Status of Women committee  Absolutely. We receive operational funding every year. I was just with the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness yesterday asking for additional funds. Our numbers have increased about 15-fold in the last three and a half years. We have well over 4,600 members in our database.

Status of Women committee  It's also capacity. Everybody at our organization is or has been a caregiver, so we've all felt that responsibility and stepped up to the plate. I'm just going to leave it there for now and let the other person to whom you posed the question answer.

Status of Women committee  I'll go first, if I may. I'd like to back it up a little and state that caregivers are not assessed, so when a continuing care coordinator goes into the home to assess the care recipient as to what the needs are, the caregivers are the invisible half of the dyad. Nobody currently asks them if they are willing, if they are capable—

Status of Women committee  Mr. Fraser, thank you for that question. Right now in Nova Scotia, as you are probably aware, we do have some provincial benefits that are unique to our province. We are the only province that offers a caregiver benefit of $400 a month to low-income people and a supplementary care program of $500 per month for people to look after somebody with dementia.

Status of Women committee  We thank you for your time.

Status of Women committee  Our second caregiver is Alice, who is a retired nurse living on a pension. She gives care to her elderly mother, who had a brain stem stroke last year. Her mother is no longer able to live independently and has moved in with Alice. Alice's mother was on a feeding tube for some time, and the cost of the food was not covered.

Status of Women committee  Our fourth caregiver is Denise, who was a career nurse and was looking forward to retirement with her husband, but his diagnosis of dementia derailed their plans. She cared for him at home through the journey of this horrible disease until his death. Eighteen months after he died, she went to see her doctor about how terrible she had felt for years.

Status of Women committee  Madam Chairperson and members of the committee, thank you for accepting our written submission on the impact of caregiving as it relates to women caregivers and for allowing us to make this presentation to the committee. Whether through telephone or face-to-face conversations or in support groups, we are honoured that hundreds of unpaid caregivers have shared their personal stories with us.