Thank you, Colonel, for coming this afternoon. It's great to have you here. Thank you for your past service. In this week of November 11, I think it's very appropriate that we thank you for that. And obviously I thank you for your present service as well, because retirement didn't really slow you down. It sounds as if you're just as active as ever.
I have a question for you regarding a statement you made about the ombudsman and who he reports to. The military ombudsman reports to Parliament through the minister, if I'm not mistaken. That's the route taken. One of your comments was that the ombudsman should serve at the pleasure of the veterans affairs minister. My question is, how would that differ from an aide or an executive assistant to the minister, where he would be beckoned to the minister? How would he keep his impartiality when making a decision or when helping an individual? I get the impression of serving the--I was going to say lapdog, but these days you can't say those words in Parliament and get away with it. I look at the situation and I think, if the person is at the pleasure of the minister, how can he detach himself and make individual decisions that would benefit the individual veteran?
The other thing you mentioned is, it was in the interest of a quick turnaround or faster service. I understand what you're saying. It makes a lot of sense; if the individual were reporting to the minister, it would be a lot faster. But I see a bit of a conflict there where there might be a bit of a difference in time, depending on the pleasure of the minister. Maybe you can comment on that.