Good afternoon, Mr. Stogran.
I am not a regular member of the committee. I come here occasionally. I am, however, pleased to meet you, because we are dealing with an important issue. It is important that this segment of our population, these people who have fought and whom we need to look after, have an ombudsman.
I am especially surprised by one rather unfortunate aspect of the report you submitted to us. You received 8,000 requests but have opened only 2,000 files, and this concerns me. That means that 6,000 requests have not even been dealt with, and that half of the 2,000 requests require follow-up. This leads me to ask many questions.
You said that we are finally able to assign resources to the investigations. Could you tell me whether or not you now have all of the resources to enable you to operate normally? And when do you think you will at least be able to open files for all of the 8,000 requests?
We can draw a parallel between this situation and the number of requests sent to our constituency offices in our respective ridings. We all receive these requests. And for each of them, we have to open a file to note the individual's request and to ensure that there is some follow-up done. You do more or less the same work, but for veterans.
When do you think you will be able to open all of the files and provide adequate follow-up?