I'm glad you're asking me that. I met with Ms. Tining in June. I also had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Blackburn. This wasn't an official meeting, but we had a chance to chat during the Sunset Ceremony. I told him that the situation had changed in some respects, especially in the case of young soldiers returning from Afghanistan. They are given more attention, and a little more effort is made to provide them with counselling. However, the added attention doesn't change the fact that the soldiers must go through all the steps of the process. Identifying the young soldiers, monitoring them from the outset and providing them with treatment is fine and well, but if they are left to their own devices after six or eight months, if they are given a negative diagnosis, the effort will have been in vain.
I suggest we do exactly as I've done, that is, create a brothers-in-arms movement. The chain is missing a link. A link is missing between the clinic and the veterans. The brother in arms won't have to go directly to the clinic. He can say that the system doesn't work, that it's all wrong, that he's being laughed at and that, in reality, those in charge don't care about him and are dragging out his case in hope that he'll just drop it. That way, they won't have to compensate him, or provide him with treatment, and the costs defrayed by the system will be reduced.
I have created a link that enables young men to come see me. Since I have already gone through all the steps the system requires us to go through, I am better equipped to guide these young soldiers. I can at least keep them safe for a few years, while we look for a solution to the problem. I suggest that we add a link between the clinics and the veterans.
In addition, the work done by the officials in Charlottetown needs to be demystified. We are under the impression that strangers are working behind the wrought iron gates of a medieval castle. We are left wondering who these people are that are making decisions regarding the fate of those who have served their country in missions around the world. They are civilians—that is who they are—and I have nothing against civilians. However, we're talking about civilians who lack the basic understanding of the system, who judge us and who make decisions about our future, about our condition. That makes no sense.