Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I appreciate all the presentations of our witnesses today. This is something all of us can give an example of, whether it be personally or someone that we know. I'm very happy to be here today.
One of the themes that I've questioned many of the witnesses on is our aging demographics. For example, in 2012, there are 4.8 million people aged 65 years and older, and that represents about 14% of the Canadian population. The number of people in this age bracket is expected to exceed 10 million by 2036, which is almost 25% of the Canadian population.
As the Minister of Justice and some witnesses who have testified before this committee have stated, this phenomenon is resulting in increased cases of elder abuse, whether it be physical or psychological abuse, financial exploitation or negligence. Specific examples of elder abuse receive regular media attention condemning these kinds of acts. Recurring themes that I've seen are the grandparent scam, in which seniors are asked by someone claiming to be their grandchildren to wire money to pay for a bill or for car repairs.
Many of the examples that you've given today are in-home or institutional neglect. There was a case of an elderly Scarborough woman with dementia allegedly forced to sleep in her son's garage. Ms. Perka brought up a particularly compelling example, and, sadly, I'm sure each one of you could probably give an equally compelling example.
Given that we see this demographic shift as our population ages, and particularly that there is an increased amount of media attention towards this general issue of elder abuse and how we are grappling with it, first of all—I'll address this to Ms. Santos, and if I have time I'll ask for other input—do you feel at this particular time that the legislation is worth pursuing moving forward?