Veterans Affairs committee  Could I defer that to my colleague from Veterans Affairs?

Veterans Affairs committee  I don't know.

Veterans Affairs committee  I know they've just announced the chair. They've just started the hiring.

Veterans Affairs committee  Not the chair, sorry, the CEO.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I am.

Veterans Affairs committee  My relationship is that I've been asked to be an adviser.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'm not sure what specific project it was.

Veterans Affairs committee  I know that there are lots of projects I am a co-investigator for that are being funded. I'm not sure of the specific one.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I am.

National Defence committee  That's not my call. I don't see it interfering with the job that our health practitioners do. I haven't seen it interfering. We care for people. I've cared for suicidal people in theatre and for different allies. As health practitioners, we look after people, victims, perpetrators and enemy combatants.

National Defence committee  Yes, you're speaking about, in general, barriers to care. Barriers to care can include concern about career. It can be a stigma: what people are going to think about me, what people are going to think about my self. The number one barrier to care, actually, has always been that people are unaware they have a mental illness and that they could benefit.

National Defence committee  I'm not sure that's a question for a doctor to answer. I don't have any evidence of it as being a barrier. There may be other reasons to keep it and/or remove it that are more subject—

National Defence committee  I don't believe it does.

National Defence committee  Sadly, it's been my job of being involved in every completed suicide in the last decade and many of the attempts. I'm not aware of a single person who has been charged with self-harm. When we do the deep dives and actually go and revisit this, it hasn't been an issue. The number one priority has always been the care of the individual after self-harm.