Thank you so much, Mr. Chair.
First and foremost, again, it's an absolute privilege for me to be here with all of you today. This is my third committee appearance here at the veterans affairs committee. On the two first occasions, I was here for a two-hour period. I was more than happy to do so.
More importantly, I think, Mr. Richards, since I've taken on this role as the veterans affairs minister, I have made it my number one priority to meet with veterans across the country. I have met hundreds if not thousands of veterans, and personally wanted to hear their issues and their concerns. When I talked earlier about the forum and the summit that we held in Montreal, I spent four days there, for the totality of those summits and the forum, to hear first-hand about the issues and struggles our veterans are facing, and to find out their priorities.
To accuse me today of not paying attention to veterans I think is a bit rich on your part, because, again, I take this job extremely seriously. My number one priority is to make sure that veterans have access to the services and benefits they need. I will continue to meet and listen to veterans when I can.