Thank you.
Minister, I want to get to some of the details of the contract in a moment, but first, the last time you were before this committee, you were discussing medical assistance in dying. You indicated to us that there were four veterans who had this issue raised with them by one particular caseworker and that had been referred to the RCMP.
Since that time, I know that I'm certainly now aware of at least eight veterans who have had this occur, and there have been at least three additional case managers or service agents involved in this, so we're at a situation where we have eight veterans and probably as many as four caseworkers.
That includes Bruce, whom I mentioned to you last time, as well as, obviously, one case that was raised in last Thursday's meeting and has been in the media quite extensively since. That's the case of Christine Gauthier, who is in a wheelchair because of injuries she suffered serving this country and has been fighting with Veterans Affairs for five years to try to get a lift put in her house. As she has told us, she has been fought by Veterans Affairs every step of the way. She put it well. She said that Veterans Affairs won't help her live her life, but they have offered to help her die. That is a statement that I think hits everyone who hears it, and it's something that we should all be concerned about.
Now, she wrote to you about that back in July 2021. At that point in time, you were aware of this and did nothing until August 2022, when another veteran's case hit the media. Can you tell us, Minister, why did you do nothing from July 2021 onwards and put other veterans' lives at risk?