Chers collègues, my name is Walter Semianiw. I am the assistant deputy minister of policy, communications and commemoration with Veterans Affairs, and I'm here today with my colleague Janice Burke, the director of strategic policy integration in the policy division, to give you an overview of the original design and principles of the new Veterans Charter.
As Minister Fantino noted just two days ago, he clearly asked this committee to look into this. The new Veterans Charter is a very important issue for our veterans, and we're hoping today that the information we'll provide you will perhaps be those first steps toward having an even better understanding of what we call the new Veterans Charter, and that you can all use your collective wisdom at the end of all of this to come up with some very strong ideas and recommendations about the way ahead.
More than half a century ago, one million Canadian servicemen and women came home from the Second World War. A grateful nation and a responsive government provided a wide range of programs to ease their adjustment to civilian life.
As a result, prior to the implementation of the new Veterans Charter, when modern-day members of the Canadian Armed Forces returned home from overseas missions with physiological or psychological injuries, there clearly was little for them beyond the disability pension program and related health care. This was a serious issue that the government of the day had to address, particularly with our involvement in the war on terror and our troops deployed to Afghanistan.