Thank you, Madam Joint Chair, and thank you to our witnesses for appearing before our committee.
Dr. Buchman, I would like to direct my questions to you. In your opening statement you went to lengths to explain the state of palliative care in Canada and the trouble you've been having in the York Region with getting a hospice. I'm sorry for the struggles you've had.
I think you also mentioned that for long-term care, the average lifespan was 18 months, and that the transfer of patients from long-term care to hospitals is a very difficult and costly process and is often quite detrimental to the quality of life of the patient.
There has been a lot of discussion in the federal sphere, especially following the very evident problems we saw at long-term care during the pandemic, about implementing something like a long-term care act or a long-term care strategy to ensure that we have a set of standards no matter where a Canadian resides.
In the context of your opening remarks, and with palliative care in there as well, what you do think a long-term care strategy should include, at a bare minimum?