Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you both very much for coming.
Ron, thank you very much for your eloquent example of what is going on. You are right; I don't believe that other gentleman will be reappointed when he applies again.
Mr. Kovacs, thank you very much.
You will notice that the veterans bill of rights does not include an article that says you have a right to have your decisions made in a timely manner. I remember that when the bill of rights came forward I suggested this to the government of the day, but I wasn't successful in getting it in there.
Mr. Kovacs, you're right, and Ron and the previous presenter are right, that it could take years for a process to get through to the VRAB. Let me give you an example.
John Doe calls up 1-866-522-2122. He is a veteran. He calls in and says, “I have a problem.” Why can't the person on the phone—hopefully they are not Service Canada or Quantum, a private agency handling calls for DVA now—send someone to that individual's home to say, “Sir, if you are making an application for a benefit, here's what you have to have in order to possibly be successful” and describe all the medical files, all the documented papers, and all of that right from the very beginning.
That doesn't happen. That person has to go through a string of assistants, either through their veterans' organization or BPA or some other group. As you know, many of them don't even pursue it; they just give it up. If they are denied the first time, they just stop.
Is there not a way we can make it much simpler, when the veteran makes the initial call to 1-866-522-2122, to ensure that the person on the phone then says, long before the initial application, “We're going to sit down with you. We're going to help you right from the very beginning to access all the programs and services you need, and we believe that you should have this and this document and that document when you make your initial application”?
Is it not possible to do that, to make it much faster for the veteran, RCMP member, or family member when it comes to applying for a benefit? The status quo just seems to take far too long.