Veterans Affairs committee  I would have to confirm the number of people transferred because I was not part of the transfer program.

Veterans Affairs committee  They were transferred to the province.

Veterans Affairs committee  I would say they were transferred to the province, but....

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes.

Veterans Affairs committee  They're in multiple places, sir. We added some in Charlottetown. I opened up a unit and they're in training currently in Montreal because of some of the comments from the ombudsman on the French language, that it was unacceptable. I'm also the champion of official languages at Veterans Affairs.

Veterans Affairs committee  Talking purely adjudications, I added a unit in Kirkland Lake.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, sir.

Veterans Affairs committee  We have to remember that although this is an emergency fund, there are requirements. Some of the people coming forward for services are not emergencies. I can give you a whole list—but because of time I won't—of examples of people coming forward trying to get $2,500 for stuff that is not considered an emergency.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. Additional staff, for sure, have improved the services, whether it is the nine offices or the additional case managers we've hired and put into the offices, or the additional adjudicators. All the additional resources and the additional programming—because it's not just people, we have received a lot of new programming in the last couple of years—have helped veterans in general.

Veterans Affairs committee  I've been told by somebody who's been around longer than I have that there have always been backlogs at Veterans Affairs. I know when I arrived there were backlogs. I arrived in December 2013, and there were backlogs then. In those days, in 2014, we finished the year at about 36,000 files in adjudication.

Veterans Affairs committee  I absolutely know.

Veterans Affairs committee  I was not involved with the transfer, but I'm now on the transfer committee.

Veterans Affairs committee  The transfer agreement stipulated that the level of services was to be maintained.

Veterans Affairs committee  Well, sir, a court case is a court case. I don't want to get to everything that's in the—

Veterans Affairs committee  We are doing a lot, and I would like to clarify—I'm not sure who the Uber driver was—that the safety and security, from a medical perspective, has been maintained. What has occurred is that there was a decrease—and I say “was” because the Ste. Anne's Hospital or the CIUSSS, and I don't know what the acronym CIUSSS means, but the group that runs it has made a lot of effort to improve.