Thank you for that question, which goes to the heart of the transformation the department has been facing in recent years.
We have acquired sound experience in treating the veterans of the world wars and the Korean war. Everyone agrees that our programs and services were well adapted, in terms of both disability pensions and health care. I believe we know our clientele quite well.
However, the average age of the new generation of veterans is 36, compared to 83 for our old veterans. These are men and women who are in mid-life and must continue leading an active life. We have to help them return to the social and economic life of this country.
You said that the department was facing a major challenge and that you were somewhat concerned about the speed at which the transition is taking place. I can assure you that, when the government put this new charter in place, in mid-2006, additional resources were allocated to the department. Last night, I looked at a table, dated this week, a copy of which Verna Bruce gave me, which shows the results of the new charter. The prediction that these new veterans had rehabilitation needs more than disability needs is corroborated by the high rate of acceptance of rehabilitation requests: 93 percent of those requests have received a positive response, and the average response time is 39 days.
That shows a need not only for disability pensions, but also for rehabilitation services. The department has put in place what it needed to process those requests promptly, within a processing time of 39 days.