Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much, Colleen and Wendy, for being here. Colleen, your time with us at Shearwater was extremely beneficial, and we felt it was important to follow up.
I appreciate the comments the chair made at the beginning and that Ms. Hinton just made about the silos that divide, which is the world of the serving member and then the world he or she find themselves in when they are no longer serving. They may have voluntarily retired or voluntarily moved on to civilian life if they're younger. They may have been pushed out or were injured and had to leave.
I think it's difficult for us--and I'll speak for myself--to say that is a very strict line because one day you could be a client of DND and the next day you're a client of Veterans Affairs. What happened to you the day before affects you the day after.
As the chair rightfully points out, there was a time two parliaments ago when the veterans affairs and defence committees were one committee. And I think it's very appropriate that there be two committees.
When they were combined I think veterans issues were on the back burner, as has been pointed out. And certainly they're not back-burner issues for us; they are our mandate. But at the same time, that shouldn't prevent us from trying to look through the window into DND's area to see what's happening as these people come over the line to civilian life in some form.
Obviously there are issues that are strictly for serving members, but do you see a role for yourselves--we'll leave aside the issue of resources--dealing with veterans families as well as military families? There is a continuum. They're still the same people even if they're injured.
I'm wondering if you could speak about that transition, this passing of the baton from when the service person is in the military to when they become a veteran.