Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister and Ms. Morency, for being here with us today.
I am glad to hear you say that the definition of senior is all over the map, Minister. I had a conversation with someone yesterday who was describing an elderly women. I said, “From your perspective, in your mid-30s, what are we talking about?” When he said mid-70s, I felt much better.
Minister, in our Speech from the Throne of June 3 of last year, we committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society and to working to prevent crime by proposing, among other things, tougher sentences for those who abuse seniors. This is something I feel strongly about, having been very involved in elder care for both of my parents, who have now passed away. I know this echoes our government's platform to amend the Criminal Code, as we are suggesting here today.
You mentioned the new horizons for seniors program. I know that additional funds were announced in both budgets, in both 2010 and 2011, for annual funding of about $45 million, to include projects to raise awareness of financial abuse.
What I am wondering about and wanted to ask you to address today is, first of all, how common you feel elder abuse is in this country. Do you know how often seniors are abused and by whom? Also, when we speak of abuse, some people assume that it means physical and others assume that it means financial. What do we mean by the term?