Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for being with us today.
I listened as Mr. Lake and others spoke about their previous experience. He used to be a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia and a former health minister in the province. Senior care is an issue he has been paying attention to for quite a few years, so he can definitely shed light on certain facets of the issue.
My questions are for you, Mr. Lake. I gather from your remarks that human resources or labour is a problem in senior care. I would think the problem affects almost every province, probably many other countries as well. After all, care is expensive and the work is far from easy.
Legislative assemblies have a larger say in the matter than the federal Parliament does, but let's overlook that for now.
I'd like to hear your comments in relation to something else. As you know, in the federal Parliament, we apply a federal jurisdictional lens. Currently, we are trying to figure out whether we should amend the Criminal Code to better protect seniors.
You mentioned this, and you're right. The Criminal Code already contains provisions that deal with mistreatment, negligence, abuse and so forth, so we shouldn't pass countless provisions to address similar offences.
Would you say the Criminal Code is silent on certain elements?
For instance, the previous panel told us that when a senior is abused or mistreated, the abuser is often a relative or close friend—a neighbour, a friend, a cousin or a nephew, say. The senior, who is often fearful, wants the abuse to stop, but doesn't necessarily want the abuser to be prosecuted or sent to jail.
In your experience, how could we make sure the abuse stops without instituting criminal proceedings against the abuser? Do have any suggestions?