National Defence committee  I never got an answer.

National Defence committee  Yes.

National Defence committee  This is what I submitted in 2004.

National Defence committee  Yes. The major problem is that we have only you as advocates. People with what are perceived to be mental illness problems, nobody pays attention to them, because they are mentally ill. If they have a heart problem, or if they have a stroke, or they have cancer, everybody can relate to that.

National Defence committee  I think every major university across the country should have a special unit dealing with these issues, and it shouldn't be sitting in just one department. It has to be multidisciplinary. In the Second World War, the most common problem in the U.S. military was pain, and they called it psychogenic pain.

National Defence committee  No, I'm not saying that. You know, if you ask a question, someone will give you an answer.

National Defence committee  I think the best-kept secret is that this will have a phenomenal financial impact on our health care system. The U.S. government isn't telling, and I don't know where that information is. I certainly haven't read anything.

National Defence committee  Briefly, it speaks to itself. Did anybody ask him where he got the data? Did anybody ask him, “What do you know about vets”?

National Defence committee  I don't know what's going on. You're politicians. You've expressed it. I don't know. I want to know.

National Defence committee  Put out requests for applications targeting the topics I'm talking about, and you'll get an answer.

National Defence committee  I'm deeply grateful to you for those comments. I've heard these stories. I've seen them. Do you know what it takes for someone to see a psychiatrist in the province of Ontario? They have to wait. I don't understand that. I've been a teacher and received awards for many years.

National Defence committee  I'm what's called—I don't even know if I'm tertiary; I'm way down the line. They've seen many physicians. They've even been seen at other centres across the country. I'm grateful to Don Richardson for identifying these people and trying to get them in, but do you know what it takes to get them in?

National Defence committee  I don't understand it. I ask them who they have seen, and what they have done. They tell me, “Oh, I saw somebody, a psychiatrist, and they said I'm nervous and they gave me a tranquilizer.” They didn't even think they had PTSD. So they took the pills, got hooked, got into drugs or alcohol, and got into trouble.

National Defence committee  I've published many papers, all in peer-reviewed journals. When these data became evident to me just recently, I thought I had to bring it to the attention of my colleagues in DRDC, who in turn spoke to Mr. Opitz and came here. Obviously a lot of the work is self-funded and we get stuttering funds through the goodwill and help of my colleagues.

National Defence committee  It's peer-reviewed by my colleagues, but it has not been submitted for publication. The aim in the next phase is to complete what I'm saying, verify what I'm saying, and present it. It's been presented at meetings.