Thank you, Madam Chair.
To Mr. Webb and Madame Beaulieu, thank you both for being here and for your advocacy for the elderly. It's very much appreciated, but it sounds to me like both of you often suffer from feeling like you're blowing into the wind. I applaud you for sticking at it for those who are very vulnerable for as long as you have.
The Minister of Justice's December 2019 mandate letter noted as a top priority:
Work with the Minister of Seniors to create a national definition of elder abuse, invest in better data collection and law enforcement related to elder abuse, and establish new offences and penalties in the Criminal Code related to elder abuse.
That was reaffirmed again in the January 2021 mandate letter.
I think the intention is there, and it is clear. The question is whether that is happening and what the Minister of Justice could do to deliver on that mandate.
I think you have been very specific, Mr. Webb, and I thank you for that.
It seems to me, though, that some of the problems here are also with the prosecution, not just that we may need.... I hear what you're saying on whistle-blower protection and new charging sections. That makes sense to me, but I have had my own experiences in this realm where a senior was returned to the care of those who would look after her after having been virtually kidnapped by a son, and then all her money taken away.
It was reported to police, their elder abuse section, the RCMP in this case, and they basically took the position, “Well, you've got her back. She's okay now. The family has her back. We're just not going to pursue this”.
I think what often happens is this great reluctance, because not just the victims, but often the witnesses to the victimization are themselves elderly, and the police feel they can't prosecute on the basis of that evidence, which may be very vulnerable to a rigorous cross examination or whatever.
Madame Beaulieu mentioned that someone should go with an elder who has been a victim, with them if they are testifying or witnessing, which makes a lot of sense to me.
It seems to me that, if we had a better definition of elder abuse, we would have a more heightened awareness of what elder abuse is and what it looks like.
Perhaps, Mr. Webb, you could comment on defining it. I know Madame Beaulieu has already talked about that.