Veterans Affairs committee  I may add, Ron, that these are statutory programs, so if the demand goes down...but if the demand goes up, it is met. So that's one thing to bear in mind. The other is that if in any one period of time the money allocated to veterans' programs or corrections or whatever isn't used, it goes back into the general revenue and it's not, at least technically, available to be reused unless cabinet decides that's what should happen.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'll reply in English, to be clear. The $219 million that has been set aside for the allied veterans is not taking away anything in the way of resources for other veterans who are already eligible, or even those who might be in the future. It's a new allotment of new money. There's no trade-off that I'm aware of in the financing of this new proposal.

Veterans Affairs committee  Well, it could very well be this. There has to be a causal relationship to military service, so if that causal relationship can't be established from medical records and military service, it's more difficult to get an approval than if it were clear that you fell off a tank and broke your arm.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes. We'll try to get you some information through the chair.

Veterans Affairs committee  No. The new Veterans Charter programs are meant to respond very quickly. You don't have to have a pension in your hand to get them. Early intervention is key, so we're looking at shortening those turnaround times. We haven't quite gotten there yet, but they're to be quite a bit shorter than 24 weeks.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, there's not a secret code there, Mr. Chair. We just ran out of ink.

Veterans Affairs committee  We don't make errors in the public service, sir, I'm sorry.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes. We'd certainly like to shorten that from what it is, but it's down from 10 or 11 years ago, when it was 18 months. We had a very burdensome process, in my view, that we changed. It's constantly under evaluation to ensure that when the medical evidence is clear, you have a report from a physician, you have an incident in the military, and you have the individual presenting, they should be dealt with very quickly.

Veterans Affairs committee  That's probably true, but I can't comment on whether those eligibility criteria are going to change. I can tell you that when you give veterans in Nova Scotia a choice between staying in Eastern Passage or going into Camp Hill, they'll stay in Eastern Passage. It's the absence of choice rather than the presence of something else, so we're working on increasing the number of choices.

Veterans Affairs committee  That's a fair question. In terms of getting the evidence base for the conversion, as it were, from an entitlement to a needs-based or a wellness approach, we started the first studies in 1999. We did a study of the needs of Canadian Forces veterans themselves, and we asked them what their requirements were, and it was no surprise.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'll answer the first two, and maybe Doug can answer the third for Mr. Stoffer. On the long-term-care plan for our hospitals, Veterans Affairs created these hospitals in the absence of any alternative in the community. Right now there are about 250,000 to 260,000 nursing home beds in Canada that weren't there at the end of World War II.

Veterans Affairs committee  The only additional comment I would make is that I think in the military there is more of a recognition that operational tempo and the nature of the deployments can bring about things, some of which are very natural responses to very unnatural circumstances, and some of which are very unnatural responses to unnatural circumstances, and they need to deal with it.

Veterans Affairs committee  The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have been clients of Veterans Affairs since 1949, so it's a longstanding relationship. With respect to the specific issue of mental health challenges among the RCMP, they're beginning to realize that it's an important factor, and you as a former police officer would know just how traumatic some of the events are that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables have to deal with, whether they're overseas or here, but particularly overseas.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'll add that it would be misleading to suggest we're going to have as many services available in Tobermory as we have in London. I think you know that. What we do have are itinerant counsellors who are trained case managers. We do have the national contract Brenda referred to, and we do have a network of voluntary and professional suppliers in the area.

Veterans Affairs committee  The accepted definition of a veteran is someone who has gone through basic training and has been honourably discharged. That's the definition of a veteran. It's for recognition purposes. It's not for benefit purposes. There are other eligibility requirements to receive benefits, such as disability awards and the new Veterans Charter.