Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I have a couple of questions. I want to start on the drug plan and Veterans Affairs. I have a serious problem with two paragraphs in this report. It says:
To recap our findings, Veterans Affairs Canada has not managed its drug benefits program in a way that considers the impact on veterans.
And number two,
We found that while Veterans Affairs Canada used some cost-saving strategies to manage the cost of the drug benefits program...it has not assessed whether these strategies are working as intended. That means that the Department does not know whether it is using the right strategies to prudently manage the taxpayer dollars that are used to fund veterans’ drug benefits.
I want to be on the record as saying that I find it disturbing. I'm all about saving money, cutting costs, accountability, and trying to make sure that we do our best to manage taxpayer dollars. What I find disturbing about the findings in this report is if I could assume that there was one department where we weren't basing our decisions upon cost-cutting measures, it would be drug plan benefits for veterans. As somebody who has the utmost respect for our armed services and for veterans in general, I find it very disheartening that we're basing our strategies upon cost-cutting measures in that department.
I want to know what your thoughts are on your findings within the context of that and where you think the future lies with that.