Thank you, Chair, and good afternoon to my colleagues.
Thank you so much to our witnesses this afternoon. Again, your advocacy is very much appreciated.
I want to touch on isolation and mental health for seniors. Certainly, as politicians during campaigns, we all go door to door and we have one-on-one direct conversations. I would say without question that when I would leave the doors of seniors who were alone, who were isolated, was when I was the most shaken and concerned.
Certainly, as a government, we came forth with some things. We raised the GIS for low-income single seniors. We lowered the age of eligibility from 67 to 65. We're going to now raise the old age pension for those age 75 and older by 10%.
With respect to COVID, however, the pandemic itself has created challenges and exposed increased levels of need for direct government support during crisis for all Canadians but especially for seniors. We want to make sure and recognize the importance of ensuring that seniors are equipped with the mental health supports to combat the social isolation of being away from family and loved ones.
Can you both touch on the issues that have become more pronounced due to the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to mental health and isolation for seniors?
We'll start with you, Ms. Boscart.