Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
When that motion was moved by Mr. André, I initially felt that it was a bit of a stretch, at least in the way I was thinking about it.
I attended a presentation earlier this week that had nothing to do with this motion and our work. It was about the level of suicide among former members, and I guess possibly current members, which is not being talked about out there in public, because none of us want to talk about it, I suppose. These men and women put their lives on the line for us and then come back with very significant problems that are sometimes not identified at all and result in suicide. I was quite concerned when I heard this presentation earlier in the week. It's for that reason that I think our review of the charter isn't going to be enough. At the end of the charter we can make recommendations and then do a study specific to this issue.
In good conscience, after hearing the presentation earlier this week, I think it would be a disservice to not deal with it as a separate issue. How we do it, with whom we do it, whether it's a subcommittee--the technicalities of how we do it--are issues we can discuss at another time. I think we are talking here about suicide, and there is an alarming increase in the numbers. I think when we ask the questions, we would find out that there is a lot more of it than we're aware of. It's very sad to say that. I think we have an obligation to look at it and the seriousness of it. We can look at it within the confines of our charter, but I think it is a bigger issue.
We already know about it, and I think trying to keep it within those confines is a disservice. For me to know that I'm doing my job, I would want us to spend some time specifically on the issue of what we know is happening.
I will support Mr. André's motion and vote against Mr. Kerr.