Veterans Affairs committee  On review.

Veterans Affairs committee  The advocates are full-time government employees who used to belong to an independent agency, which was the Bureau of Pension Advocates. In the 1995 reform, the agency was brought into the department and they all work under the chief pensions advocate. There are 40 of them, and their work is totally dedicated to the preparation and arguing of cases before the board.

Veterans Affairs committee  To answer your last question, I'll say that yes, our number of board members is down. We do require some appointments. Representations have been made to the minister, and I am very confident that the complement will be rebuilt soon. In the interim, we've developed a number of strategies to make sure the cases are heard in a timely fashion.

Veterans Affairs committee  Sure.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen members of the Committee. I would like to make a few remarks before we get to a question period. Since the inception of the Canadian disability pension system at the end of World War I, a constant feature has been the existence of an independent appeal mechanism so that soldiers and their dependants who were dissatisfied with the disposition of their claim can appeal.