Human Resources committee  For remote areas? I think it was true before, but now there is no such support when they are in a small, remote area. They know their neighbours. They know the community and the community knows them, but they are so isolated. They don't have time. It's good for a short period of

Human Resources committee  I think it's about providing them with services, providing them with housing. In a small area, there are less services available for them, so we need to have a larger community to bring people services. They are more isolated in the remote areas. The youngest have gone to town, a

Human Resources committee  You are quite right in saying that young people should be encouraged to take care of older people because there will not be enough young people to look after them. That said, we are lucky to live in the 21st century, when there is a lot of innovation in methods of communication.

Human Resources committee  Caregivers are overwhelmed by the burden of their task. They have to miss work and they are putting their health at risk. Anyone can do this for a few weeks, but it is often impossible to care for seniors who are losing their independence and who have to wait a long time before

Human Resources committee  We talked about it yesterday at the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance. I'll say it again today: changing a system that has been around for 45 years will have unexpected, unpredictable and probably negative consequences. Of course we must review the tax system. Any sy

Human Resources committee  It must not be at anyone’s expense.

Human Resources committee  You have to raise the red flag. It's up to you, your government is pan-Canadian. It is up to the federal government to raise the flag and tell the provinces that this problem is on the horizon and that it concerns us all.

Human Resources committee  We are certainly in favour of that. I talked about the seniors' culture, which encourages us to do nothing without thinking that one in five people—and soon one in four—will be elderly.

Human Resources committee  The policy we are proposing provides for a tax credit for caregivers.

Human Resources committee  Earlier, I said that beds in short-term facilities cost an average of $850 a day and that keeping people at home was much cheaper. We certainly need to improve the accommodation of people at home, but the life of a senior is not limited to housing. The community must be welcomin

Human Resources committee  You are raising a very important point by mentioning the financing of the system and by asking who the leader must be in this area. In a country such as ours, we really expect the federal government to be the leader, the one who shows the way and sets the guidelines that the pr

Human Resources committee  We did not do it directly, but the need is definitely there.

Human Resources committee  You raise a good point. Seniors are generally treated by their family physicians until the end of their days. We need more assistance and more geriatricians than we currently have. Those geriatricians should be trained to work in communities more than in health care facilities.

Human Resources committee  Right now, I have in my mind the example of a geriatrician in Quebec who wants to work for community organizations. However, the remuneration methods are not set up to accommodate work in a community setting. They are linked to services provided in hospitals. So we have a young g

Human Resources committee  I hope so too. I hope very much for our seniors as well. Thank you very much.