Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for their testimony today.
Ms. Watts, I want to pick up on something you shared with my colleague Ms. Falk. She was asking you about the impacts of isolation on seniors. To paraphrase you, you very bluntly said that it has been a misery. Older people are suffering from untold amounts of physical deterioration and cognitive impairment. They're less able mentally. You went on to say that mental health has deteriorated enormously as a result of isolation.
I want you to expand a bit on that in reference to some of the research you did for your pre-budget submission. I'll quote first from your pre-budget submission. You said, “Consequences of isolation, loneliness, and ageism significantly decrease life expectancy, cognitive function, physical well-being, mental health, and quality of life.” You went on to say, “Social isolation can be as harmful to a person's health as smoking, obesity, or hypertension.”
Most of the research, though, was from before the pandemic. Could you elaborate for the committee on how you feel that the research I just mentioned has even been heightened with the tremendous amount of isolation seniors have been experiencing over the past 14 months?