Thank you very much for that question, Mr. Chair.
Regarding the charter and the discussion that my colleague engaged in regarding how long a piece of string is--and I say that in all seriousness regarding the discussion of what the earnings loss benefit should be--I think that fundamentally another philosophical principle has been lost in this discussion, and that's the move towards a needs-based approach for veterans. In the case of a needs-based approach, whatever the veteran really needs should be the salary or the earnings loss benefit that is provided to them.
For a couple of years, a keystone document that was promoted as leading the move towards the needs-based approach was the health care review. But in our records, and in our research, we found no reference to the health care review in the last two years. Apparently that was on the leading edge of the needs-based philosophy, but what we're seeing within the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman is that they are clinging to the old entitlements approach.
Young Corporal Kerr is a triple-amputee living in Sudbury today, starting off a young family. I would submit that if we truly had a needs-based approach to looking after our veterans, and if his case manager got to know him and understand his needs and got to know how hard-working young Corporal Kerr is in terms of getting back on his feet again, then if it came to the point that his children were of university age and he'd been working enough but couldn't put them through and needed some help, the system should be there to pick up the ball in that case.
I feel that anybody who signs up for a career in the Canadian Forces or the RCMP, regardless of the fact that they may meet an early demise, has certain career expectations. They expect that their career will provide them and their families certain things throughout their life. I would submit that in a truly needs-based approach to business, if a service person's life is cut short or their quality of life is severely degraded by a debilitating accident, there should be a reasonable expectation that those needs will still be provided for.
I just want to make the point of the importance of going back to the original philosophies upon which this is based. If we don't have the needs-based approach right, then I would submit that the whole new Veterans Charter would be in need of a complete rethinking with regard to the programs.