Human Resources committee  Thank you very much. Good afternoon to the HUMA committee. We appreciate the opportunity to be here, and we thank MP Van Bynen for bringing forward intergenerational volunteerism for consideration by the committee. I'm the CEO of CHATS, Community and Home Assistance to Seniors, one of the largest multicultural non-profit seniors organizations in Ontario, serving some 8,000 older adults and their caregivers in York Region and South Simcoe.

Human Resources committee  Yes. I would have to look into the specific studies, but I think there's a wealth of evidence that supports this. That's not to undermine the need for other forms of care, depending on the complexity of the individual, their access to caregiver support to help them stay in their home and, of course, their access to home and community services.

Human Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Van Bynen, for [Technical difficulty—Editor]. First of all, I want to thank the federal government and the New Horizons program for having funded a number of initiatives that CHATS was able to deliver to increase support to our clients—to seniors and their caregivers.

Human Resources committee  That's a great question. First and foremost, I think we really need to recognize that [Technical difficulty—Editor] services are part of the continuum of care and must be reflected in our national health policy and delivery of health care. The federal government should [Technical difficulty—Editor].

Human Resources committee  I just have to echo that the challenge is around ensuring that in data collection we're very clear on how we define the roles. There is a lot of intermingling with regard to how we use such terms as personal support workers, home support workers and community support workers. To enable us to really reflect what the numbers are, and the statistics, it would have to be clearly defined.

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and honoured members of the committee. I'm Christina Bisanz. I am the CEO of CHATS, Community and Home Assistance to Seniors. I want to thank you for the invitation to be here, and especially to thank Mr. Van Bynen for his encouragement and requesting this opportunity for me to speak with you today.

Health committee  That would take a whole chapter to answer, but it's a great question. I think the biggest challenge we have right now is that there are very few people who are even interested in becoming PSWs because the wages are low, particularly so in the community sector, and that's a function of how we are funded.

Health committee  Let me say this, if I may: As the experience from COVID and the tragic situation that affected so many frail elderly in long-term care homes has really highlighted, certainly for our organization, the time has come for us to stop questioning why people need to go into long-term care and instead focus on how we can help them to stay at home, in their own homes where they want to be.

Health committee  I think it needs to be seen as an end situation. Long-term care needs to include a consideration of home and community supports as well, so its not an either-or option but an “and”. I think we need to look at those standards and at a way in which there could be better integration between long-term care and home and community supports.

Health committee  Thank you very much, MP Van Bynen. The key change or impact that has occurred in our services has been the need to move to virtual programming, as opposed to in-person programming. Not unlike many other home and community support agencies, we pivoted very quickly to look at ways in which we could deliver social connectivity but using virtual means.

Health committee  Before COVID, we had close to 500 volunteers. They truly are the heart and soul of the organization, because we wouldn't be able to deliver near the breadth of services that we do without them. Unfortunately, and particularly in the first wave of COVID, you'll recall that anyone over the age of 70 was advised to shelter at home and not go out.

Health committee  I appreciate that currently we are funded predominantly by the provincial governments and bound by the rules and regulations of the provinces. I think that looking at the challenges of social isolation is not something that's unique to COVID and the pandemic. This has been going on for a long time.

Health committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and members of the Standing Committee on Health. My name is Christina Bisanz, CEO of CHATS Community & Home Assistance to Seniors. As an advocate for providing choice for seniors to age at home, CHATS appreciates this opportunity to provide input on the effect of the pandemic on older adults.