Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much for bringing the information to us. It does put things into perspective. I very much appreciate your candour and your experience in regard to this.
I have some questions that I think have already been asked, but I want further clarification. I'll start with you, Mr. Blais.
In talking about this whole issue of veterans managing in their last years, there is the very fact that the Last Post fund has increased the amount payable but at the same time it has failed to improve the $12,000 threshold. When the government says it doesn't include the house or the car—if it indeed did, if those were not exempted—it would seem to me a lot of families would be left with nothing. You mentioned that many veterans don't have that kind of asset at the end of their lives. But if they do, if there's a widow, if there's a family left behind, what on earth happens to them if those assets are not exempted? It seems to me that the government is trying to portray these changes as something far more than what they really are.
You mentioned the need for discussion and dialogue in terms of how we square the circle around all of the veterans, particularly modern-day veterans. I quite agree that there does need to be further discussion. But at the same time, the government is talking about quickly passing the amendments we're looking at today, and how important it is that they be passed quickly. Yet they're lumped in with an omnibus bill, a huge bill that is many pages in length—I think it's approaching 400, or perhaps in excess of 400. Would it make sense to separate this out, to look at it more carefully, to understand it better, and perhaps to have the opportunity to pass it expeditiously once we have looked at it in a more thorough light?