We're so used to talking on an informal basis most of the time.
I understand your concern for that. I know your concern is very real, and it's one that's troublesome for all of us who look at the men and women. As you well know, the missions we send our men and women on are tough missions. We've had those debates in the House of Commons, and I'm pleased with the support you've provided the government in terms of continuation of that mission, because the mission obviously isn't complete. Those numbers are real. We've doubled the number of operational stress clinics. We have a lot of the peer support programs up and running, and I do know that people like Senator Dallaire, who suffers himself from the very injuries we are speaking of, consider some of those programs to be the best. He believes that they are working, that they are making a difference.
On top of that, I might point out as well that when we're talking about men and women who are in the forces, who are suffering from this, DND itself deserves some praise as well in terms of what it's doing. Part of it is early identification. I think everyone in the mental health field--and I know some of you at the table have had experience with that--feels that early detection is one of the keys to it. Sometimes it could play out as something like excessive drinking or drug use, possibly prescription drug use.
Early identification and early treatment are part of what we have to do and are doing. In fact, when you take a look at the numbers--I know that the 11,000 I referred to is a very big number, and it's a real number--many of those people are receiving treatment, and they're still functioning within the military because early detection and early treatment have allowed them to continue their careers.
So when I'm mentioning those numbers, I don't want members to think they have all been confined to hospitals or institutions. Many of them are still functioning simply because of early detection and some of what we have put in and some of what the former government had put in, in recognition of this problem.
But I don't think we can lose sight in the long term, because I think it's something we have to watch. I think, if necessary, we have to put more resources into them, but I'm satisfied with what we're doing, and I think we're making a real difference.