Status of Women Committee on April 21st, 2026

[Bénédicte Schoepflin]

Let me start by saying that I use the term elder abuse, but some people might recognize it as mistreatment, which is abuse and neglect. It is a prominent issue. It has been prominent for a long time. It is increasing, as you were saying, and it is being noted by services across the country. There are a million reasons for this. Obviously, there's an aging population; people are struggling; and we are entering the largest wealth transfer in history, which is triggering maybe the worst instinct in people at a time when people are having a hard time financially.

On the human trafficking aspect, I don't think I can provide as clear a picture. I'm a little less familiar with the ins and outs of the issue. I know that it has arisen in recent conversations with people who are on the ground in different provinces and territories.

Unlike intimate partner violence and violence against children, elder abuse is still not fully understood. Very often it will be misinterpreted or dismissed because there's some residual unconscious ageist bias and we're likely not to hear or see and receive what is happening in a situation.

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Thank you for that.

Ms. Estienne, we have also seen much higher levels of burnout for caregivers. It's easy to see why. The cost of living is so much higher than it used to be, and salaries, especially for caregivers, haven't kept up. Is there a link between rates of caregiver burnout and rates of increased elder abuse?

[Loriane Estienne]

Absolutely.

Caregiving is a risk factor for all aspects of burnout. People who take on this role inevitably see their physical and mental health deteriorate as a result. It depends on the specific nature of the role they must take on with respect to their loved ones and the needs of those loved ones.

In Canada right now, one in five caregivers is over the age of 65. Not only are they aging, but they are dealing with the stress and vulnerability inherent in the role of a caregiver.

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

I have another question.

Senior women are frequently targeted by scams involving urgent requests, impersonation or emotional pressure. In your view, what responsibility should financial institutions and social media platforms have to flag or stop suspicious activity?

[Loriane Estienne]

That's a big question. I think it all comes down to the importance of fully understanding what family caregivers have to deal with and how they can help protect more vulnerable seniors against fraud.

As I said, these caregivers must get support so they don't find themselves in a vulnerable situation as well. They have to keep providing support and prevention for their loved ones who are unable to care for themselves—especially older women who are more vulnerable to this type of fraud.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Iqra Khalid]

Thank you very much.

We're moving on to our next questioner.

Ms. Nathan, go ahead for six minutes, please.

[Juanita Nathan, Liberal, Pickering—Brooklin, ON]

Thank you to all the panellists here today.

My first question would be for the Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse.

We talk about seniors as a single group, but vulnerability is not evenly distributed. With an intersectional lens, considering factors such as gender, immigration status, disability and rural isolation, which groups of senior women do you think are currently falling through the cracks of federal protections?

[Bénédicte Schoepflin]

I'll start with the baseline. We do not have enough disaggregated data when it comes to mistreatment of older people. I really wish I did and could give you a laser-focused answer.

This said, as a general group, older women are overlooked already. If you consider the intersection of identities that you were just mentioning, things get worse because the available services that are relevant and that are even simply accessible are very sparse.

I don't think we can really compare and contrast and say that these ones have it worse than these ones. Right now, older women are generally facing way too many obstacles to basic safety and stability.

I would say for sure that the intersection of ageism and ableism is compounding the obstacles to accessing the necessary supports. Then we're talking about—as you said—language barriers and isolation from being in a rural area, etc., which really make services even scarcer.

[Juanita Nathan, Liberal, Pickering—Brooklin, ON]

For the next question, I will go to Deborah Rose.

Much of the discussion around elder abuse focuses on individual vulnerability. Your work highlights systemic factors.

How do colonial legacies and ongoing socio-economic inequalities shape the risk of abuse for indigenous senior women in ways that federal policies may be overlooking?

[Deborah Rose]

The availability of funds and financial resources, whether this be old age pension or CPP, is critical for providing enough resources so that senior women can address and live their lives accordingly.

I would also like to say that we need to come together federally, provincially and municipally. We need to band together to find the resources that are available for caregivers and those in supporting roles. At our centre, social workers and supporting roles.... As a non-profit, we don't have the financial resources to pay what the government would perhaps be able to pay for a social worker.

