The Ontario government unveiled its latest plan for the province's seniors last week with Aging with Confidence: Ontario’s Action Plan for Seniors.
Ontario's senior population is projected to double in the next 25 years, up to 4.6 million and the government said it is aiming to make Ontario the best place in the world to grow old.
Some of the highlights of the plan include a new one-stop website where seniors can find information about tax credits, drug coverage, powers of attorney, recreation programs and more.
The province will invest $8 million over three years to create 40 more Seniors Active Living Centres, bringing the total to more than 300 centres provincewide. An investment of more than $15 million will be made over the next two years to continue to support naturally occurring retirement communities, such as apartment buildings or housing developments where many seniors can live close to one another.
Many of the highlights in the action plan stand as somewhat of a "been there, done that" for Friendly to Seniors Sudbury chair John Lindsay.
"A lot of what's in this plan is stuff that has been looked at for years," said Lindsay, who says that the two main issues that are of concern to the city's seniors are housing and health care.
"We've done surveys and every time it's housing and health care that are neck and neck as the top priorities. You see this funding being put aside for housing but once it's all spread around, how many extra units is that really?"
One highlight in the plan that has a particularly pertinent tie to Sudbury is the province's commitment to create 5,000 more long-term care (LTC) beds over the next four years and add 15 million more hours of nursing, personal support and therapeutic care annually for residents in LTC homes, as well as a 10-year plan to create more than 30,000 new beds over the next decade, working with the long-term care sector.
Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) Sudbury chair Hugh Kruzel says he is hopeful the province will take a close look at Sudbury when it comes to the distribution of the beds.
"This really reflects on the changing demographics of Ontario and Canada, and perhaps there's no city where it's more prevelant than Sudbury," said Kruzel.
"We know that our hospital is almost always at 100 per cent (capacity) or more, so hopefully when it comes time to make these decisions, Sudbury is given a close look."
The province's new web portal for seniors is a valuable asset, according to both Kruzel and Lindsay, who were both quick to point out that seniors make up a large contingent of internet users.
"Seniors have the highest level of uptake on use of iPads, we know seniors are going online more than many other groups," said Kruzel, while pointing out that a go-between to help seniors better understand and use the internet would be a handy resource.
"A second set of eyes would be beneficial, someone to point them in the right direction. Seniors can make use of things like public libraries and take courses on how to better use the internet. Education is huge as far as what this website covers, but there also needs to be resources for seniors to know what's available to them locally."
Lindsay echoed Kruzel's comments, pointing out that seniors represent the greatest percentage of increase among internet users, while noting the need for a community guide for Sudbury seniors.
"The internet is a great resource, not just for seniors but for everyone, but you have to know where you're going," said Lindsay. "You can Google practically anything these days, but we've been saying for years and years and one of our primary recommendations is for a community guide. We had recommended that there be a community guide and that it include not only a leisure component, but also civic services, everything from garbage collection to bus routes to where to contact your councillor."
Aging with Confidence also includes a commitment to creating more volunteering opportunities for seniors and connecting them with youth in their communities in an effort to reduce the risk of social isolation.
"We can't liberate all of those seniors who have isolated themselves, it's just part of the aging process," said Kruzel. "Maybe there is an education component that can be introduced at the high school level and it's the students that are taking the steps to connect with seniors."
While the framework is in place for this plan to be put into action, it remains to see what piece of the pie Sudbury will share in the funding and resources.
"All of these things, whether they're right or wrong, at least they're movement," said Kruzel.
To view the full details of Aging with Confidence: Ontario’s Action Plan for Seniors visit Ontario.ca.
