Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

The Association québécoise de défense des droits des personnes retraitées et préretraitées, commonly called the AQDR, was established on May 1, 1970. It is incorporated as a not-for-profit organization under part III of Quebec's Companies Act. We currently have 25,300 members across AQDR's 41 sections in 16 administrative regions of Quebec.

Today the committee is studying the impact of COVID‑19 on seniors. The timing is good because the AQDR also surveyed its members on the same subject in late 2020. From October 30 to November 8, 2020, we conducted a survey of our Internet-connected members, approximately 17,000 out of a total of 25,000. Some 1,214 members answered 96 open and closed questions. The open questions elicited 4,000 comments from respondents. The research firm Infras, in Lévis, Quebec, has certified that the survey was 90% representative.

From the survey answers, we developed an analytical report in which we stated 15 demands and 31 recommendations for the Government of Quebec, more particularly its department of health and social services and Quebec's minister for seniors and caregivers, Marguerite Blais. We grouped those demands and recommendations together under four headings. The first two, quality of life and health and social services, are two components involved in maintaining quality of life and health and social services during the pandemic. The third theme is improving health and social services after the pandemic, and, lastly, the fourth is acknowledging and supporting caregivers.

All survey documents are accessible on the home page of our website at aqdr.org. We have provided the committee with the URL so it can access the documents from our survey on the impact that COVID‑19 has had on our members.

To date, we have met the three persons responsible for seniors for the three opposition parties in the National Assembly of Quebec. We have also met the minister responsible for seniors and caregivers to discuss our survey and recommendations to the government. We have requested a meeting with Quebec's minister of health and social services, Christian Dubé, but unfortunately have not yet received any responses, although the minister has received our survey report and that of Infras.

In addition to the recommendations that have come out of this survey, we request that an estates general be held to determine seniors' needs and the services that must be provided to them in the next few years and to prepare ourselves for any future pandemics.

Thank you.

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