Thank you for your question on the expansion of services that we will provide to the veteran community through Service Canada.
First, it is not just the Department of Veterans Affairs that must serve veterans, but rather all of government. That is why, by using the services of Service Canada, we are able to offer one-stop services for veterans, which allows them to have a wider range of services. Of course, there are costs associated with this, and that is why I need your support today. In fact, I have to obtain the necessary funds for Service Canada to provide the services to veterans.
I'll come back to Prince Edward Island. As you know, there are five Service Canada offices in that province. They are located in Charlottetown, O'Leary, Summerside, Montague and Souris. As you know, the level of service and home visits for veterans are being maintained, whether they're done by case managers or Veterans Affairs Canada staff. That means that the level of service is the same for veterans on Prince Edward Island. There are home visits. And if veterans want to go to a point of contact with the Department of Veterans Affairs, they no longer have to cross the whole island. They can go to one of the neighbouring towns to receive services related not only to Veterans Affairs Canada, but also to all of government.
As further information, I have to tell you that we also plan to hire additional resources to maintain a case manager ratio of 1 to 40. That means that in all cases where there is an increase in the number of veterans, we will adjust, we will add veterans and hire case managers in Halifax, St. John's, Quebec City, Pembroke, Ottawa, Kingston and Edmonton, because to us it is important to adapt to the changing reality of veterans.
For the first time in the recent history of our department, Veterans Affairs, we have more veterans coming back from conflicts, peacekeeping missions, NATO missions, United Nations missions and Afghanistan than we do veterans from older conflicts. Therefore, all the while offering the same services to our traditional veterans, we also ensure we are able to meet the needs of modern-day veterans.