Justice committee  I'll just make one comment in terms of the home care services in Alberta. If I look back to 15 or 20 years ago, it was well researched and was stated that home care programs were the way to go in terms of health care with seniors: going out and treating in the home as opposed to

Justice committee  I think we should have zero tolerance, you're right. As we go back over time, it was maybe child abuse that we looked at initially, then spousal abuse, and we said “No, this is not acceptable in our society and we need to deal with it.” And laws were put in place. So I agree with

Justice committee  Yes. I'm part of the Canadian Network for the Protection of Elder Abuse. We applied for funds. We're looking to build, over two and a half years, communication and connections among all the organizations across Canada, so there will be more going back and forth between Nova Scoti

Justice committee  In Alberta about two years ago an elder abuse strategy for the province was developed, and in the last year and a half a coordinator for the prevention of elder abuse has been hired to work on some of the different strategies coming out of the strategy. I feel that in the provinc

Justice committee  There is some duty to report in terms of the Alberta legislation for the Protection for Persons in Care Act. I'm not familiar with some of the other acts in the other provinces. That's related to staff who are abusing or assaulting a senior in that particular publicly funded acco

Justice committee  Yes, in those situations, sure, there should be.

Justice committee  I think that's a way to go. Look at physicians, for example, and social workers. Yes, for sure, identify who has that duty to report.

Justice committee  This is more in agreement with Ms. Lithwick in terms of the other things that need to be done. There has to be a comprehensive program looking at anything from the awareness we see with the ads on TV to the things now happening in the community. In Alberta we're doing a lot more

Justice committee  In terms of prevention, and it may not answer your question, there's a program out of B.C. called financial literacy. That is a very good preventive program that we need to look at in other provinces across Canada, as far as working with seniors, to help educate, if I can put it

Justice committee  Are there any other approaches?

Justice committee  I think so, definitely. I think that was in the last conversation we had. Health has to be taken into account, for sure. We can't get lost in the age part. People around the room here know people who are 80, 85, 90, or 95. I've worked for 30 years in the field of gerontology. The

Justice committee  I'm sorry, but I just have to comment. We're on a slippery slope if we're just talking about age. I think we're also talking about the well-being of that person, the cognitive abilities, and so on. We're not going to say an 85-year-old cannot manage cognitively because he is 85.

Justice committee  I agree with Ms. Lithwick in terms of a continuum and really examining what that person is doing, because we do see a lot of situations where there is a mutual kind of thing happening in terms of mutual support, if you will, between the abuser—as much as we hate to think about th

Justice committee  I can't say I am familiar with a case in point, no.

Justice committee  To a degree. I'm going to say, and I think it's been pointed out, both in the executive summary and in other comments that have been made, that it's good intent. I think it's going to create some more awareness around the issue. It's going to allow us to see it for what it is in