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  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  Thank you. That's a very good question. I'm going to try to hit all the answers, but certainly I think I'll start off with saying that our concern—I've expressed this, I believe, to the committee before—is with the fact that a lot of people are suffering in silence. Some of them

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. What's important to realize is that we do keep track of all the complaints we receive, and this provides the basis for systemic issue review. In general, we get about 9,000 calls or contacts a year. We categorize them. At this point in time, most of t

Veterans Affairs committee  The categories haven't changed at all. Health care remains the top one. The application for benefits remains the second, and the third one is other jurisdictions. That remains pretty well constant.

Veterans Affairs committee  We have an outreach campaign. In fact, this year saw me starting in Quebec City, to the Maritimes, Northern Ontario, out in B.C., and then to Saskatchewan, where I met also with the RCMP units out there. Our outreach campaign includes having some town hall meetings with veterans

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you. Mr. Chair, that's a good question. Certainly, I would expect that any work being done by any organization toward improvement of the new Veterans Charter should be reviewed by the committee. As far as organizations are concerned, we will be following up on all reports

Veterans Affairs committee  From both serving and veterans, and people who are retired from the forces and the RCMP, yes.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, I would certainly support the idea of a non-taxable payment, since, in its present form, it is non-taxable. I can't see how just making it a lump sum, instead of a series of payments, would introduce a tax addition.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you, that's a very good question. As you probably are aware, we were instrumental in getting this clause in the enhanced new Veterans Charter reviewed in two years. What's important is that the new Veterans Charter, which was supposed to be a living document, was on life s

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, we were instrumental in moving the department to simplify its correspondence. Even recently, in the report that we released, “Reasons for Decisions”, we indicated that it's not only the language but also the content that's important. I'm glad to report that there is some imp

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. I believe you are talking about the annual report...?

Veterans Affairs committee  Okay. I think the distinction to be made there, and in fact a clarification, is that a reservist injured while on duty in Afghanistan on that type of deployment is entitled to the same benefits as a regular force soldier. What concerns us is the people who fall into the other cla