Canada ranked among best countries for older people

Canada is among the top five best places in which to be a senior according to a ranking of 96 countries by HelpAge International.

Released today in connection with the United Nations International Day of Older Persons, the organization’s Global Age Watch Index 2014 rates the wellbeing of older people on the basis of income security, health, personal capability and enabling environments.

Norway ranks at the top of the index, followed by Sweden and Switzerland, with Canada in fourth place.  The U.S. comes in at eighth place, with the U.K. out of the top ten at number 11.

Canada rates high in all four categories, although satisfaction with the state of public transportation is lower.

Afghanistan is the worst place for an older person, according to the index, while just above it are Mozambique (95), West Bank and Gaza (94) and Malawi (93).

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

HelpAge is also taking the occasion to further its Age Demands Action campaign in support of seniors’ rights and issues, taking place in around 50 countries worldwide. Activists plan to use the index in meetings with policy makers. They are also calling for a UN convention on the rights of older people.

October 1 was designated the International Day of Older Persons by a resolution the United Nations General Assembly on December 14, 1990. The theme of the 2014 commemoration is “Leaving No One Behind: Promoting a Society for All.”

"Older persons make wide-ranging contributions to economic and social development,” stated UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “However, discrimination and social exclusion persist. We must overcome this bias in order to ensure a socially and economically active, secure and healthy ageing population."

In Canada, October 1 is also celebrated as National Seniors Day.

In a statement marking the day Minister of State (Finance) Kevin Sorenson focused on federal government moves benefiting seniors financially, including targeted tax relief, including pension income splitting and a doubling of the pension income credit eligibility level.

In addition, Sornenson highlighted plans to help older Canadians better manage their financial affairs.

“Over the last number of months, our government has been consulting on a national strategy for financial literacy, with the first phase focused on seniors,” he said. “This strategy will engage more Canadians in preparing financially for their senior years; help seniors to plan and manage their financial affairs; improve the understanding of and access to public benefits for seniors; and increase the tools to combat financial abuse. I expect to unveil this important strategy soon.”

International Day of Older Persons was also being observed with a rally in Windsor, Ontario. The event was organized by the Unifor Retired Workers Area Council, the Seniors Advisory Committee-Windsor, National Pension Reform Committee, National Pensioners Federation, CARP Windsor-Essex, Municipal Retirees Organization Ontario and Life After Fifty.

"On this day, we not only celebrate the effort of our elders to build a better society for all of us, but also commit to fight for pension and decent health care so future generations can retire with dignity," said Len Hope, chair of the Unifor Retired Workers Council Executive and member of the Unifor National Executive Board.

"Older persons are among the first to fall victim to a downturn in the economy or the effects of globalization."

CARP comes out against proposed Fair Elections Act

CARP, the national seniors’ advocacy group, has come out in opposition to the Fair Elections Act, Bill C-23, put forward by the Conservative government.

Susan Eng, the organization’s vice-president of advocacy, stated its position at the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs in Ottawa last week.

Major provisions of the bill include the elimination of vouching as a means of establishing eligibility at the polling booth and the requirement for more identification, having political parties select poll officials, disallowing Elections Canada from promotion of voting and diminishing that body’s ability to investigate electoral financing irregularities.

Eng said a poll of CARP members to which some 3,600 members responded showed 80 percent disapprove of the Fair Elections Act, with two-thirds opposing it in the strongest terms.

“They see it as diminishing democracy and they want it withdrawn or amended significantly,” she stated.

While the rationale for elimination of vouching, along with the use of the mailed voter identification card as ID, is to fight voter fraud, CARP members see reduced voter participation as a bigger problem than voter fraud by a factor of four to one,  63 per cent to 15 per cent.

Seventy two per cent do not think that vouching is a source of voter fraud and 75 per cent think that banning vouching will suppress voter participation.

According to the poll results, 10 per cent of CARP members have either had to have someone vouch for them when they voted (4%), or knew someone who had to be vouched (6%). One-third (34%) used the voter identification card the last time they voted.

“Given the commitment to voting from CARP members and older Canadians generally, it reasonable to suggest that CARP members themselves would be inconvenienced by the elimination of vouching and use of the voter identification cards but not disenfranchised – they would find the necessary identification to allow them to vote,” said Eng. “However, they are clearly concerned about others, especially those in seniors’ homes or long term care.”

Eng referred to a letter received by the Edmonton CARP chapter from a woman on behalf of her 97-year old mother in long term care. The mother is frail but fully capable of voting and did so regularly with the home’s workers vouching for her.

She no longer has a driver’s licence, the Alberta Health card does not have her address and her daughter handles all her banking and other needs so all her mail goes to her daughter. To be able to vote, she now has to ask the home to issue an attestation of residence document for her, which will also be necessary for every other resident of the Home wishing to vote.

“The option of vouching in such a case has the obvious advantage of leaving little to no opportunity for fraud, especially as many nursing homes and seniors’ residences have a polling station right in the building,” Eng said.

CARP is recommending that vouching be reinstated and the use of voter identification cards be made permanent. Having well trained and non-partisan polling officials will protect against irregularities.

CARP is also recommending restoration of Elections Canada’s mandate to make the electoral process better known to the public, particularly to those persons and groups most likely to experience difficulties in exercising their democratic rights.

We recommend that this mandate be restored. 

Another recommendation are that “robocall” political telephone marketing companies be required to keep records of the script and to whom the robocalls were directed for five years, not just one year as in the current bill

In addition, the group wants all election officers to be appointed based on merit and not be nominated by candidates, electoral district associations or parties.

“CARP members are avid voters and clearly see this bill as detrimental to voter participation, detrimental to a fair and transparent electoral process and to democracy itself,” declared Eng. “As such, we believe that at a minimum, the bill should be amended to reverse the provisions highlighted above. Otherwise, Bill C-23 should be withdrawn.”

Susan Eng will be the guest speaker at the CARP Edmonton Chapter annual general meeting on May 2 at the Norwood Legion. Non-members are welcome. For further information call 780-450-4802 or email carp.edmonton@gmail.com.

Government of Canada provides caregiving info online

A new online source of seniors’ caregiving information has been launched by the Government of Canada.

Alice Wong, minister of state (seniors), today announced today the launch of the caregivers portal on seniors.gc.ca, a government website functioning as a central source of information for seniors, their families and caregivers.

The new Information for Caregivers portal provides an interactive map of Canada directing users to federal, provincial and some municipal resources on financial information, care options, powers of attorney, health, mental health and dementia.

“The Government of Canada is committed to helping seniors quickly access information about programs and services they need and use in their communities,” said Wong. "That is why today we are launching the new Information for Caregivers portal on seniors.gc.ca.”

"CARP members will welcome the new Information for Caregivers portal,” said Susan Eng, the organization’s vice-president for advocacy. “It will help families navigate the complex array of government programs and services at all levels. It is comprehensive and user-friendly, which will come as a great relief to people who are often running from pillar to post to get the help they need for themselves or their loved ones."

The website also provides information on government initiatives such as the New Horizons for Seniors Program -- which supports projects led or inspired by seniors who want to make a difference in the lives of others and in their communities -- and measures to increase awareness of elder abuse are also included on the site.

For more information go to seniors.gc.ca.