Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thanks very much for inviting us to here today. I think we'll be able to provide you with some excellent and detailed information, particularly about our long-term care and VIP and health benefits programs. But I guess within the theme of our presentation today, it's really about how we're working towards establishing a better continuum of care for those we provide services to.
Colleen and Carlos, in their areas of responsibility, are managing the programs that really are about this continuum of care. Obviously, we're very strongly focused on the care and needs of our veterans, particularly as they age and particularly as they become less able to look after themselves or receive the support they need from their family members and caregivers.
There are a few points I'd like to make before we hear from Colleen and Carlos.
First, our client demographics are certainly changing very rapidly and are going to mean that over the next five to 10 years we'll have, unfortunately, many fewer World War II veterans to care for. We're obviously closely monitoring the need for an uptake of services and are planning now how we'll manage this change into the future.
Second, and I think really importantly--and I guess I'm commenting more on long-term care--certainly across the range of programs we provide we've made quality of care a priority. And I think through the presentation you'll see that the work we're doing here is really about how to ensure that the care provided in the facilities is able to best meet the needs our veterans have.
Over time, we also want to specialize the care available in our contract beds to really make sure that we provide extra services above and beyond what is available in the community.
Finally, overall, we have a comprehensive range of programs in place to provide our veterans with the best possible care when and where they need it. Whether in their homes or their communities, in communities or in community-based facilities, more and more veterans want to remain in their homes and communities for as long as possible. And I guess what our programs are about is working with them to make that happen. We want to be able to give veterans more choices in the sites of care that best meet their particular needs.
As I said earlier, we hope to be able to share considerable information with you on these programs today. We recognize that you're discussing other programs at various times, and also in Charlottetown, so we'll try not to cut across those areas at all.
Now, if I could, I'll hand it over to Carlos first, who'll describe, in particular, the long-term care and VIP programs.
Go ahead, Carlos.