Thank you very much, Minister, and thank you for taking the time to join us today. We know there's quite a time difference, and it's good to be able to have a chance to speak with somebody who has your credentials. You've had a long history as a politician, a long history of serving different ministries, so it's a good opportunity for us to have a discussion with you. I also see that you were just recently over here. In May, you were at the summit that was held in Washington. So thank you for all that.
I'll go right to questions. One of the things we've noticed, especially as we've been interviewing individuals from around the world, is that in the world of veterans affairs things are changing, As you said, many of the countries we've talked to have changes just coming in, because it's clear that things are changing for our veterans. They're becoming much younger as they're leaving the forces; they're becoming much more sophisticated; they know how to use the tools that are there. We're hearing that from every country, and we've just heard that there are new policies coming in to your country.
One of the challenges we have, as we work at our studies, is that we're trying to get to the day where we have a seamless transition from being in the uniform to being in civilian life. As we've crossed Canada in our meetings at different bases, we've met with a number of individuals. And we know it probably goes well sometimes when you're physically well and your mental health is good, but in situations where there's mental stress and there's post-traumatic stress disorder, all these other challenges are making it very difficult for our veterans to move to civilian life.
You mentioned some of that in your discussions with us already, that there are gaps. We see that in Canada as one of the larger gaps. We also have the difficulty of trying to get enough health care professionals who can look after them, both in the service and in private life through contract workers.
I'm just wondering if you want to elaborate a little bit on that, as they try to move from one life to the next. Are you encountering some of those similar problems?