Veterans Affairs committee  Can I just share some of the feedback? When the minister met with veterans associations in Ottawa on December 1 and 2, we had a discussion about these two centres of excellence, and the point goes right back to yours that you just made, sir. There's a real appreciation about re

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chair, members of the committee, Auditor General, ladies and gentlemen, I'm pleased to be here today on behalf of Veterans Affairs Canada. Joining me today is Michel Doiron, the assistant deputy minister for our service delivery branch, and Retired Captain Dr. Cyd Courchesne,

Public Accounts committee  Madame, thanks very much for the question. I guess I would say that over time, in the effort to find efficiencies throughout the department and to structure.... There used to be a pharmaceutical team. That team was decentralized throughout the department and involved a reduction

Public Accounts committee  I hear your impatience. I want it solved yesterday. Again, the point that Dr. Courchesne mentioned in terms of no later than...really pushing on this team to get on with it. Again, it's getting the people into the position, setting up the overall doctrine to make these decision

Public Accounts committee  Absolutely, ma'am.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you, Mr. Godin, for your question. The ministers' priority is the well-being of veterans. Ministers define their mission as treating veterans and their families with empathy, compassion and respect. That is clear. We are the partners of the Canadian Forces, especially as c

Public Accounts committee  I'd like to say a couple of things right upfront, then ask Dr. Courchesne to pile on. The first is the department's culture. You talked about the need for change in the department. I have to tell you, I speak to a lot of veterans. There are a lot of veterans who, unfortunately,

Public Accounts committee  To answer your question, sir, no, not at all. Again, we provide support to the attending physician so that the attending physician who is supporting the veteran can make whatever prescriptions or authorizations they require. With regard to your concern, it's precisely for this re

Public Accounts committee  Again, sir, in every case, it is the attending physician who is working with the veterans—

Public Accounts committee  Again, the minister has met with medical experts, with the producers, with a group of veterans who are the beneficiaries of this program. We have met with a summit of almost 100 veterans' associations coming together to understand all the information out there. Again, a number of

Public Accounts committee  Sir, we have continued to work with other departments. In this regard, we've been working very closely, as I mentioned in my opening statement, with Health Canada. We connect as well with the Canadian Armed Forces. There's co-operation and partnership not only with other federal

Public Accounts committee  My understanding is that it's dependent on the strain of the marijuana. I'm going to turn this over to my specialists, Dr. Courchesne and Michel Doiron.

Public Accounts committee  Just to answer that, marijuana is not prescribed. It is being authorized for numerous medical issues.

Public Accounts committee  Including mental health and PTSD. But the most prevalent is actually musculoskeletal issues, significantly more than for those veterans who have a mental health injury. Perhaps Dr. Courchesne could just mention a little bit more.

Public Accounts committee  I would just like to say that your concerns are well founded. It's precisely because of all that you've just layed out that the minister has launched this review. You're exactly spot on with your points. That's why the minister wanted to make sure that we actually get the best ev