Thank you very much.
Good morning, everyone. It is a great pleasure to appear here in front of your committee this morning. I am pleased to be able to speak to you on behalf of our Dominion president Tom Eagles and the 300,000 members of the Royal Canadian Legion and their families.
I'm Steven Clark, acting Dominion secretary. With me is Carolyn Gasser, service officer in the Dominion Command service bureau and someone who has gone through the transition process herself. We've been asked to discuss the programs, services, and support that the Royal Canadian Legion offers our veterans and their families in their transition to civilian life.
The positive transition to life after release is essential for Canadian Armed Forces members, whether they be regular or reserve force, the RCMP, or of course their families, because they constitute an important aspect as well.
The experience of life after release is different and unique for each veteran. Some voluntarily leave after a short period of service. Some are single, some have young families, and some are in need of employment. Others retire after 30 or 35 years of service, with grown families and with very good financial security. Some members who retire are injured as a result of their military service and they must make this transition under difficult circumstances. It is therefore important that the Department of National Defence, Veterans Affairs Canada, and the RCMP put in place complementary policies, practices, and programs supported by a sustainable research program, with the goal of enabling the healthy transition of all veterans and their families through this change in their life course.
The Royal Canadian Legion is the only veteran service organization that assists veterans and their families with representation to Veterans Affairs Canada and the Veterans Review and Appeal Board. The Legion's advocacy program is core to our mission. We have been assisting veterans since 1926 through our legislative mandate in both the Pension Act and the new veterans charter. Our 23 professional command service officers are located across the country and provide free assistance to veterans and their families to obtain benefits and services from Veterans Affairs Canada. Please note that veterans do not have to be Legion members to request our services.
Our national service bureau network provides representation, starting with first applications to Veterans Affairs Canada, through all three levels of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board—the VRAB. Through the legislation, the Legion has access to service health records and departmental files in order to provide comprehensive yet independent representation at no cost. Last year, our service officers prepared and represented disability claims on behalf of more than 3,000 veterans to VAC and the VRAB. There is no other veterans group with this kind of direct contact, interaction, provision of support, and feedback from veterans, their families, and caregivers.