Public Accounts committee  Sir, you're absolutely correct in your concerns, and we share all of them, and this is the reason our minister has asked for this review: to try to get as much of the real information across the board from the best researchers in the country and to hear the perspectives from our veterans as well.

Public Accounts committee  If I could ask Dr. Courchesne to just briefly mention her meeting with some of Canada's top medical experts on this topic.

Public Accounts committee  I will start and then I'll ask Dr. Courchesne to wade in. The formulary review committee comprises health professionals from our own department. It includes Dr. Courchesne and our national pharmaceutical advisor, as well as the pharmacists and the medical consultants from Medavie Blue Cross.

Public Accounts committee  Again, what we've done is to recreate leadership in pharmaceutical advice in the department that had been lacking for a few years. While we had pharmacists, they weren't Veterans Affairs pharmacists. They were from Blue Cross Medavie and others. Now we actually have recreated the critical mass in the core of decision-making inside the department, so we now have some structure to develop a strategy, develop a plan, and capture it in a very rigorous way, so that we know how the decisions are made; when they are made; and again, going back to the Auditor General's point, when we're actually going to achieve these things to get it done in a timely fashion.

Public Accounts committee  Sir, mental health exactly, along with physical health, is always a priority, so it is centre of mind constantly.

Public Accounts committee  Sir, we can only speculate that our veterans are networked with each other. Again, they have had a common experience in operations, be they in Afghanistan, in Bosnia, Rwanda, Somalia, or operations prior to that, so they are networked, and they are dispersed from coast to coast to coast in the country, some in remote areas, some in larger areas, and when a soldier, sailor, air man or woman hears that something is working for somebody else, they will share that.

Public Accounts committee  But the other challenge that we have is that there are physicians in the country who will not prescribe—

Public Accounts committee  Again from my previous life, if I can lead, I'll lead and I'll take the hill. In some cases I don't have the lead, and we have to work with other government departments. We are working very closely with Health Canada in this regard. It has the lead for the PLAs. We are trying to move very quickly with them so that we can sign up with them and other government departments.

Public Accounts committee  Sir, we will move out with all dispatch to implement this as soon as possible.

Public Accounts committee  We are certainly looking at all of this information. I'll just ask my colleague—

Public Accounts committee  Yes, I would ask my colleagues to chime in. Michel.

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chair, as I mentioned previously, physicians have the authority regarding marijuana, and are responsible for the overall health, both physical and mental, of our veterans who return to civilian life. It is important that we insist on that point. That said, Mr. Godin, you are entitled to be concerned.

Public Accounts committee  To the first part of your question, many of our veterans find marijuana for medical use to be beneficial to them. Again, it is very compelling, and the challenge is that it's very anecdotal. As Dr. Courchesne indicated, we don't have a medical research branch in Veterans Affairs, but with National Defence and Health Canada we partnered to create the the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research.

Public Accounts committee  Gentlemen, I confirm that marijuana is not only used for psychological problems, but also for physical injuries. Our information indicates that many military people with musculoskeletal injuries use a lot more marijuana than those who suffer from psychological issues. We have found that modern physicians authorize it in the form of various medications.

Public Accounts committee  I would just like to say that your concerns are well founded. It's precisely because of all that you've just layed out that the minister has launched this review. You're exactly spot on with your points. That's why the minister wanted to make sure that we actually get the best evidence we can from across all of the realms, from the medical experts and the producers, going into the price points and the strains that you've mentioned, as well as the beneficiaries.