Thank you very much, Chair.
I'll start by thanking all the witnesses for being here. We have so many wonderful witnesses and I hope we have the time to really have a conversation with each of you and hear from all of you. Rest assured that we'll do our best to ask questions to all of you throughout today's meeting.
First off, in my community of Etobicoke Centre, we lost 42 residents to COVID-19 at the Eatonville Care Centre. This is one of the homes in which the Canadian Armed Forces initially served in Ontario. Therefore, Colonel Malcolm and Major Martin, on behalf of my community, I thank you for your work, for your service and for the service of the men and women who served under your command, for all the work you did and for caring for, and frankly, saving the lives of constituents in my community.
Also, thank you for preparing the report about what you discovered, the horrific conditions in long-term care homes in Ontario and in Quebec. As a result of your report, certainly in Ontario, the five MPs who represented the homes in which you served ended up, in late May, writing to Prime Minister Trudeau and to Premier Ford asking for a number of things, including national standards to be put in place for long-term care. Of course, as was mentioned by Ms. van Beusekom, in the throne speech the government announced that it would be working with the provinces to establish national standards for long-term care.
Your report enabled awareness and transparency, which has led to advocacy, which has led to the government committing to national standards. When we get to those national standards and they are implemented, that will make a difference for seniors for generations to come, so for that, I'm deeply thankful to you and all the men and women who served under your command. Thank you.
My first few questions are for Ms. van Beusekom. Thank you for being here and for your testimony.
What do you believe needs to be done to address the horrific conditions, frankly, and the practices that were identified by the Canadian Armed Forces in long-term care?
I'm really focusing on the long term. I know there's a response that's needed immediately in the context of COVID-19, and I'm not trying to deprioritize that, but I'm curious about what you think needs to be done over the long term.