Thank you, Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here. It's a very interesting discussion.
Poverty, as defined very broadly, is the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support. It's a very broad definition. The issue of poverty reduction is a very complex issue, as is mental illness. Mental illness comes in many forms. I appreciate your testimony, and we're looking for solutions.
I'm thinking of my colleague Pierre, who gave an example of some success that was seen, and there was resistance to funding because it was unconventional.
A question was asked at a meeting on this very issue. How do you create wealth? If poverty is a lack of wealth, then how does one create wealth? We heard from some of the witnesses that they were living in poverty, and then, through actions, they were able to get themselves out of that condition, whether it was caused by mental illness or other circumstances.
I think back to the 1980s when interest rates went up to 20%, and there were many people who found themselves homeless. They lost their homes. They lost their jobs. It was tough. There were huge stresses, and possible mental illness and stress caused depression.
I digress, I and reflect that this is a very complex issue we're discussing.
My focus is on seniors and how this impacts seniors. I had a meeting with the senior advocate of British Columbia. Probably the most vulnerable person to be stigmatized is a senior, a single female senior, who is struggling. Are we talking about job placement for that person? No.
Twenty per cent of seniors who are having difficulty are put in residential care. Twenty per cent of them should not be in residential care, and within seven days they begin to receive antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs as a way of managing them. They are being treated as if they have a mental illness, but it's a way of managing them.
When I heard this, I was very disturbed that we have that many people being put in care that don't need.... The proper way of caring for these vulnerable people is to provide home care, allowing them to age in place, but we're not looking for job placement; we're looking for dignity and care and help. They maybe would love to volunteer.
Could somebody make comments on how we take care of our aging population?