Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Hillier, thank you very much for coming.
Just to go back a bit, when the veterans ombudsman was first being discussed, I recall very clearly that DVA was not a fan of the position. They had to come to the table rather reluctantly, but then they bought into it.
One of the problems we have with the veterans ombudsman position, of course, is the recommendation in the report we did in February 2007, in which the honourable chairperson and I participated. We wrote some specific information based on the testimony of the Royal Canadian Legion, Cliff Chadderton, and other groups. Recommendation 10 was that “The Governor in Council appoint the veterans ombudsman after a review by the Standing Committee”. That review took place after that appointment was made. That's problem number one.
Problem number two is that we asked that the veterans ombudsman report to Parliament--not to the minister, but to Parliament. That was changed through order in council.
To go to recommendation 16, that the veterans ombudsman present a full report to this committee after one year of operation, it's now a year and a half, and we haven't received that report.
And of course recommendation 17 is that “The veterans ombudsman retain sole authority to select, direct, and discharge staff, subject to review”.
Some of those things haven't happened yet. And of course when this committee does a unanimous report, and those recommendations are thought out and battled out--