Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee, for letting us be here today.

As the assistant deputy minister of commemoration and public affairs at Veterans Affairs, I'm acutely aware of the important role our department plays in remembering and recognizing the enormous sacrifices made by those who have served in uniform.

These sacrifices are recognized in two ways: through commemoration and through benefits and services. Veterans Affairs Canada is very grateful to all veterans and Canadian Armed Forces members for their dedicated service, including those who served in the Persian Gulf.

We appreciate the ongoing and active dialogue between veterans organizations, the minister's advisory groups, veterans, families, stakeholders and parliamentarians. This dialogue provides important perspectives on how best to recognize Persian Gulf veterans and other modern-day veterans.

Members of the Persian Gulf Veterans of Canada have asked that their service in the Persian Gulf be defined as war service instead of special duty service. In terms of benefits and services, the authority to designate special duty service originates from the Veterans Well-being Act, which came into force in April 2006. The legislation prescribes that the Minister of National Defence may designate special duty areas and operations. There is no specific legislation that provides the authority for VAC to designate a period of service as wartime service.

The practice of categorizing military service is an internal CAF-DND process done in the interest of providing CAF members and veterans with the benefits to which they are entitled from National Defence and Veterans Affairs Canada. This categorization helps to determine the kind of support or compensation they should receive. Modern veterans benefit from a much wider framework of services and supports, such as financial benefits, rehabilitation, case management services, mental health programs and many others. These programs were not available before April 2006. The special duty service classification does not signal any lesser respect for the service of members and veterans, nor is it indicative of a lesser degree of risk on the part of those deployed.

Going all the way back to the South African War at the turn of the 20th century, we have a lot to be proud of and a lot to remember, but not all veterans identify with the stories of military accomplishments that happened well before they were born. While we will always commemorate traditional milestones from the First and Second World Wars and Korea, we're also focusing more on recognizing Canada's modern-day veterans and operations, such as those in the Gulf and elsewhere in the Middle East in 1990 and 1991. I want to highlight that this was the first conflict in which Canadian women in service were set to engage in active combat roles.

In fact, through our CAF around the world programming framework, we're making deliberate efforts to make sure that veterans know how appreciative we are of their service, courage and sacrifice at home, around the world and across generations.

We will continue to ask current veterans to share with us the type of commemorative and recognition activities they are most interested in. They should be able to see themselves in everything we do to honour them.

We also want Canadians to value and recognize the service and sacrifice of those who have served.

This year, for example, our CAF around the world framework places special emphasis on recognizing Canadian military and peace support efforts in Africa. Earlier this year, we recognized the 10th anniversary of the end of Canada's mission in Afghanistan and 60 years since Canadians joined the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Cyprus. Later this month, we'll be recognizing the 60th anniversary of the end of the UN operations in the Congo, which included 300 Canadians.

We're also making sure to remember and recognize those who served in domestic operations. For example, in recent years, we've recognized the Canadian mission to support the Red River floods, the 25th anniversary of the crash of Swissair flight 111, the ice storm and many others.

The veterans who supported these and other modern-day operations are most deserving of being recognized for their service. It is a profound responsibility we have, and at Veterans Affairs Canada, we are well aware of it and take great pride in what we do.

We will continue to do what we can to ensure that all our veterans are represented and recognized for their service to Canada.

Thank you.