I was a member of this committee, as was Mr. Sweet, when the Veterans Charter was adopted in 2005 and enacted in April 2006. Now, the committee is reviewing the charter, but you do not seem pleased about this. I have a problem with that. Rarely does a government changes its strategy completely in the space of two years. As I said, I was on hand when the first Veterans Charter was adopted and I did not hear any complaints like the ones I am hearing from you today. Everyone was united in their support for this initiative.
You're telling me things I was unaware of. The fact remains, however, that in 2006, we were prepared to draft a new charter. I'm prepared to accepted your recommendations completely, but I think we need to allow enough time... It's all well and good to want to modernize the charter, but things were different five years ago. We did not have troops in Afghanistan, among other things. Today, I think we need to follow the standards.
I'd like to get your opinion. Do you think we failed to do our job properly, and do you think that it's simply a case of the situation evolving more quickly than we are. I can't answer that. When we adopted the charter in 2005, people praised this initiative. However, you're telling us today that it leaves much to be desired. I have a problem with that comment and I would like to get your opinion.