Veterans Affairs committee  I can respond to that one with a flat no. We have never done that. The payments for our veterans are statutory, and that's why we are here sometimes for supplementary estimates (A) and (B), or, as we are today, for supplementary estimates (C). I've been with the department for

Veterans Affairs committee  I'd just remind honourable members that the Government of Canada does provide for evaluation of all of its programs on a cyclical basis. All programs have to go through a formal evaluation process, and this program is no different. That is normally on a five-year cycle, because i

Veterans Affairs committee  I can't speak for the Canadian Forces in terms of people being advised to retire or what have you. The Canadian Forces do have a universality of service, and when that universality of service cannot be met, they are medically released from the Canadian Forces. Also, while worki

Veterans Affairs committee  There's certainly no flexibility in the bill, but I just want to clarify that when the men and women who have served come back, they're not left to themselves. Many of them stay in the Canadian Forces and have the benefit of caseworkers in the Canadian Forces. For those who are m

Veterans Affairs committee  There are two things we need to think about here. My colleague has talked about the “may” and the “shall” and how that may be interpreted. My counsel to you is that we need to be very careful. This legislation has been gone through by experts in the area of legality, and just c

Veterans Affairs committee  I think that the situation is the same everywhere in Canada. There is more interest in the ceremonies now than there was in previous years.

Veterans Affairs committee  I think that it is very difficult to give any figures or opinions about the Veterans Review and Appeal Board, because we are here as members of the department.

Veterans Affairs committee  Canada is a vast country, and providing services to what one might call rural veterans is a challenge. I would just like to highlight a number of things. First of all, we have our national call centres to provide services in both official languages. We have our 24-hour hotline

Veterans Affairs committee  I can speak to that. There are actually a number of things I think are important to get on the table there, because another member has raised the question. As the program owner of Canada Remembers, I can assure you there has been no reduction in those services. The discussion t

Veterans Affairs committee  I'll take that question. Certainly the ombudsman has been in place for a very short period of time. At this point in time, the goals and strategic outcomes you see there are very department-centric. As you see, there is a separate outcome for the ombudsman, which is his independe

Veterans Affairs committee  The short answer is yes. There are a number that have been operating for some time. There are number that have been identified. As the minister has often said, there's never too much you can do for a veteran. In a perfect world, it might be nice to have one in every town and ever

Veterans Affairs committee  The question was put to me. I'd like to respond in a couple of ways. First of all, you made note of the various ceremonies around November 11, and of course, like the ones here in the national capital region, it's actually organized by the Royal Canadian Legion. It is their ev

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, the money was set aside, and there have been various announcements. Some of the clinics have been opened and some will be opened very soon. I know that the minister has announced various dates, and we are on schedule to meet those commitments.

Veterans Affairs committee  When you refer to homeless veterans, I think that you are referring to the English term “the homeless”. There is no special program, there's no special fund. All of our programs are open to all veterans, homeless or not, and there is no money specifically earmarked to deal with

Veterans Affairs committee  I'm just trying to remember what the number would be. I'm talking about clients, so of the 225,000, it would probably be around 40,000 in Quebec. That would be a ballpark number.