National Defence committee  We reduced it by 70%, or close to that, and the quality has not been affected. Actually, the 45:55 ratio has not been affected by it. The deferrals of the Chief of the Defence Staff, so far as we've received his decisions on these cases so far, have not changed. They're seeing th

National Defence committee  Mr. Chair, the genesis of the pilot project is a consequence of a working group that was initiated by the Canadian Forces and on which we were invited as experts. We had the Lamer report's concerns on the timeliness issue and we were looking at how we could make it better. Also,

National Defence committee  Absolutely. They are Recommendations 85, 86 and 87 of Chief Justice Lamer's Report.

National Defence committee  It's approximately $6.4 million.

National Defence committee  They are four part-time members.

National Defence committee  We have a business infrastructure because with institutional independence, come all the obligations. Our board has the same obligations. Although our agency is small, it has the same obligations toward the central agencies as the Department of National Defence. Half the board's s

National Defence committee  In fact, the member issues his instructions, his directives, and then the writing as such is done in accordance with the internal, legal review process, and so on.

National Defence committee  Currently the six board members all have, to some degree, previous military experience.

National Defence committee  Yes, it was in uniform.

National Defence committee  Mr. Chair, I would say it's a combination of both. You will have some members who will retire in order to be appointed. You have to understand the process by which the Governor in Council puts offers of employment on the Governor in Council's website. The criteria are there. If

National Defence committee  Mr. Chairman, this is an issue we raised outside of the Lamer report, and it is pursuant to some activities the board is performing. We noted that in correspondence sent to the board, we were looked at as belonging to the Canadian Forces. The name “Canadian Forces” Grievance Boar

National Defence committee  The concern was that from the main perspective, we were a part of the organization.

National Defence committee  Thank you for your question. That is indeed a possibility. I also note that, when the minister appeared on Monday, he said he was open to recommendations from this committee. My role is to tell you that three of those concern the board's operations, without affecting its mandat

National Defence committee  That's the position the board has always defended. The board's powers are set out in the National Defence Act. There is a section in that act on the obligation to file an annual report. The terms and conditions respecting board members are also set out in the National Defence Act

National Defence committee  The board always has a concern to inform decision-makers about problems on a proactive basis. In other words, why wait until a problem is raised through a grievance when it is possible to solve it upstream and nip the problem in the bud? It may be a recent problem concerning relo