That question is key. What happens is that individuals who acquire a disability while in the service tend to stay within the Department of National Defence for an extended time. In many ways, that's similar to what the private sector would call “light duty”, as opposed to taking concrete steps at intervention early on. What we know is that if you've been out of work, if you've lost your concrete attachment to an employer, by three months there's already a 25% likelihood that you will never be going back to work again. After two years, it's much worse. These individuals are kept within DND for a long time without any significant employment relationship. They're simply kept and paid within the department. Then, all of a sudden, after two to five years, they get discharged and they have to deal with VAC in rebuilding their lives.
Once you've lost that attachment, once you go beyond six months, it is extremely difficult. In many cases, what started out as a physical injury is compounded by a psychosocial condition. It can also be a straightforward mental health challenge. That's why you need to look at triaging the individuals. This is what workers' compensation boards do. You look at it right up front and ask if there is a significant potential that an impaired individual may not go back. If that is the case, you need to look at intervening rather than dragging the process out for years. Past a point, as we know from global best practices, there's little hope of this individual ever going back to work.