Veterans Affairs committee  There's no continuity of services for the same injuries, which is a bit of a problem. Veterans talk even after we leave the service. Our cellphones don't get hung up. We still talk to a lot of people. As I said, I connected with 18,000 veterans about the war monument. Our injuries don't go on pause while a decision is being made.

Veterans Affairs committee  I honestly can't answer that question because it is too convoluted and I don't have enough information to deal with it. I tried doing some research online by reading about and looking at this, but it's too tainted, to be quite honest. When I look at the National War Memorial outside the gate here, it brings a sense of pride to me.

Veterans Affairs committee  It depends. It's on a case-by-case basis, to be quite honest. It depends on the injury. Somebody who has experienced military sexual trauma, for example, may not want to have any dealings with uniforms at all; therefore, this might be a better idea. I think it's on a case-by-case basis, sir.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. It's a brilliant question, actually. I was talking with the Veterans Affairs ombudsman, and one of the things I recommended was putting veterans who are able to work the front lines and the phones in place first. This would allow them to work alongside the caseworkers and CSTMs.

Veterans Affairs committee  Can you clarify the trust part, please?

Veterans Affairs committee  I do, yes. I do trust that the intent is good and I trust that they want to help. However, because there is a gap of understanding, we feel dismissed. I used to be, as I said, in charge of aircraft in Afghanistan, so a lot of things I would do would be mission critical. When I talk to someone on the phone and tell them what I really need and they say they're going to question me on that, it's kind of demeaning and disrespectful.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'm sorry about that.

Veterans Affairs committee  The whole thing here is that the monument is important to the veterans. The delay of this is turning into a sore point. When we see this stuff happening now, we really can't take pride in it because there were a lot of things that didn't happen when we returned from Afghanistan.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you for asking that question. I'm really glad you asked it. We are on a fixed income when we're on disability. The cost of living is going up and we're watching our brothers and sisters in uniform actively struggle right now. We are feeling the exact same pain because as the cost of living index goes up, the money coming in doesn't change.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you very much for that. I started off in Gagetown, New Brunswick, as armoured corps. My very first introduction to being active was during my training when we stood up to be on standby for the Oka crisis and essentially everything after that. Then I went into Germany for Cold War stuff.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you very much for your time. Unlike most in the general population, the military and the RCMP train a very tightly controlled group out of necessity. We are immediately segregated from the outside world. We learn to rely on others and then trust them with our lives. We learn to think as a community to overcome any and all problems.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'll wind it back a bit. I'm sorry about that, sir.

Veterans Affairs committee  Okay. That's great. We can also, as I was, be charged with the responsibility of getting aircraft onto the ramp for missions in Afghanistan, where the simple deciding factor was understanding if one aircraft had 15 more horsepower over another. This meant the success or failure of a mission, or life or death of a crew.