Mr. Chairman, I'd first of all like to state that I'm not prepared to speak to individual cases at the board, or matters that deal with individuals' privacy.
I'd like to say to Mr. Stoffer that at the board, and across the board, one of the basic tenets in an independent administrative tribunal is that he who hears, decides. That is something on which our members are given detailed training, as soon as they arrive at the board to receive their extensive training program. We also conduct applications of training in the law to make sure that we maintain consistency throughout this country with respect to our granting of decisions. Therefore, in order to achieve that, we have our extensive initial training program for all members when they arrive, as well as continuing training. As well, we conduct performance assessments and performance reviews on a yearly basis, where all aspects of the cases are reviewed and looked at.
Colleagues on the board, who are all independent professionals, benefit from the fact that we have people with military and police backgrounds on the board. They can discuss with their colleagues the very things that veterans feel are very important to them, being their culture and how they wish to be treated. We at the board maintain that we want to provide veterans with a very effective, efficient, and fair hearing—and that's what we do. We conduct hearings, and all our members are very professional and conduct them in that manner.