Thank you, Mr. Chair. I hope everyone can hear me. It's a bit difficult today.
I'd like to start by thanking all of the witnesses.
Your testimony has been enlightening and we will surely rely on your comments as we look for measures to ensure that this nightmare never happens again, especially in our long-term care homes, Ms. Vyce.
A common thread throughout the testimony we've heard so far is that the pandemic is a circumstantial issue, whereas the increased vulnerability of our health care systems is a structural and systemic one. Since the mid-1990s, successive federal governments have offloaded their deficits to the provinces and Quebec. Health transfers have slashed drastically.
When a pandemic like this one comes up, we're hit full-on by the vulnerability of our health care systems, and we can see the unacceptable contradictions experienced by those using the system.
How many of your members were sent into combat without any PPE, and how many of them have been infected to date? In Quebec, 80% to 87% of all deaths are connected to long-term care homes.
Do you have figures regarding your members?