Veterans Affairs committee  We can certainly provide the committee with that. We have criteria published on the actual website around the well-being fund itself. You're quite right that we have prioritized certain groups over the course of the last number of years. I'll let them give you the details specifically.

Veterans Affairs committee  We can certainly give you some of the stats with respect to that. With respect to the work that's under way, Melanie was speaking to that a bit earlier around one of the eligibility entitlement guidelines that has been modified on this. We are continuing to work in that area.

Veterans Affairs committee  I don't know that I would call anything a misperception if somebody is feeling a particular way around the supports they're getting. That's a valid point. Clearly, in the past, we had some difficulty in making sure we could make decisions and make advances equally on issues of importance to men and women veterans, because we saw male veterans coming forward to us in large numbers, but not so much in the case of women veterans.

Veterans Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, with your permission, I'd ask Melanie MacDonald to talk about some of the stuff we're doing on gender-based analysis, particularly as it comes to disability adjudication. She can give you some real, practical examples of the kinds of things we're changing and working on.

Veterans Affairs committee  They should come back to Veterans Affairs. If there are individuals who can't get connected through the department, raise it up to somebody who is appearing here, like myself or others and we will look into the individual case.

Veterans Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, I would offer the following. One is we do recognize their brave service. It is recognized both in terms of their ability to access Veterans Affairs programs and supports that are in place and certainly from a commemorative point of view, on a quite regular basis. There are different rules and regulations around how wartime service is defined versus other types of service.

Veterans Affairs committee  We can certainly come back to you, Mr. Chair, with the information around how each type of service is defined. It is quite clearly articulated in our legislation and on our website as well. We can certainly come back with that information and provide that to the committee.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thanks very much for the question. There's a lot to answer in that. I'm going to ask the director general responsible for that area, Trudie MacKinnon, to do her best to tackle, I think, the seven questions.

Veterans Affairs committee  It's always very difficult to hear about veterans who may be struggling with either getting equipment or getting access to treatment. It's difficult to respond to those specific cases without having some additional detail. I would say that in general we want to make sure of two things.

Veterans Affairs committee  It is not forwarded without the request being made by the veteran.

Veterans Affairs committee  That's correct.

Veterans Affairs committee  The Privacy Act, among others, prevents us from obtaining the veteran's medical record, unless the veteran requests it. In that case, we would be be able to obtain the necessary medical data related to medical problems.

Veterans Affairs committee  Because many veterans do not need the services of Veterans Affairs Canada. We do not need the medical records of people who are not coming to us to use our services.

Veterans Affairs committee  As soon as there is an appearance of disability or illness, we can have access to their file if the person gives us permission.

Veterans Affairs committee  I might ask our director general, Trudie MacKinnon, to answer in a little bit more detail. I'll just start by saying quickly that we have our own responsibilities with respect to the determination of service-related injuries. What that means and what that actually entitles, as part of the legislation that exists for Veterans Affairs Canada, we follow.