Thank you, Chair.
I'll just share this, because I know there are some new faces and maybe not all witnesses....
I'm coming from the same position as many of you are, with 25 years in the Canadian Armed Forces with the Royal Canadian Regiment as an infantry officer, two tours in Bosnia, two in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. I'm not going to thank you for your service. I know you're appreciated—and thank you. I am going to thank you for your advocacy and for speaking truth to power and for being here and sharing your stories.
With much of the testimony I've heard today, I'm not disappointed or shocked, as some of my colleagues have said. I'm pissed off, because it's frustrating that we have not cracked this yet.
I'm going to ask you a series of questions. They're all pretty straightforward with yes-or-no answers.
What I think has been consistent with all the testimony today is there are three things that need to be worked on. I'll just ask you to agree or disagree, and if you disagree, let me know why.
The first one is that the support within Veterans Affairs Canada is too bureaucratic for veterans.
Two, we're facing a lack of data or tracking associated with veterans right across this country, at all levels of government, I would argue.
Finally, we need to have a system, specifically when it comes to mental health support that's better tailored to veterans. As much as mental health crosses all spectrums of society—everybody's facing challenges—at the same time, it's not specific.
That's the first thing: Do you agree or disagree with those three messages?
The second question I want to ask has two parts. Do you believe that the Government of Canada and this country has a sacred obligation to care for veterans and their families throughout their lives by allowing them to maintain a quality of life that is worthy of the sacrifices that they have made for Canada? Do you agree with that statement? Is the Government of Canada currently living up to that commitment?
Finally, we've heard from your testimony here, which has been phenomenal.... There are more people than in this room who could testify. There are literally thousands of veterans across the country who could testify. Do you think it would be beneficial, as Mr. Hynes said, to humanize the study here, make people understand the impact of suicide and challenges that our veterans face by having more witnesses appear to share their stories?
Those are the three questions. I'll just go in order. If you need me to repeat any of them, I will.
We'll hear from Mr. Bennett first.