Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for being here today and for participating in this exercise which we consider very important.
As parliamentarians, it is our responsibility to try to improve the efficiency of many practices in the different departments, and that is what we are trying to do this morning. I will not speak about the recommendations of the Auditor General nor of the replies that you have provided to them, as these are intentions.
To begin, I have a rather philosophical question for you. We are aware of the scope of the problem affecting the valiant and courageous military men and women who serve our nation, and then suffer from post-traumatic stress when they return from military activities. At the Department of Veterans Affairs, are you sure that the solutions you implement daily are the best?
I'm going to put my question differently. Would it not be relevant to revise the entire medical treatment system for veterans, setting aside the one that is in place and establishing a new one? Needs are growing exponentially. Sick people are consuming marijuana, the costs involved in reimbursing marijuana are exploding, and drugs are not monitored. Moreover, the decisions are taken by public servants without being validated by the committee. This concerns me.
Could you, this morning, give us a real picture of the current situation? Would it not be advisable to re-evaluate the whole situation?