Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, and most of that doesn't necessarily come from your highest echelons of management. We have a bit of a vacuum because of our structural changes. Because everything was nationalized and we have no regional structure anymore, that has left our area directors—our middle manager

Veterans Affairs committee  The only thing I'd like to say is that the way a country treats its most vulnerable individuals is a shining example of the country. I think we are a better country than we have shown over the last x amount of time in the treatment of our veterans. We stand at a crossroads, and I

Veterans Affairs committee  The case manager has basically gone from a psychology degree or sociology degree to pretty much a master's degree now, at a bare minimum. You cannot be screened in unless you have at least a specialized master's degree, so the requirement has risen to the point where some of our

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, there have been a couple of situations. A couple of directives I heard about that came across my desk were a little difficult for me to read, for me to deal with. They were pretty much of that mantra. Realistically, it takes time to do a full assessment on a veteran and the

Veterans Affairs committee  I would totally agree with you there. I would say that to work on the front lines, especially at Veterans Affairs, it takes a dedicated and special person, because some of the things you are going to deal with are going to be different from those in a lot of other departments.

Veterans Affairs committee  Right off the bat, we have to understand that we're changing to a for-profit insurance company from a public service. A public servant's mandate is not the same thing as, say, Blue Cross's mandate. The reality is that in those treatment authorization centres, for those analysts

Veterans Affairs committee  One thing I will say is that with a contract of that particular magnitude, they were there to do a particular thing. They were there to process claims and pay the claims. They were not there to hold anybody's hand. They were not there to assist, per se. That's not what is in the

Veterans Affairs committee  One hundred per cent.

Veterans Affairs committee  No. That would just be at the very beginning, when it first opens. Staffing with the office is more complex, because most of it is going to happen in waves. There is not going to be a full complement of staff when an office opens. You're pretty much going to have—I'm not going to

Veterans Affairs committee  It's hard to answer that generally, for the simple fact that it has to be based on the requirements for that particular area. The needs for that area have to be met, but every area is going to be slightly different. However, reaching that 25:1 ratio is a very good place to start

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, most definitely. That's the reality of the situation. There has to be better integration when they're leaving the forces so that we are there, so there's a seamless transition in support. It is starting and ending, but there's no gap in that service. As soon as there's a gap

Veterans Affairs committee  I absolutely agree with you. One of the things that we are continually promoting is outreach. We need to get better at outreach, and not just in those types of situations. We find that veterans have to find us. Why is the onus being put on the veteran and not being put on the d

Veterans Affairs committee  I will discuss the training situation first. The reality is that we still have a huge gap right now with training. It stems not just from the training, but from backlogs and from what the numbers look like right now on the ground. As soon as we get somebody in, there's a huge

Veterans Affairs committee  Since we are talking about Deer Lodge, I know Deer Lodge has put in a proposal to expand their services. I know they are going to be going ahead with certain parts. I don't know exactly where the department is on it and I don't know the level of funding the department is going to

Veterans Affairs committee  What motivated it was job cuts. When you start out as a small department anyway, and you suffer massive cuts pretty much to the front line, unfortunately you have to change the way you do business. We could not do business the way we were doing business. It was sold, I guess, a