A number of years ago I met with individuals who were representatives for white collar crime victims. As you will know, there were a couple of very high-profile cases within the province of Quebec.
I've met with victims groups. I remember on a number of occasions I've met with them, basically across the country, and among the recommendations they made was that...many times elderly people are specific targets of individuals who come up with these schemes to rob them of their money. A number of them made the point that the loss of money is particularly deep and aggravated by the fact that they are elderly, and they don't have as much opportunity to replace that.
Over the years I have made a point of visiting every province and territory, cities, and I have had round tables on crime where we invite victims groups and individuals to make representations. For a bill like this, I don't table the bill with them and show them that this is okay. What we do is gather evidence and information when we discuss this with the people across Canada. The feedback that I'm sure you have received, and in general, is that this is an appropriate response for this particular issue. But again, it's part of a larger initiative, as I indicated, with respect to supporting victims groups and seniors, and advertisements to get the message out that senior abuse is not acceptable.
Indeed I have had these discussions with my provincial and territorial counterparts. As I indicated in my opening remarks, there are a number of initiatives across the country where the provinces are highly aware of this. I mentioned, for instance, in nursing homes there are a number of initiatives by provincial agencies to make sure that people in a seniors home aren't abused, perhaps by a caregiver or people who visit the seniors home.
Again, it is wide ranging, but as with all of these pieces of legislation, the feedback I've had has been positive.