It is not easy to find solutions. Research tells us what we need to do. I don't have this research with me now, however. Last week, I attended a conference on research into aging which was held in Ottawa. Every researcher said that seniors had serious nutrition and health problems. If I want our associations to work with veterans, I will have to contact them, which is something we have not necessarily done.
Many veterans are members of our associations. But they are simply regular members, and do not have the status of veterans. It's important to find out what it is that veterans want, who they are and what their problems are. I had the impression that the new veterans' hospital in my area had addressed that problem in the province. I don't know what the situation is elsewhere in Canada.
The solution is to see what is being done at the local level and to trust people. Our association has a network of 300,000 people, including the Quebec Federation of Senior Citizens. We could really help seniors and I believe we can do a better job than government. We have good projects, but once they're over, we don't have the means to carry on. When we have a nine-month project and we study a situation, such as elder abuse or transportation problems, once the project is over, there is no follow-up. We find solutions, but we cannot apply them. I'm talking about small, short-term projects which do not necessarily meet the needs of seniors at the local level.
The problem is that the government studies the issues, develops projects, and once the projects are over, it washes its hands of them.