Veterans Affairs committee  Certainly the registered providers we have can bill us directly. Often we have clients who are going to providers who are not registered; then we have to reimburse the clients. So we encourage clients to go to registered providers. It makes it a lot easier.

Veterans Affairs committee  Absolutely. Services are available to veterans in both official languages across Canada, especially when it comes to the calling network, which is available in both official languages; we have an English line and a French line. Even the district offices have francophone and anglophone counsellors, especially in Ottawa, Quebec and New Brunswick.

Veterans Affairs committee  As Brenda mentioned earlier, it's a big cultural shift, a big change. The old system was about money and treatment and the new system is about wellness, outcomes, and quality of life. It's very different. So if you look at the single dimension of money, of course we'd all be happy with more money, but it doesn't necessarily mean better outcomes.

Veterans Affairs committee  In terms of the 120 days, certainly for someone who can't fill it out or is not well, there is flexibility to consider that application well beyond the 120 days.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes. For anyone with a severe injury, there would be an assisting officer from the military assigned, as well as a case manager from Veterans Affairs.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes.

Veterans Affairs committee  There are examples we've seen of people who have been really wise with their money. They've bought a home or have made a down payment or have paid off their debts. We have examples, and we don't hear about them. We always hear about those who are.... That's why I think it's important to have more evidence.

Veterans Affairs committee  Under the old system it was particularly difficult to meet the needs of the family. It was mainly focused on the veteran, and that's where you get into the challenges of how do we get benefits and services for the family, for the children. It doesn't fit with the system and the treatment that we have.

Veterans Affairs committee  Absolutely. They have a choice of the types of assistance they would receive. They can call us, and a pension officer can assist them and walk them through the process. They could go to an office anywhere in the country and could visit with a pension officer or pension assistant who would assist them in completing that form.

Veterans Affairs committee  Absolutely.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'm disappointed, because as a former director of a district office, certainly if there are examples of that, we would deal with them very quickly, because we do bend over backwards to assist veterans. We recognize that veterans who come to us need our assistance. Some of them have very complex and very challenging issues, and we do what we can to assist them.

Veterans Affairs committee  Absolutely.

Veterans Affairs committee  It was everything together.

Veterans Affairs committee  When we say that, we're speaking of all clients. That does not necessarily mean case-managed clients. We would have clients who, for example, would require no services. They might be getting a disability pension but would have no contact with the department other than that; they were fully functional.

Veterans Affairs committee  In terms of the number of case-managed clients per case manager, at one stage it was a high number, as you have mentioned. There's been quite a bit of work in the last year or two to enhance the capacity. We've determined that an acceptable case load for this type of client is 40 to 60 clients per case manager, especially those with complex needs.