My role within the Canadian Forces is as Director of Casualty Support Management. So I am responsible for all the programs and services provide by the Canadian Forces that are not health care services as such.
I am also the commander of the new casualty support units that have been established across the country. So I am in charge of a large number of young people who have been wounded. To answer your question, I would say that it does happen in a number of cases. It is difficult for these young people to manage that amount of money, especially when they return, since many of them have physical injuries and do not know that they are also suffering from emotional problems. I think that is quite natural when people have experienced traumatic events of this kind. In many cases, whether because they are young or they have been involved in very serious incidents, they are not capable of managing the money.
That said, we are currently in discussions with people at Veterans Affairs Canada. We are reviewing a number of mechanisms to find a solution, even if it applies only to very serious cases. For those who suffer a back injury or a knee injury in the course of their regular duties, the lump sum payment may not be a problem. On the other hand, in the critical cases that you are talking about, for example, when someone loses both legs—these young people have their whole lives in front of them and may live for another 50 years or more—we may need to look at mechanisms that are a bit more flexible than what we have right now, I agree.