Good morning, Mr. Chairman, and honourable members of the committee.
My name is Richard Blackwolf. I am the CAV national president and a Royal Canadian Navy Cold War veteran. Thank you for the invitation to appear before you and to present our positions and experiences on the questions posed in the committee's invitation.
I am pleased to introduce Mr. Joseph Burke, CAV's national representative. He has served with the Royal Canadian Regiment and the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps as a flight medic. He is here today to assist in the presentation and to participate in the answering of your questions.
The Canadian Aboriginal Veterans and Serving Members Association is a nationally and internationally recognized veterans organization. We are in our 38th year of representing Canadian aboriginal veterans. The CAV is a full-spectrum veterans organization, with members from all eras, World War II to the present. Our national website on the World Wide Web is nearing 400,000 visits. The CAV has a presence on social media with 20 groups.
We have endeavoured to answer every one of your 32 questions, but today, for brevity, we will highlight.
Joseph will start off.