Thank you, Madam Chair.
I would like to first of all congratulate Monsieur Guimond for a very in-depth understanding of the needs of people as they get older. You are suggesting that you don't get any funding from the government at all. I would like to take that statement and tie it in with what Mr. Frank was saying, because I heard him responding to Mr. Carrie's question just now.
Is there room, do you think, for the federal government? Currently, anything we do with regard to medicare is for physicians and hospitals only. The government has not been able to deal with this whole group of people who are living longer, aging in place, and getting chronically ill. All we have is what was put into the accord, which was really to look at programs that would consider this issue.
Do you see a role for the federal government and the provinces in developing some kind of infrastructure, and I use the term broadly, either people infrastructure or general infrastructure, perhaps with private insurance companies and non-governmental bodies, that would assist people as they age?
Some people don't have insurance, because many of our seniors today didn't do any paid work. They stayed at home and looked after the kids. They don't have any money to buy insurance. Sometimes this was because of their socio-economic status. We have a lot of people in the net, some who can afford insurance, some who cannot, some who have different levels of needs. Can you see a system made up of people and physical resources that could help people who are chronically ill through the various levels of care they may need, a system in which government, the private sector, and NGOs could play a role together? Do you have a broad-based model in mind?