Mr. Chair, as I said, it is an ongoing plan. Of course there is a plan, that is one thing I think we have all come to understand very clearly about the Canadian Forces. There are always plans, there are always contingencies, and there is always a need in a high tempo period which we are experiencing.
With respect to previous comments I made about full-time mental health professionals, we have 378 and we are hiring more. When we compare to our NATO allies just as a benchmark, Canadian Forces have the greatest ratio of mental health care workers to soldiers. The establishment for mental health care workers in the Canadian Forces will allow us to hire more of those individuals, more social workers, more psychiatrists, more psychologists, and more mental health nurses. All of these trained professionals will help to address those needs.
We also have programs that the hon. member may be aware of, the “Be the difference campaign”, which encourages awareness, which encourages fellow soldiers to support one another. The Chief of the Defence Staff has been a very outspoken advocate for this approach. He was recognized nationally by the Canadian Mental Health Society for that work. Operational stress disorder is a major issue in the Canadian Forces. We have suicide prevention campaigns, a speakers bureau to ensure that there is greater public awareness. So yes, we will continue to work with all--