As you know, seniors were isolated and deprived of the help of informal caregivers in the first wave of the pandemic. They were deprived of their families and their neighbourhoods, and they were isolated in their houses and apartments. They were deprived of services and had to pay out of their own pocket for grocery and drug delivery services. They had to pay for taxis to get around and to get to their hospital appointments. The pandemic caused an increase in all those expenses.
Informal caregivers obviously had to help seniors during the second wave, but all that had an impact on seniors' finances, especially those of older women.
That's why we're asking committee members to do more on this issue and to make recommendations to the government so that these women, who found themselves alone during the pandemic, are not penalized.