Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. In terms of the restorative engagement program, I can tell you that there are going to be some enhancements happening within the next few months. What was really important in this particular program was to make sure that the restorative process that was put in place was going to meet the needs and be done in a way that was not going to cause retraumatization or any of those kinds of things for the individuals who are part of the class action suit and have come forward there.

Veterans Affairs committee  Absolutely. One thing we do from our organization is have direct contact with the class members through social media and information sessions. We've had a couple over the last year just to let people know where we're at with the program and what they can expect. I will say that all individuals who have put themselves forward to be part of the restorative engagement program will have been contacted by the end of December 2023.

Veterans Affairs committee  For us, the SMSRC is our outreach program. It's through our social media. If the individual was already seeking services or part of our clientele group, that would continue, whether they're inactive CAF or continuing on with it. We do some distribution through VAC as well, for some of the programs we offer.

Veterans Affairs committee  From the sexual misconduct support and resource centre, I can tell you, from our organization—again, remembering we are independent from the Department of National Defence and the CAF part of it—we will be looking at the details and analyzing that ourselves to help us in terms of our support programs and how we can improve on those pieces.

Veterans Affairs committee  I think it is being addressed within the organization. Again, from our part, from SMSRC, we use that information to help us support, to improve our programs and to look at what other services we'll need to offer as part of what we see within that report. Again, it would be another area to get more specifics on what has happened and what will continue to happen.

Veterans Affairs committee  I will provide a bit of a clarity in terms of that. The independent legal assistance program is for those who have been affected by sexual misconduct. They are a victim of sexual misconduct. They have sought support through legal services for legal information or legal advice.

Veterans Affairs committee  No. That's correct.

Veterans Affairs committee  If you're referring to the Statistics Canada survey in terms of the results, let's just back that up. The Statistics Canada survey was conducted within the Canadian Armed Forces, so that was based on the respondents who would have completed the survey. That number is what is being put forward, based on the response rates of the Statistics Canada survey.

Veterans Affairs committee  Thank you for the question, and thank you for allowing me to clarify. The number of sexual assault cases is tracked within the Department of National Defence through the chief professional conduct and culture team. It's not tracked within SMSRC, which is what I was referring to in that.

Veterans Affairs committee  For the sexual misconduct support and resource centre, again, because we're providing support to individuals as they come forward, it's really that connection between our practitioners and the individuals. We help them with their choices in terms of what that could look like, whether it's advocacy to gain access to their reports or to seek some other type of care and support there.

Veterans Affairs committee  Maybe I'll start and then turn it over to my colleagues at VAC as well. In terms of the first part of your question, you asked about partners and organizations. We do work with quite a few across the country. It's part of the resources. Is it enough? I would always say that there are always opportunities to have more across the country to make sure that we're addressing this.

Veterans Affairs committee  That's a good question. For us, initially as individuals come forward, I think it really is building that trust between the individual and their practitioner. Whether we have a record or not, I think that's really important in terms of the building of that relationship, of that trust.

Veterans Affairs committee  In terms of the sexual misconduct support and resource centre, one of the programs we've put in place recently as well is our outreach program. We are doing a concerted effort. Our team is going out to all the bases and wings across the country. We have our social media posts. There is a very detailed outreach process to make sure—

Veterans Affairs committee  In terms of outreach, we do a lot of outreach—

Veterans Affairs committee  We do work collaboratively with the other organizations within DND and CAF. We are independent from the chain of command. We do share and we provide feedback and recommendations and guidance to the rest—