Status of Women committee  Thank you so much. That's an excellent question, and you're quite right, the new horizons program is incredible. I think one of the challenges when it comes to funded work like that is the long-term sustainability, whether it's adjusting how we fund things or providing additional funding to help people make it to the next stage of longer-term sustained efforts.

Status of Women committee  I agree with everything that both Vanessa and Michael said. Speaking about accountability, the other piece of it might be education for all the health care providers right from the start. “That happens with age” may not be an appropriate response to any patient's concern. Integrate more geriatric training into all levels of health care, whether that's the physiotherapists or social service workers or the physicians themselves.

Status of Women committee  I could say something on that.

Status of Women committee  We finished a study about senior entrepreneurship, and all of the factors that Vanessa just mentioned came up as well. People sometimes undertook starting a small business or some kind of a side gig very much out of necessity, or they just needed that additional engagement for one reason or another.

Status of Women committee  I think the point about navigating the system is really an important issue that we see very frequently. People may know little bits and parts of it, but the systems that connect all the different services and all the different things that one might need to consider is the challenge.

Status of Women committee  I would say there is a need for that, not only to provide a level of human contact but also to take into consideration the fact that, in addition to not being technologically literate, people may not have those technology devices, the Internet or the ability to get to a place where there is Internet, like a library, for example.

Status of Women committee  That may take more than seven minutes. If I get cut off, I quite understand. In our own work with older immigrants who are at risk of loneliness and isolation, the vast majority of them were living with family, which may include grandchildren and/or adult children. I think one of the other parts of making sure that information is accessible and available to people is also considering the role for adult children, children and adult grandchildren as part of a global family approach.

Status of Women committee  Certainly. The way we've often described it is as reciprocal benefits research, where both parties receive benefits from participating in a research project. A lot of times, particularly in the context of work with older adults, we run the risk of elderspeak, which is a tone or an approach that can sometimes be perceived as very patronizing.

Status of Women committee  That's a fantastic point and it comes up very frequently, particularly in the conversation around isolation and loneliness. People may chose to be alone, and that's the way they prefer to be, so we can't make the mistake of perceiving that to be either loneliness or unwanted isolation.

Status of Women committee  That's another very good question. One of the things is to make sure that everyone is around the table at the same time. It often becomes very siloed and segregated as people are making these kinds of decisions. Transportation conversations will happen away from the provincial-level decision-makers, or even the federal ones.

Status of Women committee  It's an excellent question. The particular region where your riding is located does have such diversity. One of the things that emerged very clearly from our research was the need for cultural sensitivity training for many staff providing services to older adults, among others.

Status of Women committee  Good morning, Chair Vecchio and all committee members. I thank you very much for the opportunity to speak with you on this important topic. I apologize that I couldn't be there with you in person. I am Dr. Lia Tsotsos, Director of the Centre for Elder Research based out of Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario.