Thank you very much, Chair.
Thank you very much, Minister, for being here today.
First of all, I want to echo my colleague's message. I feel it's a very important study, and we definitely need to look more into it and pay it more attention. These are details that should have been studied. We've had time to study them. We need to implement them now for the benefit of our veterans. As my colleague said, we have veterans in the room today, and I see their faces. I see the witnesses and I see the emotion. Because of that, I want to echo my colleague's message.
Getting to the questions, Minister, VAC is requesting $39.6 million for the caregiver recognition benefit, representing a 6.5% decrease from the previous year. The benefit provides $1,264 per month directly to the caregiver for severely disabled veterans who require continuous care.
Can you explain why the funding for the caregiver recognition benefit is decreasing by 6.5% this year?