For sure, I know that Perry and Tom are itching to respond to this one because this is dear to everyone's heart.
First, I want to say that all veterans organizations do a great service to all Canadians and the veterans they serve. At the same time, there has to be a separation. The sort of exclusive relationship that exists between only a few of those veterans organizations and Veterans Affairs, to the exclusion of the vast majority of clientele they serve, is an injustice that has to end. Hopefully, that's what an ombudsman will help do.
I'll pass it over to Tom in one second.
First of all, freedom of representation and assembly, of course, are fundamental rights that we all recognize in the western world. There should also be freedom of not associating. In order to get his or her case heard, a veteran should not be forced to go through an organization. A veteran should be able to deal directly with the department and receive fair, equal, and just treatment. Even the Legion put that in its bill of rights, and I commend them for that. That's a very important point that has to be recognized. Equality is fundamental to all bills of rights throughout the world, and I think that would have to be considered in a bill of rights and carry great weight.