I want to introduce myself. I'm a 67-year-old retired lawyer. I have 30 years of experience in work-related accidents and diseases. I want to start my presentation with some comments.
Our foundation, the Fondation Docteur Benoit Deshaies, works with people who receive no wages and have no income or insurance. The people our foundation works with have no income and no long- or medium-term insurance. They have none of that. Most of them do not receive employment insurance benefits. That's why the Fondation Docteur Benoit Deshaies exists. It provides support to people without an income on an as-needed basis. Those people either no longer receive benefits from the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail du Québec or have no insurance.
The Fondation Docteur Benoit Deshaies has two main roles. Its first role is to pay for treatments, especially those not covered by public plans, such as fibromyalgia treatments, massage therapy, occupational therapy and acupuncture. None of those are covered by public plans. That's why workers turn to the foundation to be reimbursed for their treatments.
The second element the foundation is involved in is medical assessments. Medical assessments are required before the courts. Do you know what the cost of a medical assessment is? It's not $600; it's often $1,300, $1,500. In the case of specialists, it can go up to $2,000 or $2,500. The foundation pays for medical assessments when they are needed, especially before the courts, the Commission des lésions professionnelles, the Supreme Court or any other court. When a medical assessment is required, the foundation pays for it.
I would like to make some comments about the core issue the Standing Committee on Health is discussing. I will comment on the passage of time and chronic problems in the workplace, which are a major source of concern for Canadians.
I have a few comments about the passage of time. Of course, we are all affected by that passage. It's unrelenting and cannot be avoided. However, I want to stress something before this committee. We must give ourselves tools to slow down the aging process, to slow down physical and psychological deterioration.
My main point when it comes to aging is avoiding isolation. I would like the Standing Committee on Health to keep that in mind. I will provide you with some examples.
Let's talk about where people live. I think that having a comfortable and safe place for seniors is a key consideration. They must have somewhere safe; they must feel safe in terms of their future. I want to really stress that.
Insurance can also help those who have it. The people we work with don't have insurance. Resource support is essential when it comes to aging. What does resource support mean? It's the experience that the foundation has, that we have and that I have at my age. I am talking about social workers seeing people regularly and occupational therapists visiting people at home on an ongoing and regular basis. I want to emphasize the words “ongoing” and “regular”. When it comes to people who are getting older, those visits should not take place on a monthly or weekly basis; continuous monitoring is needed. That's important for overall resource support when it comes to aging. You will get old. You know that because you have parents, uncles, aunts, and so on. You know what it means to need ongoing and regular support.
Another element I want to emphasize as far as aging goes is community support. People need to be surrounded and supported by others like themselves. It is important for people who live in a nursing home, a residential and long-term care centre, to be able to get together, talk, and play poker or any number of card games. People need to be together.
The last element is about the passage of time. I want to stress that. This may surprise you, but it's necessary to develop not only our physical abilities, but also our psychological abilities. When we get to—