Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thanks, all three of you, for coming today.
Mr. Sullivan, my colleague Irene Mathyssen recently travelled with the delegation to Vimy. She was very impressed by the staff and, most importantly, by all the citizens and students who went. According to her, it was a remarkable opportunity, and on her behalf, I thank you and everyone who participated.
I also want to mention, sir, that I must say I am very pleased with the government's efforts on the Bomber Command commemorations in London. As well, the 110th anniversary of the end of the Boer War South African conflict is coming up very soon. I'm glad to see that this committee was able to make a recommendation, and we're looking forward to that commemoration. DVA has said that it would be significant, so thank you very much for doing that.
Madam Sinnott, I say this with great respect. In your brief you note, “For example, VAC has established three homeless veterans initiatives in Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto.” I put to you that it wasn't VAC that started that; it was the volunteer groups, people finding homeless veterans: the Good Hope Ministries; the Royal Canadian Legion, as you know; and Cockrill House. As you know, DVA puts no money in Cockrill House. These organizations started it, and then VAC came in as a partner—I won't say much later, but they were definitely not the initiators. In my view, they supported those initiatives.
I have two questions for you, and I'll play the devil's advocate when I say this. In your partnership you mention the Royal Canadian Legion and the Wounded Warriors, etc. Is it not fair to say, since some veterans groups are saying this, that DVA is starting to rely too heavily on the veterans organizations, the charitable groups, and others out there for assistance in this regard when they believe that DVA should be taking the initiative?
An example is the V.E.T.S organization in Halifax. These are veterans looking for homeless veterans. Although Mr. Hillier was great to go with them one time, it was the veterans themselves who started it, and not DVA. Is it not fair to say that possibly DVA or the government is relying on these other organizations too much, where DVA should be the initiator?
I thank you for coming.