Veterans Affairs committee  Well, my research group has just finished a three-year program of research on older adults in rural communities. So we have a lot of background information, particularly on rural communities in Canada, which helped us develop the report, Keeping the Promise, and which we're using to advise the department.

Veterans Affairs committee  Right.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'm the main one on the committee who has research experience that I've been using to feed into the department. Of course, for many years the department has been providing services to veterans all over the country. So they have the on-the-ground experience. I think the main thing we've learned from the work we've done is that these communities are diverse, and you've identified that well.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I am.

Veterans Affairs committee  That sounds just fine.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, and thanks very much for inviting me to address the committee. You will have heard from Dr. Victor Marshall, who chairs the Gerontological Advisory Committee, and from Mr. Brian Ferguson and Darragh Mogan from VAC, who have given you some background on the reasons why the advisory committee was invited to write the report Keeping the Promise: The Future of Health Benefits for Canada's War Veterans.