Status of Women committee  Again, I can only speak of the Province of Ontario, but in the provincial government, some of the ministries do investigate these matters and, like police services, many of these agencies and organizations are under-staffed and under-resourced. Funding is always an issue, that is

Status of Women committee  I certainly can't speak to what happens in smaller communities. I'm sure that in the next sessions that particular question will be addressed. But what I encourage people to do when I get those types of questions is to look for an officer who knows about elder abuse, who knows ab

Status of Women committee  Just as education and training are important for police officers, it's the same for prosecutors, and I believe the same holds true for the judiciary. I don't know if this is in fact happening.

Status of Women committee  That's a tough question and I'm not sure that I can answer it appropriately at this time.

Status of Women committee  If the courts are independent bodies, it's very difficult. I don't know that we can do that.

Status of Women committee  That's a most interesting suggestion.

Status of Women committee  I've actually never thought about that—

Status of Women committee  —nor have I ever had a conversation about that. I'm not sure how to answer that, quite frankly.

Status of Women committee  I think we are moving into uncharted territories if we direct that judges shall respond in a certain way.

Status of Women committee  In the past the, Toronto Police Service had designated fraud officers specifically working on crimes against seniors. Again, with reorganization, that position no longer exists. Each and every officer in the fraud unit will be assigned a case, whether the victim is older or young

Status of Women committee  Many years ago, I was strictly the elder abuse coordinator for the service, and after one of the reorganizations of the service and our particular unit, my responsibilities were expanded to include vulnerable persons issues, which I now have administrative responsibility for, spe

Status of Women committee  Well, it's much more than that. It also includes abuse and neglect of persons with disabilities, and it includes mental health issues. So it's quite wide ranging.

Status of Women committee  Generally speaking, that's correct.

Status of Women committee  Approximately 10 years.

Status of Women committee  No, I want to stress that my role is administrative, not investigative. I am the one person in the service with this particular role.