Mr. Speaker, last Saturday a resident of the Jazz Longueuil seniors home jumped from the ninth floor of her building. This act of desperation has shaken the entire city of Longueuil and everyone in my riding.
With National Suicide Prevention Week just around the corner, this terrible tragedy reminds us of the scope of the problem among seniors. Every year some 150 seniors in Canada, feeling isolated and abandoned and with nowhere to turn, commit suicide. The situation is urgent and is getting worse.
In my riding alone, the number of seniors will increase by 80% in the next 10 years. Community organizations in my riding such as Action-services aux proches aidants de Longueuil and Les Petits Frères are doing remarkable work, but they have been abandoned by the federal government.
The NDP is not turning its back on this problem. That is why we are the only party to have proposed a national aging strategy.
Everyone has a right to age with dignity. We need to act now.