Issues that affect Canada's Veterans and their families profoundly impact on Canadian society.  To some, dealing with these issues is as savoury as dealing with hazardous waste. But not dealing with Veterans' issues can be insidious. Canada's pool of Armed Forces recruits, for instance, is declining. Why enlist, knowing you may not be properly compensated for losing a limb? The same applies to troops' morale. Similarly, by responding to short-term fiscal considerations, what repercussions will we bear for initiatives such as the dismantling of institutions and eliminating programs that existed to serve our Veterans when such decisions could do long-term harm to troops moral and recruiting? Post Cold War, we are living in an increasingly less predictable international security environment. Sending our troops to other countries grows more costly. Canadians enjoy the social, economic and financial benefits of having peacekeeping troops overseas. But the price is high: the loss of young Canadians' lives and the lives of Veterans and their families - irreparably damaged by serving our country. We must change our perceptions and course of action now - before it is too late to do so.
 
 
Colonel (retired) Patrick B. Stogran was appointed Canada's first Veterans Ombudsman in November 2007. He is a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada and holds a Masters of Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College. Stogran was posted to the Third Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (3PPCLI) in Edmonton, Alberta and has served in Serbia and Afghanistan, among other countries.