Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I want to thank everyone for the presentations.
This is a very important and broad topic, and this committee will be looking for policy instruments. But it also has to be somewhat respectful of the jurisdictions we are involved with. Some of the instruments, I believe, have worked to a certain degree--they're not perfect--such as the child tax credit and the guaranteed income supplement. When I look back, there are a number of different cohorts, whether it's aboriginals, the disabled, and so on. One of the groups I see out there is unattached individuals, mainly between 55 and 65 and probably predominantly female. There are health issues, predominantly self-esteem, whatever you call it. Those people are on provincial social assistance right now, which is totally inadequate for any kind of dignified living. It's an extremely small allowance, and it's just not acceptable in this century in this country. Again, that's a provincial jurisdiction.
Has there ever been any empirical research on taking the guaranteed income supplement and taking it back to cover the 55- to 65-year-old cohort? What are the costs, the merits, and the obstacles in such a scheme?