Thank you for your question.
Yes, we were pleased to fund VETS Canada last week and announce in a public forum a $40,000 donation. The reason we chose VETS Canada is that VETS Canada meets with our condition as a charity that the benefits in the programs we offer have to be available from coast to coast. It doesn't matter where the veteran resides, in what province they live, be they regular force, be they reservists, or be they retired. We want the same level of service right across the country.
We received an application from VETS Canada to get their program in every city. The wonderful thing about VETS Canada is that they don't provide all the programs but they implement and they become the bridge for the veteran who's on the street to local programs that are accessed in the communities in which the veteran lives. As an organization we look at our mandate as filling gaps. We see gaps from here to here, and there's a great range.
Of course, when you get down to the street and you're homeless, you've gone all the way down. VETS Canada is the mechanism to bring that person back in from the cold, as it were, to get them back into a place where they have a roof over their head so they can begin their transition back to being productive Canadians and being honoured for their service.
That's why, as with all our programs, we look for organizations that provide first-class service, that can provide innovative service, and that are able to produce services and replicate them from coast to coast. We don't want to be a regional service. We are a national program so that veterans are treated the same from coast to coast. That's why we were pleased to announced our funding to VETS Canada.