We have a very structured training program for all of our service officers at the branch level. Every branch has a service officer. They act as a referral agent because of the complexity and the privacy issues. All of the branches in each province receive training at least on an annual basis and the frequency of the training is mandated. To be a branch service officer you have to have that specific training. They're provided all of the updates and changes to the policies and procedures that Veterans Affairs has.
We work very closely on the transformation. For any new policy or process, as they're promulgating it, as they're testing it, we're also consulted in that process to make sure it will meet our needs as well as the needs of all of our veterans.That's pushed down to all of our branch service officers.
Then we work up to our command service officers, who are professionally trained, security cleared, and we have annual training programs for all of them. As their initial training program, they all receive formal training from VAC on the disability benefit process, from the Veterans Review and Appeal Board on the presentation of appeals, and every two years we go to Veterans Affairs. We will go to Charlottetown, and Veterans Affairs comes to provide us very specific presentations on all of the changes, their processes, which allows us to be more knowledgeable to our veterans as well seeing that we can facilitate through the process better, so when we do get the call from a veteran we understand the two pieces of legislation and the complex process.