Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Madam Minister, thanks for being here and for accepting the invitation to come before us so promptly to talk about the estimates. I am actually going to ask you about the estimates.
Mr. Richards talked about some heartbreaking stories, including one where a veteran had a matter that took 29 months to adjudicate. In the estimates that were voted on the other night, there was one item there for service excellence to veterans by reducing backlogs and improving service, for $8.3 million. The Conservatives voted against that particular measure.
If the Conservatives had been successful in defeating that allocation, if there were enough votes for them to get their way, what impact would it have had on people like the veteran Mr. Richards referred to who had to wait 29 months?