Veterans Affairs committee  This is where one of the chafing points is going to present itself. We're going to retain these members. Have we thought through, after three years of this, when we have a couple thousand members, who's going to supply the medical care for these? We know right now that the latest numbers were 40 or 50 medical officers short inside the Canadian Armed Forces.

Veterans Affairs committee  When the chief of defence staff says they're going to look, I think he's talking about it this way. I think they are going to look at best practices across the spectrum. I think the general said they have to get this right for Canada. They will look across at all our allies for sure and other like-minded countries to see what the best practices are.

Veterans Affairs committee  The veterans' complaints, if they happen after the member has been released, usually all fall to my colleague Mr. Parent, who you will talk to in a few moments. I deal with the serving members, and the deal is that there will be no member released until all benefits and services are in place.

Veterans Affairs committee  There are a lot of best practices around the world. There are militaries in the world, the Dutch, Austrians, Australians, who have a duty to accommodate, so it's heading towards an easing of the universality of service. I think we're already headed there. When we look at Australian Defence, they have simplified their whole process by saying that all regular forces members—reserves, cadets, anyone inside of the Australian Defence Force—are considered as a member and covered under one insurance program.

Veterans Affairs committee  This is where I'm going to get my director general of operations involved.

Veterans Affairs committee  I can speak to the Department of National Defence's side. I think the next witnesses would be better prepared to speak to the other side. I truly believe that the chain of command, the senior leadership inside the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, are seized with getting this right.

Veterans Affairs committee  This goes back to another report I published last year that was looking for a new governance model for this organization. As I said, there are very few levers we can pull. Even with evidence-based information, we're not getting the traction that I think some of these reports warrant.

Veterans Affairs committee  On the universality of service, General Vance has said they're going to start looking at ways to retain these soldiers who become ill or injured. Is there an opportunity for these members who we've spent a lot of time, money, and effort training and developing to be contributing members of the Canadian Armed Forces but in a different role?

Veterans Affairs committee  The two of them are distinct and separate, yet they work together in harmony at the end of the day. I think raising the level of awareness of what's potentially available is a part for entities like myself. We have put a major emphasis on education and pushing forward over the last two years of my mandate.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes. It will simplify it. It's not live yet. We're still in the testing phase, making sure that everything is working. We've worked in conjunction with the Canadian Armed Forces on this, so they've done the review of the content to make sure we're accurate. We're looking to go live with it at the end of November.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I know it well.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes.

Veterans Affairs committee  First and foremost, we have to have a willingness on the ground to actually change the bureaucratic maze. I think from that it will roll, if you decide to design your programs, benefits, and services to meet your desired outcome. I'll leave the movement of legislation to this body and others, but it's a matter of designing what we want and then putting in support—the policies, regulations, and legislation—to get us there.

Veterans Affairs committee  It's a bittersweet thing, if I may say, because I do believe the mechanical pieces we require are in place in one form or another. I think the fundamental change that needs to happen first and foremost is that we must define what we want our programs of benefits and services to be.

Veterans Affairs committee  I think it's fraught with possibility. Again, even if we decide to bring the two departments closer together to make one an agency or dependent on the other, I think it's irrelevant. It's still going to come down to who holds which responsibility and who is actually implementing these programs and services.