Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Further to my comments at last week's committee when we first started studying Bill C-36, as a new member of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights I found it reassuring that there seemed to be at the time a growing consensus as to the necessity of this legislation.
To learn more, I decided to review some of the debate that was in the House. Some of the comments I found memorable were from Ms. Blanchette-Lamothe, one of the NDP critics for seniors, who spoke previously. She said during the second reading of Bill C-36, and I quote: “The NDP will support Bill C-36, but we must be clear about the fact that it is not enough.”
Well, it seems that the speech of the member opposite offered support rather reluctantly, maybe begrudgingly. I must bear in mind that it is still support and should be welcome.
I should also note that the government has long held and kept in mind a larger perspective when it comes to elder abuse and has taken some action. When Minister Nicholson testified before this committee last week, he stated that the government does not view this legislation as being the only solution to the problem of elder abuse, but rather as a complement to our government's other initiatives.
Minister Nicholson answered many of my questions and other committee members' questions regarding some of these initiatives that complement Bill C-36. He reminded us that the Conservative government continues to address elder abuse through programs like the new horizons for seniors program. Furthermore, additional funds were announced in Budget 2010 and Budget 2011, bringing the annual funding to $45 million, and that includes projects to raise awareness of financial abuse against seniors.
I understand that the Social Services Network received new horizons for seniors program funding to raise the issue of elder abuse awareness in the South Asian community, so I will address my question today to Ms. Butt.
Do you think that the Conservative government's twofold approach, such as working on some of the financial contributions through programs like the new horizons for seniors program while also bringing forward legal measures like Bill C-36, is the right way for us to proceed?