Thank you, Minister, for being with us today. We appreciate it.
I got to sit in the Ontario legislature for the last decade. Over the last few years I was really watching what was taking place with seniors in this province and in this country. I often think back and remember when the previous Conservative government raised the old age security from 65 to 67. I often think about how it would have impacted about 100,000 seniors and kept them in poverty. I often think about the government that's here today—your government and our government—and the values it brought forward during the pandemic.
It's really Canadian values to see that adjustment to bring it back to 65 from 67 and then putting in place many different programs during the pandemic—which is perhaps the most challenging time this country has ever gone through since World War II—to help seniors who are struggling.
In my community in Don Valley East, seniors come in all the time and they are struggling. Having a pandemic hit changed everything.
I want to say that it's nice to have a government that is reflective of Canadian values. In fact, 80% or 90% of the money that went to support Canadians during this pandemic came from the federal government directly.
We're here now, two years later. There have been a lot of challenges. What has been the impact of some of these programs when it comes to seniors, not only from an individual perspective, but also from community-based organizations working with municipal and other levels of government?
What have you seen really work well over the last two years when it comes to the programs coming from your ministry?