How it works is this way. The department is very sensitive to the needs and the concerns of Canadians, of still-serving members, of veterans. Over time, the department has used a number of methods such as establishing committees like the New Veterans Charter Advisory Group or the Gerontological Advisory Council. All these groups have generated reports over time. All those reports are taken by the department and considered in the light of future policy and strategies.
A good example of that would be the Enhanced New Veterans Charter Act, which was largely drawn from many of the recommendations that had been made to the department regarding perceived gaps in the new Veterans Charter, particularly as it relates to the most seriously disabled veterans. That's a concrete example of how input is taken and then used to try to improve programming by the Government of Canada.
In a more recent example, the department engaged in an extensive consultation across Canada. It appeared on all of the major bases and wings of the Canadian Forces, in concert with our Canadian Forces colleagues. We did presentations on the new Veterans Charter, but we also recorded concerns and questions that were being identified. All of that is brought back to the department to be collated and analyzed, and it all serves as the foundation for future planning. It asks questions we need to consider. Where should we be going? What are the most pressing needs that are being identified? Where are the issues that we should be pushing to resolve the future?