Veterans Affairs committee  I do not have the specifics on that.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I can.

Veterans Affairs committee  Pardon me? Are you referring to the hiring of veterans in the public service?

Veterans Affairs committee  May I have a few minutes to get back to you on that one, please?

Veterans Affairs committee  Part of my responsibilities on the corporate side of life includes human resources support. I must say that our department has really reached out. Obviously, we have challenges with the new pay system for our own employees, but further to that, we are working very closely and collaboratively with Public Services and Procurement Canada.

Veterans Affairs committee  Okay. We work together with the Public Service Commission. You may recall the Veterans Hiring Act, which has statutory provisions for medically released veterans. The Public Service Commission has the data as to statutory hires. With respect to the rest of the federal government, we do not have the capability established in the Phoenix system as yet, but we are working together with HR systems and the Phoenix system.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Vice-Chair. I will commence by addressing your first point, the caregiver benefit. As with most of the new initiatives announced in budget 2017, these supplementary estimates really cover what I would describe as preparation and implementation costs that the department needs to undertake in order for the benefit to be in a position to come into force on April 1.

Veterans Affairs committee  The $2.1 million for advertising is within Veterans Affairs Canada. I should add that the advertising amount is done annually as a horizontal government initiative, but specific to Veterans Affairs, the $2.1 million is for a special purpose allotment for outreach, for promotion to veterans and their families, in the areas of commemoration and mental health.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Michel. I would just like to add that supplementary estimates, as I'm sure all are aware, is part of the normal parliamentary approval process to ensure that previously planned government initiatives receive the necessary funding to move them forward. For Veterans Affairs Canada, this means presenting to Parliament on the spending requirements that were not sufficiently developed in time for inclusion in the main estimates or new initiatives that were approved after main estimates.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I'd be delighted. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Our vote 1 operating expenditures, as they are contained in the main estimates for the next fiscal year, consist of the following increases: $13.5 million in regular operating expenses for the department; other health purchase services increasing by $60.9 million, for things such as glasses, nursing services, medical and dental treatment, long-term care, and prescriptions reimbursement; and new Veterans Charter support services increasing by $13.5 million, mainly for vocational and medical rehab issues.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. As a follow-on to the statement made earlier by the deputy minister regarding the veterans in the public service hiring unit, we've stood up a team in late November and early December. It's very small at the moment, but we have a phased approach to improve the hiring of veterans in the public service.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. I don't have that breakdown, but I would be delighted to provide that to you.

Veterans Affairs committee  Those employee benefits pertain to the approximately 20% that is applied to account for such things as accommodation and employee general benefits to administer their employment. We do have some new hires this year, as mentioned, with our office openings, so much of that applies to the new staff to ensure that we support them completely, not just their salary but also the employee benefits.

Veterans Affairs committee  They are figures that are based on our best knowledge of who we've hired and who we're going to hire.

Veterans Affairs committee  This year.