Veterans Affairs committee  That is a good question. Equity is always paramount in our view. When we examine any program or project that concerns veterans, we look at it from the equity perspective in particular. Can we guarantee that the veterans or patients who are in Ste. Anne's Hospital will continue to

Veterans Affairs committee  They come to talk about access, and the quality of health care and the cost of travelling to access it. So the overall administration of programs is involved.

Veterans Affairs committee  Let's just say that there are a lot of differences from one province to another. The provinces do not all have the same health care network nor the same administrative structures. This does cause problems for some veterans.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, but that is a good question. Our first level of intervention consists mainly in providing information and helping to guide people to where they need to go to have their complaints resolved. As for access to private information, if that is an issue, we refer complaints to the

Veterans Affairs committee  The mechanisms put in place by the department seem to be a step in the right direction. After what happened publicly, we reviewed the processes we use to make sure that the members of our team respect standards regarding access to private information.

Veterans Affairs committee  Another good question. A few weeks ago, we issued a report on the Veterans Review and Appeal Board. Even the decisions of the Superior Court are published on its website. I would go so far as to say that the majority of quasi-judicial tribunals in Canada do the same thing. That i

Veterans Affairs committee  It would give them a starting point. They could compare their case to others where a decision has been handed down.

Veterans Affairs committee  No. Thank you. It's a very good question, Mr. Chair. In fact, I think it goes back to what Mr. Harris was saying before. Eventually over the years the programs become complex. The administration of the programs become so complex that changes are made to facilitate the administra

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you. It's another good question. Obviously, over the years the program was never well explained. It's a new concept to go from dependency to transition without barriers to psycho-social and medical.... It's a new concept and very hard to understand. People have had a tende

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members. I will first introduce the people who are with me today: Gary Walbourne, director general of operations, as well as deputy ombudsman in my absence; and Diane Guilmet-Harris, our legal counsel at the office. Thank you for inviting me t

Veterans Affairs committee  As I mentioned earlier, a plan remains a plan until it is put into action. One of our recommendations was the publication of board decisions. The publication of noteworthy decisions is already under way. But transparency requires that all decisions be published. Something else I

Veterans Affairs committee  Our recommendations targeted two areas. The first is the liberal interpretation of evidence. A section in the act states that the evidence must be construed liberally. At the court level and even during the adjudication process, application of the benefit of the doubt has always

Veterans Affairs committee  In fact, that was the intent. Again, we go back to transparency. The more people know about the programs and benefits—the eligibility criteria, how they access these programs and benefits—the easier it's going to be for everybody.

Veterans Affairs committee  Of course, that extends to all the application processes, from initial adjudication all the way to Veterans Review and Appeal Board appeals.

Veterans Affairs committee  We are working with the board staff and with Mr. Larlee to solidify any improvement that has to do with our recommendations for our report. We're engaged with them. We will be putting out a full report. Any systemic review that we do is normally followed six months later with a f