Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I'm going to be blunt because this is a report card, and to me, this is a failing report card.
I want to thank the ombudsman for making these recommendations, but I just find it very disheartening to see that—I'll give credit where credit is due—50 out of 63 have been implemented or partially implemented, but in the category of health care and support for veterans, eight out of 10 are not implemented. To me, that is incredibly tragic. Our veterans, our service men and women, put their lives on the line, put their physical and mental health at risk to serve our country. We need to make sure that we are doing better.
In looking at some of the areas where improvement is needed, Mr. Ombudsman, you said earlier that you believe it's the capacity to manage the change at the department. That is partly why some of these things that seem incredibly simple and logical lead me to ask this question. We see so many other parts of this report being addressed adequately. Why is it that when it comes to health care and support, we are lagging behind? Why is that not a priority in terms of making sure that, for example, veterans don't have to wait in the 40,000 backlog of cases. Why, for example, are they not getting the same access to dental care as they would under the public health care plan? Why is this not being prioritized?
To me, it's one of the most important things, to make sure that veterans and their families get the supports they require when it comes to their health and well-being after they have served.