Human Resources committee  Yes, I think there's a lot of research going on. Also, I think there are activities going on to try to make that happen across all of our governments.

Human Resources committee  It's hard to say. I guess, again, the studies will prove that or not prove that. I think we recognize now that it's very important to work together to address the issue of obesity, for example, and of course you correctly connected that to chronic diseases. As we know, there are connections between those two.

Human Resources committee  I think there are a number of initiatives we're already undertaking that work towards that, because the big impacts on health, of course, are healthy eating, physical activity, and some of the broad measures we are already involved in with our eating guides and our physical activity programs, which we promote both for older people and for families and young children as well.

Human Resources committee  I'm not sure I'm qualified to answer that. That's a very direct medical question. It would depend very clearly on the circumstances of the individual. So I'm not sure as a public health official that I could give you an answer. I'm not sure, Mr. Joanette, if you would like to try as well?

Human Resources committee  As I mentioned in my speech, we know that about 90% of people over the age of 65 are facing chronic diseases. So that's a fairly substantive number. The Public Health Agency doesn't keep stats on age groups younger than that specifically. I'm not sure if Mr. Joanette does or not, but obviously in that context we of course want to keep working on ways to keep people healthy.

Human Resources committee  I think that's the right answer.

Human Resources committee  Yes. While we do more broad-based mental health work, there is one piece of work we've done that might be interesting to you. We work with the Canadian Coalition for Seniors' Mental Health to look at national guidelines on seniors' mental health. We looked at the impacts of depression, for instance, which has many different kinds of sources, some of which could well be within the workplace.

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and honourable members. I'm really pleased to be here today to speak to you regarding the health of older workers. As we all know, older Canadians make a vital contribution to society. We are committed to supporting their health, well-being, and quality of life so they can stay active and involved in their communities.