Veterans Affairs committee  If the parent has greater than a 50% disability, and certainly death in service is greater than that, then the Education Assistance Act falls in place for the children, which provides for tuition, I think it's up to $4,000 or $5,000 now, and a monthly stipend while they're in school, up to age 25.

Veterans Affairs committee  The thinking at the time—and this is a living charter, so thinking can change—was family coverage came through the Public Service Health Care Plan, through being able to use the veteran's benefits if the veteran was unable to use them as a result of service. Just like the court awards and workers' compensation lump sum awards, there's not a recognition of the individual's social status, rather the pain and suffering the individual goes through.

Veterans Affairs committee  It comprises seven Canadian Forces veterans, all of whom have reported disabilities of over 80%, and they may be physical, psychological, or both. They have a lot of experience dealing with Veterans Affairs and disability. None of them are particularly shy about letting their views be known.

Veterans Affairs committee  When Veterans Affairs, in 1946, acquired a lot of this large hospital capacity, there wasn't anything out there in the community at all. With the coming in of medicare, social safety nets, established programs, financing of things that all parties support over the years, there are now 220,000 to 235,000 long-term-care beds.

Veterans Affairs committee  And I'll do it in English, sir, just to make sure that my answer is, as I understand it, accurate.

Veterans Affairs committee  There are two ways in which we provide health services to veterans. One, when it's related to a war service disability, Veterans Affairs pays 100% of the cost, and it doesn't matter à travers le Canada, it doesn't matter where. The other is where the eligibility is based on income, through the war veterans allowance or the veterans independence program, and we pay what provinces do not insure.

Veterans Affairs committee  The relationship remains the same, whether the individual is in l'Hôpital Sainte-Anne or in a licensed community care facility. If the care is for the pension disability—war pension or service-connected pension disability—we pay 100% of the costs, and there's no assurance du Québec.

Veterans Affairs committee  I am.

Veterans Affairs committee  If care is assured for someone resident of Quebec, it doesn't matter where they are; whether they're in Sainte-Anne's or in un foyer d'hébergement à Trois-Rivières, it won't matter. We'll pay what is not covered by the province. I think our accommodation and meals amount to $850 a day.

Veterans Affairs committee  It would have to be a legislative change.

Veterans Affairs committee  The initial amount of lump sum was based on pain-and-suffering court awards in Canada and about double what, for instance, workers' compensation pays. There are now court awards that are beyond the $262,000 or whatever the number is at the moment. They are based on a table of disabilities.

Veterans Affairs committee  I don't have the exact aims for the second and third phases, but the first phase is to size up whether the new Veterans Charter is doing what it is supposed to do. In other words, is it changing the trajectory of transition for people leaving the military and going into civilian life?

Veterans Affairs committee  There is certainly a consultation element to it. As part of the summary of the phases, I'll ensure that it's recorded for you.

Veterans Affairs committee  What's the first decision? Is it twenty-four? For the first decision, it takes 80 weeks.

Veterans Affairs committee  There are, of course, as we say in English, turnaround time standards for first applications for appeals, and they're met most of the time. I don't know exactly what the percentage is. It's very high. Where there's an urgent circumstance, where an individual is in grave trouble, we call that a red zone decision and we can move that through very quickly.