Veterans Affairs committee  --the selection process, which was put in place in the fall of 2004, held its first series of candidate screenings in early 2005. At this point, we're up to the sixth cycle of screening candidates. We have screened, I would say, an average of 150 candidates per cycle. So far, we

Veterans Affairs committee  Good morning, Chair, ladies and gentlemen. I have just a small opening statement to situate the board. As you all know, the Veterans Review and Appeal Board is a quasi-judicial, independent administrative tribunal that has existed since 1995, when pension reform was instituted

Veterans Affairs committee  But I must admit, when we left, the chairman did ask, “Would you have some suggestions to make to improve our system?”

Veterans Affairs committee  The normal life expectancy of a board is about 10 years, I agree. When the new charter was adopted for the board to obtain jurisdiction over modernization, it was a reaffirmation I think on the part of the legislator of the board's existence. For the board and its employees and t

Veterans Affairs committee  No, non-adversarial. Absolutely.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, no. We're in that situation now.

Veterans Affairs committee  Maintain it.

Veterans Affairs committee  Well, the common law courts are regularly faced with that. Workers' compensation boards went into that realm in the eighties and nineties, and their costs and their slowness became so prevalent that they had to scrap complete systems of medical expertise and arbitration. That's e

Veterans Affairs committee  Oh yes. We have to remain reasonable from a medical opinion or expertise point of view.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I do. As far as breaking the system in two is concerned--having an appeal decision, a review decision, a regional system of decisions--I don't necessarily think that can pay off in the long term, because then you'd develop different cultures in the regions and in the level

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, the Table of Disabilities.

Veterans Affairs committee  I don't, but you can find it on the Department's website. It's easy to access and brand new, Mr. Perron. A new table was published on April 1, 2006.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, on the Department of Veterans Affairs website, under Table of Disabilities.

Veterans Affairs committee  Would you like to move us?

Veterans Affairs committee  Oh, yes!