Thank you, Mr. Chair.
First of all, I'd like to thank you for coming here today.
I'd like to correct something my colleague said. The NDP did indeed support the New Veterans Charter. However, we did not approve of the Conservatives' budget, which we deemed to be incorrect and unfair to all Canadians.
This being said, I'd like to talk about the fact that you, like nearly all the people who have appeared before this committee, moreover, have emphasized the importance of ensuring better medical follow-up of veterans to help them make a better transition. Such medical follow-up should be improved.
It has also been pointed out that there's a lack of independent specialized research in Canada on the health of members of the military and veterans. What do you plan to do to improve this situation? Also, what do you think of the idea of considering for the time being, while all this research takes place, the studies that have been conducted in various allied countries? Different studies have been done, for example, on exposure to chemical agents and other questions concerning the health of our military. Are you prepared to take them into consideration in order to improve what we know about this subject?