In a news release Friday, NDP candidates Carol Hughes (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing) and Stef Paquette (Nickel Belt) said New Democrats will fight for seniors by investing in dental care, pensions, quality home care and long term care, a national dementia strategy and affordable housing.
New Democrats will make sure no vulnerable senior falls through the gaps by creating a national dementia strategy, the release said, and making investments in improving the quality of home care and long term care.
“Dementia punishes families and we need to be certain that the government is doing all it can to support them as they struggle with their loved one's condition,” Hughes said in the release. “The NDP’s national dementia strategy will give families the support they need.”
“We recently saw an increase in the number of seniors living in poverty, and in Canada today half of all seniors are struggling with the financial costs of health care,” the release continues.
The New Democrats say their plan for increasing GIS and putting in place universal pharmacare and public dental coverage, seniors will save thousands of dollars every year.
“Seniors are feeling ignored,” Paquette said in the release. “A lot of them are really struggling to get by. It’s 2019, and we are facing a housing crisis that is negatively impacting seniors in Nickel Belt. The need for more affordable housing units is an immediate necessity.”
Since many seniors are themselves caregivers to a loved one or rely on the caregiving of family members, the New Democrats says they will make life more affordable by making the Canada Caregiver Tax Credit refundable. New Democrats will also create 500,000 units of affordable housing across the country to ensure that every senior has a place to call home.
