Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, Minister, and certainly to your other guests as well.
Just to start off, I had a great opportunity to spend some time with you and some of my other colleagues on the 90th anniversary of Beaumont-Hamel, in France, a couple of summers ago. It was indeed, as your words reflect in your address, a very moving experience and one that will never be forgotten for anybody who attends such events. It was remarkable. I'm glad I got to share in some of those acts of remembrance during that particular time.
I want to change the focus a bit. I come from a northern and remote area. Some people classify it as rural. A disproportionate number of people who serve in the armed forces, at least currently, and I believe historically, come from areas that could be classified as rural or northern or remote, at least on a population basis. I believe a veteran should have the opportunity to go back home and live in dignity and live with certain services that they require.
I note that much of the focus, and for good reason, as well, is in urban areas where there are large population centres, where there are large numbers of veterans who are either living in the cities or in urban areas, or who are in close proximity. But we can't forget those veterans who choose to live in rural areas. In our report we tried to concentrate somewhat on that.
I'm just wondering what the department's vision is for delivering services and for enhancing services in rural and northern areas in Canada. In particular, I come from Labrador, where, population-wise, there's a high number of people serving currently and there have been a number of people who served in the past. We've had testimony that there's not even a bed available to a veteran. There are no Veterans Affairs personnel within my riding, and very few within the province generally. There's such a lack of services in some of these areas.
What is the vision for enhancing VA services in rural and northern Canada?