Veterans Affairs committee  May I sum up a whole bunch of things? They are communications, outreach, and accessibility. If we can tackle those three issues, then we can tackle the other problems we have with the new Veterans Charter. When you're talking about what kind of outreach we do for families, I'll

Veterans Affairs committee  First, what we provided you with here is something that we drafted up for our members. This is what we sent out to our members through Legion Magazine to make sure they were educated about what was involved with the new Veterans Charter, because we saw too many times that people

Veterans Affairs committee  Very much so.

Veterans Affairs committee  We wrote two years, okay, but why not continually? Anybody who does a strategic review should be having an ongoing strategic review about what their programs—

Veterans Affairs committee  —and services are. An ongoing review to make sure that we're meeting the needs of our veterans is required.

Veterans Affairs committee  The chair will probably recognize that we've said this before, but the transition process of the individual from being a member of the Canadian Forces to being a client of Veterans Affairs is probably one of the trickiest transition processes of all, particularly if that individu

Veterans Affairs committee  They need to be harmonized very much, because right now there are differences in some cases.

Veterans Affairs committee  Why not continually?

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I'll be quick. Frankly it's not a new bill. I have a friend who served on UN missions, had a heart attack in Central America, came back, was released from the military, and was immediately hired in the public service through the priority hiring. The issue on priority hiring

Veterans Affairs committee  Just to say that we tend to look at it holistically. A veteran is a veteran is a veteran, not just from a post- or pre-whatever. A veteran is a veteran is a veteran.

Veterans Affairs committee  I am not francophone, but I am francophile. My wife is a Quebecker. I apologize, but I will speak in English to make sure I am using the right words. We certainly believe that there are things that can be done now while this review is ongoing. Comrade Gordon has laid out three

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, and I do have membership forms for each one of you if you want to join the organization, and you can also join online at www.legion.ca. That's my paid political announcement for all of you. The Royal Canadian Legion, as well as other veterans' groups, as well as health prof

Veterans Affairs committee  Just as an add-on, we've already seen a spike in the number of people who are coming forward looking for services. That's happening now. Our national bureau is well over its head. We have put a service officer into Valcartier from Quebec Command. He's inundated with people to ser

Veterans Affairs committee  If you see a comparison with what other like-minded nations do for their veterans, the services we provide our veterans are pretty good comparatively across the world. What we're trying to do is evolve the system as we have it right now into the new dynamic of the kinds of situat

Veterans Affairs committee  Overall, I think you're asking a question about Bill C-55 and the involvement of stakeholders—I don't like that term—the organizations in the consultation process. First off, I don't think the consultation process has been adequate over the years. It needs to be improved, overa