Thank you, MP Blaney, and thank you, Jean-Guy.
In terms of plans for commemoration, we're aware of the 10-year strategic plan for commemoration that has come from VAC. That was informed by one of the advisory groups that one of our colleagues, Dr. Harris, is involved with.
What we noted in reviewing the terms of reference and the records of discussion of the advisory group was that no discussion had come up about equity or about gender-based analysis in commemoration. The department has identified the need for GBA+ in commemoration, but there's nothing specific about what that exactly means. Therefore, how that's going to be achieved is another question we have, and the understanding of what that's going to mean is certainly a gap.
Again, it comes back to that gender-based analysis and applying that lens through all the work that's being done. Good work is being done by Veterans Affairs Canada and the organizations that are around the table supporting them.
That's one of the major gaps. The other gap comes to research, which is a difficult question. We quoted some U.S. understanding of how women are less likely to identify as veterans. There may be any number of factors or reasons that underlie it, but understanding that is really critical in terms of identifying why it happens. It's an unfortunate and damaging factor in and of itself, but it can also mean that women veterans are not accessing or able to access the benefits, services and supports that they need so the inequitable outcomes are snowballing from there. We need to ensure that the research effort and dollars are focused on where the gaps are so we can understand this group a lot better and then we can commemorate them a lot better.
The final thing I would add is that there are opportunities for VAC to connect with the women veterans community. They have stood up the office of women and LGBTQ2. It has been two to three years now. It was announced a year ago in March, but it has been operational a little longer than that. Continuing on with that work is incredibly important. So is the women veterans forum, which the minister had committed to as an annual event. I believe there have been two now. Ensuring that forum continues and that commemoration is perhaps a stream in there would be critical.