Veterans Affairs committee  I'll ask my colleague Steven Harris to also weigh in on this. Mr. Caputo, the funds that were identified were very, very important, in terms of the timeliness to allow us to extend the contracts for those who were already in place. We saw a number of our staff members leave during a period of time, so there is a process to hire in to ensure we have the complement that is needed.

Veterans Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, I could just add one item to what the minister has underlined, and that is we are modernizing the table of disabilities so that it reflects female veterans. We have a legacy issue with the table of disabilities, as much of it was established during a time when the overwhelming majority of those who had served were male.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you for that follow-up question. We have relied on Wounded Warriors themselves to come forward with that report. We note that they were tracking the placement of 63 PTSD service dogs through a certified service dog provider. At the end of the 2021-22 fiscal year, there remained approximately 101 individuals on the wait-list.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. As the minister has indicated, we do have a challenge with a national standard. It has not been established yet. Currently, there are clear service dog standards in only three provinces in the country, in British Columbia, Alberta and Nova Scotia. We want to see a national standard and really see this applied across the country so that we can serve all veterans in all parts of the country.

Veterans Affairs committee  Merci, Mr. Chair. Thanks for the question. Yes, there was funding in 2019 for Wounded Warriors through the veteran and family well-being fund. They received funding directly to expand their PTSD service dog program. A single investment took place at that time. We do provide support, I should say, for veterans who have costs associated with the care and maintenance of vision guide dogs.

Veterans Affairs committee  Can I say something, Mr. Chair?

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Desilets. You're correct, that first applications are very important. We make sure those applications are handled rigorously. We know that this is important for veterans. Year over year, we are seeing an improvement in processing times for all first applications, including applications by francophones and women.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. As I said, Mr. Desilets, we put a lot of emphasis on processing applications for services made to the department by veterans for the first time, including by francophones and women. The department is constantly trying to improve the overall process by investing in human resources.

Veterans Affairs committee  We'll certainly look into that aspect of it, Madame Blaney.

Veterans Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, if you'll allow me, we'll verify what information was provided back to you. In terms of sources whereby a veteran can come back and raise issues and questions about the way that they're being interfaced with, we have several mechanisms to do that built into our system.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, and Ms. Blaney. Certainly, we can provide you with those details regarding veterans. That's something that we ask. Obviously, it's self-identified. I will have to check about those who are former Correctional Service employees, and whether we can share that information, but I will look into that.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Madam Blaney, there's a tremendous amount of training that goes in. My colleague, Mr. Harris, referred to the training that we undertake for new staff who are especially interfacing with veterans. That's something we take very seriously. In addition to public service training, such as in values and ethics, there is a lot of training that is very specific to the importance of the way our staff comport themselves in their interaction with veterans.

Veterans Affairs committee  I can tell you that those numbers have improved, but it remains a great challenge to improve the process for all veterans, anglophone and francophone, men and women alike. Our ultimate goal is to have a process that is—

Veterans Affairs committee  No, there is not. In previous months, the gap was about six weeks. In October, November and December, the gap was about three weeks.

Veterans Affairs committee  Actually, it is unacceptable. We are currently working to improve the situation. Mr. Harris, would you like to comment on that?