Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Thank you to all the witnesses.
I'm going to start with the Island Crisis Care Society from Nanaimo. I'm going to try to fit four questions into seven minutes. We'll see how we do here.
We've heard a lot of statistics about the situation of women in Canada, elderly women in particular, who've been prevented from saving during their working life and then fall into poverty as they age. The stories that you're telling about the age of women who are seeking shelter at your facilities is disheartening. It's an embarrassment to the country that women, anybody who's worked their whole lives in our country, then at the age of 76 or 82 faces homelessness. So, I thank you for the work you're doing.
Can you describe a little bit more your observation or what you've heard about what has happened to these women in their lives that got them to that place? Did they have difficulty finding work? What impact did divorce have on them? What's the cumulated experience that puts them into that position of vulnerability just at the time of their life when they should be the most secure?