Early in my service, when I started 20-plus years ago, the members of the RCMP—and I will say Veterans Affairs Canada is a victim of its own success—were probably not broadly aware of the benefits available to them through Veterans Affairs Canada. About 12 years ago, it went on a marketing campaign in partnership with the RCMP. You saw the development of the online My VAC Account and the dedicated liaison officer from the RCMP with Veterans Affairs doing educational symposiums.
People became aware that they could apply for benefits. At the same time, this government, or actually successive governments regardless of stripe, have been reducing stigma and increasing awareness of mental health injuries. There are “it's okay to not be okay” messages and Bell Let's Talk days. All of those things have been happening in concert, so whether you're a member of the RCMP or a municipal police service, the stigma has been breaking down to come forward with whatever the injury might be. Here we are today seeing a lot of growth in post-traumatic stress, as well as hearing loss and tinnitus and all sorts of different benefit applications.
They have increased, but I think that's Veterans Affairs Canada being a victim of its own success and other things that have been happening in society as a whole.