Status of Women Committee on April 30th, 2026

[Chris Lynam]

Indeed, co-operation between police services at the various government levels—whether municipal, provincial, territorial or indigenous authorities—and the RCMP, at the federal level, is essential, because there are victims across Canada. In addition, the suspects are often overseas. Working together to find or detect those responsible for these frauds is central to our strategy. When it comes to prevention, it's also important to send the same kind of message across Canada.

[Marie-Gabrielle Ménard, Liberal, Hochelaga—Rosemont-Est, QC]

In that regard, a lot of community organizations have really emphasized that the saddest part is when prevention measures don't reach vulnerable people. This can happen, particularly because of isolation, a lack of digital literacy or sometimes a language barrier.

What are you implementing to get the message out to the most vulnerable and isolated people, the people who are most likely to be victims of fraud?

[Chris Lynam]

That's a very relevant question.

We have a program where we use volunteers. Those volunteers are often seniors. They have received training to contact victims of fraud. They often call victims, especially seniors, and give them advice or support to help them in the recovery process. The feedback we have received on this program is excellent.

[Marie-Gabrielle Ménard, Liberal, Hochelaga—Rosemont-Est, QC]

I agree with you that this is very enlightening.

You talked about fraudsters who are overseas. That said, let us come back to Canada. I may be touching a nerve. I apologize already.

Let us look at the fraudsters who are part of the victims' inner circle. Let us think about senior women in particular. There can be a great deal of mistrust toward police forces. Reporting a family member is no small matter. What's more, the relationship with the police and authority can be a barrier for some people from immigrant backgrounds.

How do you respond to that?

[Chris Lynam]

I think what I'm reading from your question is that trust in police or trust to report can be challenging.

That's true. We have a challenge here in Canada: Most people don't report when they're attacked.

In the consultations we did when we designed the new website and in other interactions with Canadians and seniors, we received feedback that it was really important to change our approach when a victim calls our centre.

Unfortunately, there's no magic bullet to fight this problem. We really need an approach that changes based on the situation.

[Marie-Gabrielle Ménard, Liberal, Hochelaga—Rosemont-Est, QC]

Again, what I'm hearing is that the value of the community approach really shouldn't be overlooked.

[Chris Lynam]

Absolutely. Combatting fraud is a central role for police officers, but it's also a challenge for our entire society.

[Marie-Gabrielle Ménard, Liberal, Hochelaga—Rosemont-Est, QC]

You said you don't have a magic bullet. We don't have one either, much to our disappointment.

However, you did say that if you had more resources, you could probably do more. If you had to design a tool, what would it be?

[Chris Lynam]

I would like to encourage Canadians to report fraud to our centre or to their police services.

It is really crucial that Canadians report when they are a victim of cybercrime or fraud, because when we get that information, not only can we protect more Canadians but we can also do our best to figure out who is behind it. Overall, that helps reduce the impact of cybercrime and fraud on Canadians.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Thank you so much, Ms. Ménard.

Ms. Larouche, you have the floor.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I'd like to thank Mr. Lynam very much for being here today. I hope to have the opportunity to come back to something he touched on a little later.

For now, I'd like to turn to Dr. Williamson or Dr. Kelly, from the National Seniors Council.

In your opening remarks, you talked about the precarious financial situation of seniors. You acknowledged that some seniors may be more at risk and could find themselves in more vulnerable situations.

I'll provide some context before asking my next two questions.

This morning, at the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, two extremely frustrating things happened.

First, we had requested information about the Cúram software file as part of the benefits delivery modernization program, because some seniors had reportedly seen a delay in the payment of their benefits. In some cases, there may have been up to nine months of delay. However, we know that some seniors depend on these old age benefits, namely old age security and the guaranteed income supplement, to pay for their rent and groceries. These delays put them at risk and make them even more financially vulnerable. For that reason, we requested details and additional information to shed light on the matter.

Second, a motion by the Standing Committee on Public Accounts calling for an independent investigation was rejected in the House. Although this committee voted in favour of that investigation, the motion was defeated in the House.

In our committee, we had a study. Those requests for additional information come after the tabling of the budget statement, in which the government said it was prepared to pay $450 million to ensure the processing of benefits in the Cúram software. That software's costs have already overrun by 277% and hit $6 billion. Meanwhile, seniors are waiting for their benefits to be paid.

In addition, this morning, the chair of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities decided that this committee would do a clause-by-clause consideration of a bill without informing the members of this committee or its vice-chairs. At the last minute, the topic on the agenda was changed.

Those are two unacceptable and very unfortunate situations that took place this morning at the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.

In this committee, witnesses have told us that the consequences could be dire for seniors if they don't receive their benefits.

Basically, by announcing additional money for this purpose in the budget statement, the government is acknowledging that there have been failures.

What impact can this situation have on seniors, particularly in terms of their finances? By not receiving benefits for a number of months, they have gone into debt.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Dr. Williamson or Dr. Kelly, can you answer the question?

[Dr. Pamela Williamson]

Thank you.

