Good morning and welcome to our committee.
First off, Ms. Baker, I have a few questions on your study. How many families did you meet? What type of research did you do? Did you meet with the children, for instance? How did you organize your research? Can you tell us about the various methods you used for your research?
You also referred to a significant rate of spousal separation for people with post-traumatic stress syndrome. Do you have any statistics on that? You also mentioned that, quite often, a different man would return home after the type of trauma he may have experienced during a difficult military mission, for instance. Women have to adapt to this new reality, to these new men who return home from war or difficult humanitarian missions. What characteristics do these men display? Are they more angry, more violent? I would imagine they are more isolated.
In the same vein, I would also like to ask a question of Mr. Zimmermann. We often hear that the new Veterans Charter provides for a number of services but that people are unaware of them. There is a lack of communication. We need to raise awareness of the services that are offered to those in need, more specifically in rural settings, as you mentioned in your statement. I have spoken about this on a number of occasions, because services are more easily accessible in large cities than in rural settings where the distances are greater, and this causes problems. I always say that there is a way to build partnerships between psychosocial services, occupational therapists and physiotherapists, and regional health care facilities, to develop expertise, groups, and so on.
I'd like to hear your comments on the points I have just raised.