I think the budget was very clear. As you know, the goal of Budget 2012 is to improve the services provided to veterans and to adapt to their needs. In certain cases, we need more staff. In certain cases, we have less staff. In total, about 250 jobs are affected by the measures found in the budget. They are spread evenly within our structure. We plan to implement these measures over the three years set out in the budget year.
As you know, a good example is the simplification of the Veterans Independence Program. In the past, when veterans lived at home and were entitled to housekeeping services, they had to ask for a bill and send it to the department every time. We had to have staff to process the hundreds of thousands of transactions to provide reimbursement. It was like that year after year.
You will surely agree with me that, from one year to the next, we can estimate the costs of those housekeeping services. That is therefore what we do. That is why we now send lump sums to veterans twice a year. We tell them to keep their receipts, a bit like when we receive receipts for tax purposes for charitable gifts. Thousands of hours of administrative and routine tasks have been eliminated. That allows us to redirect our staff and to allow them to provide front-line services, such as case management by customer service agents.