Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to wish Mr. Lalonde a warm welcome.
I certainly want to take the opportunity to commend you for the difficult and challenging work that you and the staff at Ste. Anne's are doing for veterans, and in particular for those suffering from operational stress injuries. I'm certainly aware of the good work that Mr. Guptill does in his division. I know you're certainly up to the challenges ahead.
I've had the privilege of visiting Ste. Anne's on many occasions, and I've really seen a dedicated team of professionals who do their utmost for our veterans. That is fortunate, because it seems certain that we will be seeing a large increase in cases over the next number of years.
Mr. Guptill, you referred to the upcoming challenges. I wonder if you could provide the committee with the volume of cases you are planning for as a result of our Afghanistan mission. As I recall from the Gulf War, we had several hundred veterans being diagnosed with operational stress injuries. Obviously, the Gulf War had a relatively short duration with a limited number of soldiers involved on the ground. The Kandahar mission, of course, is significantly different. It's set to last at least another three years and involves many rotations of thousands of soldiers. So I wonder what the volume of cases is that you're projecting you'll handle. And how many years of treatment do you think the average veteran might require? Have you done projections to that effect?