsibility and that costs should not be a concern? We shouldn't be nickel and diming our troops and their families when it comes down at the end.
I know you have challenges in terms of the number of personnel, but when somebody calls up looking for help we shouldn't put them through the wringer. The only thing we should ask them is if you've served, how can we help you? It would be utopia for me to see that happen.
What would it take to make that happen, besides more money?