Part of the military culture is that when you're in uniform, your ID card is near and dear to your heart. If you ever lose it, you have to report to the military police and get another card right away. As part of the veteran identity, one's own personal identity, the ID card is absolutely key, and the fact that the ID card is maintained during the transition from active service to becoming a veteran softens that transition. Over and above that, there are a number of pluses. Whether you're flying or travelling by rail or going wherever, the ID card is quite helpful to the family.
That is just to say that when we changed the policy and reintroduced the NDI 75—and that's the acronym, National Defence Identification 75—not only did we reinstitute it for those who were releasing, but then in a second phase, we backdated that to when the policy changed. I believe that was in February of 2016. Then we actually went another step and went all the way back to whoever was in service.
Again, a veteran is defined as someone who has completed basic training and is honourably released. As for the ID card, now to answer the question, tens of thousands have now applied. We know that in Canada we have in the order of 600,000-plus veterans, and the door is open to all of them.
We also want to encourage them to open up a My VAC Account, because they can apply, whether they are in downtown Toronto or in the hinterland way up north. If they have access to the Internet, they can create their My VAC Account and apply for their ID card online. It's accessible across the entire country.