One thing that comes to mind, which nobody has mentioned around here, is the cost of elder abuse and what we are doing to older people. There is a huge initiative on the part of this government, which is excellent. When the seniors benefit was proposed, for example, my first thought was that here was a perfect situation for elder abuse in which women do not have the power, and the ultimate power is to be beaten up. We don't know the extent of elder abuse in this country, but we're about to know very shortly because of HRSDC. We're actually doing the research for them. It is a serious issue, particularly in institutions, that people need to think about a lot.
That is part of the poverty issue. They will say that elder abuse cuts across, abuse cuts across, etc. But the problem is that when you're poor, life is a lot tougher. That is one of the big issues about poverty.
Then there's nutrition. You want people to eat well and you want them to be healthy and you want active aging. You are not going to have active aging if you're eating Kraft Dinner every day. The health factor involving poverty is huge, in terms of what you eat.
Do you think medical care in this country is free? Well, it isn't really free. Some people can barely pay for some of their drugs.
It goes on and on. Poverty is the worst enemy of this society, and as Canadians, we should do better.