It's an all-around critical issue that there are not enough financial resources and people resources in the non-profit sector to support these women effectively.

[Juanita Nathan, Liberal, Pickering—Brooklin, ON]

I'll tag on to that, taking on an intersectional perspective. How do gender, indigeneity and urban displacement interact to increase both financial and housing vulnerability among the seniors you serve?

[Deborah Rose]

I only got part of the question.

[Juanita Nathan, Liberal, Pickering—Brooklin, ON]

I was trying to find out about, from an intersectional perspective, how gender, indigeneity and urban displacement interact to increase both financial and housing vulnerability among the seniors you serve.

[Deborah Rose]

When we're looking at gender-based violence and diverse individuals, it becomes even more critical. Their voices are less heard. Although our community and, I think, our society are becoming more open, there are many fears around acknowledging that you are being mistreated, that there is abuse and that you are facing these things. There's a lot of fear involved. How do we break down those barriers? I think that would be a challenge.

[Juanita Nathan, Liberal, Pickering—Brooklin, ON]

My final question is this: What does culturally safe policy look like in practice? Where do current federal supports fall short in meeting the lived realities of indigenous senior women?

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Iqra Khalid]

Please answer in 10 seconds or less.

[Deborah Rose]

Oh, my. Okay. I can't even breathe in 10 seconds or less.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Iqra Khalid]

Why don't you send us a written response, if that's okay with you?

[Deborah Rose]

Yes, that would be great.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Iqra Khalid]

Thank you. I appreciate that.

Ms. Larouche, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

My big takeaway from today's testimonies is that family caregivers do a whole lot of invisible work. Most of the witnesses spoke about family caregiving and the fact that this work receives too little recognition even though it is essential.

On that note, I'd like to give a shout-out to Quebec's Association féministe d'éducation et d'action sociale, or AFEAS, which has spent more than 25 years campaigning to have the first Tuesday in April recognized as national invisible work day. This would be a day for everyone to reflect on what we can do better to encourage volunteers and to recognize the work done by parents within families and by family caregivers.

I hope this will come to pass. I presented a report to this committee on invisible work. One of the recommendations in that report was to designate the first Tuesday in April as national invisible work day. I'm bringing this up now because we weren't in the House that day, so I wasn't able to make the statement I would have liked to make, unfortunately. The point is that the House must recognize a national invisible work day.

I'll start with Ms. Estienne, from Proche aidance Québec.

I would like to thank all the witnesses for being here. I will have questions for the others later.

Ms. Estienne, based on what you've said, it's clear that we need to do better when it comes to leave and benefits for family caregiving.

How should the government do that? Should it enhance the tax credit? One thing the Bloc Québécois has done is vigorously campaign for improvements to employment insurance.

What is the best approach, Ms. Estienne?

[Loriane Estienne]

I think the first step is to fully and completely recognize what a caregiver's role represents and the invisibility of its effects on people, mainly financially. The financial consequences for caregivers are largely made invisible and, above all, largely uncompensated.

Indeed, there would have to be a complete review of the entire employment insurance benefit system for caregivers. It exists, but it isn't tailored. It certainly lacks flexibility. In addition, the many different realities of being a caregiver are staggering, but our programs are too rigid and can't adequately respond to all of that.

Add to that the administrative burden, which is truly very heavy. The process is complex, and it's difficult to understand how to access these benefits. One in five caregivers who are entitled to the benefits and are trying to get them don't receive them.

There's a lack of understanding regarding the benefits. There are gaps in the ease of access to benefits, the tailoring of benefits and the enhancement of benefits.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Iqra Khalid]

I'm so sorry, Ms. Estienne, but the interpretation is not coming through right now. Your connection is not very stable.

Madame Larouche, is it okay if the witness provides written responses to your questions?

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

I gather that employment insurance has to be improved in terms of the number of weeks. That's obvious. There has to be more flexibility in terms of tax credits and more help with accessing them. The paperwork also has to be simplified, because it's true that people often don't know about the tax credits and don't use them.

Before I go any further, I'd like to name the community network—

[Loriane Estienne]

The same is true for the employment insurance system.