Thanks, Mr. Chair.
While Mr. Zimmer may not be so gentle, he is excruciatingly respectful of our veterans.
Mr. Bishop, I want to thank you very much for joining us here today.
I know it's been said that the Korean War really is the forgotten war, but as has been correctly pointed out, our government, the Harper government, has taken extraordinary steps to pay tribute to the service and sacrifice that you and your colleagues offered. This year has been named the Year of the Korean War Veteran. We've come out with the certificate. We're asking Legions and all Canadians to identify folks who served during the Korean conflict so we can offer them proper recognition during this important year.
I hate to digress to some technical questions, but we're here to talk about the budget. I would much rather listen to your extraordinary war stories because they really are fascinating. It's critical to continue to share those stories so that future generations have them.
If I might, I'll ask you a few specific questions regarding the WVA amendments. I'd like to talk a little about how a series of small changes can have a very significant impact on many folks. With the changes that are being proposed as part of this budget, we would be providing increased long-term care to over 2,000 additional veterans. We would also, for the first time, provide the war veterans allowance to over 3,000 new veterans, and we would see nearly $100 million invested in veterans through the war veterans allowance.
Do you think these small changes will have a great and far-reaching impact on veterans?