Everyone deserves to be able to age well, living with dignity as a valued member of the community. But years of cuts are making it harder and harder for seniors to get by.
As more Canadians enter their senior years, we need to make better choices to be ready to meet their needs and ensure that everyone can age with dignity. With the right leadership, we can make sure that our institutions and public services are strong and prepared – and that every senior has access to the health care and social support they need to make life a little easier.
To deliver these results all across the country, we need a National Seniors Strategy that will work with the provinces, territories and Indigenous governments to make seniors health care a priority, reduce isolation and tackle seniors’ poverty. We need a funded national dementia strategy, and an elder abuse prevention plan developed with seniors to put an end to abuse and neglect in our communities.
We need a national pharmacare plan that will provide prescription medicine to all seniors, saving seniors hundreds of dollars every year and ensuring that no one needs to choose between medicine and other essentials,
Many seniors are themselves caregivers to a loved one, or rely on the caregiving of family members. In order to help make life a little more affordable for caregivers, who are overwhelmingly women, the Canada Caregiver Tax Credit refundable should be refundable. This will provide thousands of dollars to the most low-income caregivers, many of whom have given up work completely to care for a loved one.