We particularly appreciate the help that you're going to give us today. What concerns us particularly is the transition from being a serving member of the armed forces to becoming a veteran.
When a Canadian Forces member is being released, there is a transfer of responsibility for the member from the Department of National Defence to other actors, notably Veterans Affairs Canada and the service income security insurance plan. The number of programs that support the transition of military personnel is large. Military personnel, veterans, and the public can therefore find the process difficult to navigate, and this can cause misunderstandings.
By studying this continuum of services, this committee, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, wishes to clearly identify the main stages of the process, the programs available to military personnel, veterans, and their families at each stage, and the respective responsibilities of the actors involved. We hope this study will help with a greater understanding in the overall process of transitioning to civilian life for military personnel. I thank you very much for helping us to do that by telling us about your personal experience.
Each of you will have 10 minutes to make a presentation. We all hope to learn from it.
The first at bat is Mr. Leonardo, the founder and the national president of Veterans Canada.