Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask the hon. member a question about home care.
One of the best bargains any government has in relation to caring for the elderly or the sick is the provision of home care, proper care within a patient's own home, which is where older people want to stay. Very few of them want to leave home to go to boarding homes, nursing homes, hospitals or whatever.
Because of a lack of government involvement and proper funding especially for home care workers who get paid very low wages, the seniors, the elderly and the sick people are forced to go into homes which quite often are a considerable distance from their own homes. This puts an increased burden on them, at a cost which is several times what it would cost to fund home care for them.
It does not seem to make any sense. We seem to be penny wise and pound foolish in this case. I would like the member to comment on what she sees happening in this area.