The question is very interesting, and it is information that, as a council member, I am peripherally aware of. The focus of the information that we were to present on today was specific to abuse and financial vulnerability, recognizing that their inability to receive their GIS and other pension income would cause issues.

Our responses are very specific to their vulnerability relating to financial vulnerability. At this point, I don't think we have sufficient information to give you information on that. I apologize.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Dr. Williamson and Dr. Kelly, do you acknowledge that there's a link between seniors' financial insecurity and the risk of finding themselves in a more vulnerable situation?

For example, senior women aged 65 to 74 didn't receive a 10% increase in their pensions, as was the case for senior women aged 75 and over. That leaves senior women aged 65 to 74 without an increase in their pension. However, inflation, higher grocery prices and higher rents are making it harder and harder to make ends meet at the end of the month.

What do you think about this inequality between a woman aged 67 and a woman aged 77?

Why would it be important for all seniors, as soon as they turn 65, to receive the same pension amount? What's more, there's no indexation method that adequately reflects inflation and the rising cost of living, and benefits aren't increasing at the same rate as wages.

In terms of these senior women who didn't receive an increase in their pensions, what impacts might that have on their vulnerability?

[Dr. Pamela Williamson]

Christine, I'm going to take this one again.

Vulnerability of older women is specific to poverty. It definitely creates more vulnerability. Without saying any perceptions or anything about the increases for women 75 and over versus those who are younger, the fact is that if someone is struggling financially and they are dealing with issues of poverty as a result of that struggle, they are definitely more vulnerable.

Without giving any opinion on the discrepancy between those two, vulnerability is definitely an issue specific to poverty for women.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

In that case, a bill that would provide the same pension amount for all women would be a small extra boost that would help them live with less vulnerability and financial insecurity.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

That will be your closing comment, Ms. Larouche. Thank you very much.

We'll go now to Ms. Cody for five minutes, please.

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

I'm going to direct my questions to Mr. Lynam. I'd like to start by reading an email that was sent to me by someone in my community:

I'm writing you to express my absolute disgust with the Liberals' continued boasting of their increase to OAS payments to recipients.

In my case, this so called “bonus” amounted to a whopping $0.74 !! And that is also taxable.

I would really like to know how that $0.74 is supposed to offset the increase of monthly expenses directly attributable to the Liberal Party's reckless spending sprees....

I get many of these messages.

After hearing that, do you think seniors are more prone to being enticed into participating unwittingly in scams as a result of these financial struggles and their desperation to offset the high cost of living?

[Chris Lynam]

I don't have data or research to link someone's personal situation to how vulnerable they are to falling for fraud incidents. What I do know, and why this committee is studying this, is that fraud is a significant problem that impacts many Canadians, including senior women.

What is really important is to continue to get the information out there about the importance of prevention and of knowing where to get resources if you think you are impacted. We often use a very simple approach: If you get something that you think seems suspicious, take five minutes to look at it and maybe talk to a friend. Don't take any action right away. That way, you can protect yourself.

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Thank you.

I've already held two senior scam awareness town halls in my community. They've been having quite a lot of success in engagement, and a lot of new information is shared.

We see a lot as AI technologies expand at a very fast pace. We can barely keep up. Many seniors are not technically inclined to know what it's all about. A lot of ads are showing people impersonating someone they know, and they may not understand that the message could be AI-generated. Evidence shows that seniors, particularly those living alone, are disproportionately targeted by these financial scams.

In your view, what responsibilities should financial institutions and social media platforms have to flag or stop suspicious activity?

[Chris Lynam]

I think the responsibilities for addressing fraud and helping to protect Canadians are multisectoral across financial institutions, tech platforms and even the government itself. When we put things out there, we have to make very sure that we are communicating clearly with Canadians and that they know when to report, what to look out for and what have you.

We work often with tech platforms and social media platforms when we do come across fraud information or something that we think is facilitating fraud. We point it out to them so that they can take it down. They definitely have responsibilities, just like other members of society, in trying to reduce the impact of fraud on everyone.

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Thank you.

During the study, we've heard a lot about the vulnerability of seniors to coercion, control and exploitation, and a lot of it comes from family members and caregivers or people close to them. This government has Bill C-16, the protecting victims act, which I'm sure you've heard of. In that bill, the definition of coercive control is limited to intimate partners.

I'm wondering if, in your view, the definition of coercive control should be expanded to include a person of trust as well.

[Chris Lynam]

I'm not sure I'm well placed, with the definition and how that's being defined, to say to expand it or not. I know that any examination of how victims should be supported should look at fraud because of how impactful it is.

[Connie Cody, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Okay. Hopefully I get another question in.

We've also heard that elder abuse is on the rise, and we've heard that human trafficking of seniors is also on the rise. I wonder if you can tell us why this is the case. Do you think this could be linked to the affordability and financial hardships that seniors are facing?

[Chris Lynam]

Unfortunately, I don't have any research or data from what we see at the Canadian anti-fraud centre or the national cybercrime coordination centre about human trafficking in seniors and links to financial crime or fraud.

Human trafficking, in general, is a very significant challenge. The RCMP, other law enforcement partners and others look at it.