Nickel Belt MP Marc Serré has set the wheels in motion for Canada to develop a National Seniors' Strategy.
Serré's private members' motion, M-106, was voted on and passed by Members of Parliament on May 17. The motion is to improve the quality of life for Canadian seniors and provider better support to caregivers through the development of a national strategy.
The strategy itself is still very much in its infant stages, though Serré has a framework in mind that is built on four pillars, including education, community support systems, an Alzheimer's and dementia strategy, and home care.
"Really, there could be a national strategy for each of these pillars," said Serré. "As a federal government, we have to now look at developing a framework around these pillars to have them function together."
Education is a top priority within the strategy, for not only seniors, but for those who look after seniors and those who interact with them on a day to day basis.
"I think that far too often when people retire they figure, well that's it, but you're retired, you're not dead," said Serré. "We want to educate seniors on their value to our society, and let others know they these people still have a lot more to give."
Investing in community support systems is another important part of developing this strategy, and Serré says that there need to be systems in place to protect seniors from things like fraud.
"We need legislation for stricter penalties for people who defraud seniors, or people who commit elder abuse," said Serré.
A collaborative effort between all levels of government is key in putting this strategy into place, and the Nickel Belt MP explains that most provinces have been jumping on board.
"Home care is an element that the federal government has already put some money into, we've been negotiating with the provinces on signing home care agreements," he said.
Saskatchewan was one of the first provinces to sign a home care agreement and will receive $190.3 million for home care over the next 10 years. Their agreement with Ottawa came in January, shortly after deals were reached with Nunavut, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories.
Quebec, Ontario and Alberta reached health funding agreements with the federal government on Friday, leaving Manitoba as the only remaining provincial holdout.
"We really need to look at how do we add more resources to home care, and look at best practices. Some provinces are doing a better job than others and we need to have this dialogue nationally and share those best practices," said Serré.
"It's not all about money, there's other elements that can come into play."
More affordable housing for seniors is another focal point for Serré, as he says that many seniors are living in poverty, or living in care facilities that they don't require.
"These people are on fixed incomes and a vast majority of single seniors are living in poverty," said Serré.
"There are a lot of seniors living in long-term care homes that shouldn't be, but they can't afford to live on their own. We really want make sure that a large portion of funding is allotted to affordable housing for seniors and low-income families."
Here in Sudbury, the waiting lists for affordable housing and long-term care facilities are a huge issue, according to Serré, and with an aging population, the issue isn't showing signs of improving any time soon.
"There's silos right now, there's affordable housing, there's long-term care facilities, there's the hospital with ALC beds, there's dementia care services...we've got to find a way, and this is part of the national strategy, is to get all the organizations, from all levels of government to get together and stop these silos," he said.
"Seniors don't need to care whether it's municipal or provincial or federal. We need to ensure more cooperation between all levels of government."
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Jean-Yves Duclos will now take Serré's motion into a consultation process.
The government's Human Resources Committee will be taking the framework of the strategy across the country to be looked at by a number of witnesses in an effort to nail down the specifics.
"Obviously I'd like to see the pillars I outlined as the focus, but this is open-ended and there's a number of people who will come together with the (HR) committee to file a final report," Serré said.
"I'm very pleased that my private members' motion was successfully adopted by the House of Commons, and so I am very grateful to my colleagues for their strong support for developing a nation seniors' strategy that will improve quality of life for seniors and caregivers for years to come."
