Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon.
Thank you, witnesses, for your testimony and opinions. As you know, we're embarking with you today on a study on seniors. All aspects of this study are important, including the financial, social and health aspects.
The consensus around the table is that the pandemic crisis has hit our most vulnerable people, including our seniors, particularly hard.
I listened to Ms. Watts and Ms. Ferrier. My question is for both of them.
You focused heavily on the reality in some provinces. That's fine. However, I want to bring up one point, with regard to national standards. You seem to agree on these standards, which you're focusing on.
In Quebec, personal support worker training is qualifying training and it's considered very important. In terms of staffing ratios, this falls very much under the purview of legislation. It seems far-fetched to try to establish uniform standards in all our care systems and in all the provinces.
Moreover, in Quebec, the National Assembly wasn't really considering national standards, since there are already many established standards. Instead, it focused on the idea that the Canadian provinces need proper funding for the health care system on a permanent, sustainable and structural basis. That's why all the provinces and territories in Canada are calling for a substantial increase in the Canada health transfer to meet their needs.
Do you agree with this demand from the provinces?