Senator Sharon Carstairs"We need to get ready," Carstairs, chairwoman of the Special Senate Committee on Aging, said following a speech at a conference in Regina on Tuesday.
"The seniors' population is growing faster and faster, and quite frankly, the support systems are not there, in the health care system, housing . . . the transportation sector, to meet those needs."
Carstairs, whose committee recently finished its final report on whether or not Canada is ready for its aging population, noted that by 2031, one in four Canadians are projected to be over 65.
"If you think we have some problems now, if we don't start addressing some of those problems, they're only going to get larger and larger," Carstairs told dozens gathered for the Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism (SSM) annual conference.
In her keynote address, the senator focused on the findings of the committee's report, and its "framework" recommendations for the federal government.
Those include: promote active and healthy aging, fight ageism, integrate programs and strategies, reform funding systems, and help seniors have choices.
The report details 32 specific recommendations for government to follow.
As with all senate reports, there isn't any guarantee government will act, though there has been "a lot of interest" in Ottawa so far, according to Carstairs.
"Government can start to respond now, or they can just be hit with it as this rolling train moves towards them.
"We need to grab the attention of the policy-makers, particularly the federal level," she said, adding "the provinces are, quite frankly, running to keep up."
Carstairs spoke positively about Saskatchewan, which she said is "better off in the fact that the potash has made (it) king, so to speak, in terms of (its) financial well-being." Saskatchewan's long-higher proportion of seniors means that it is "better ready because (it has) been making these changes more gradually."
Carstairs also specifically addressed her committee's research on the conference's theme, which was senior abuse.
Physical and financial abuse were well-known problems prior to the committee beginning its work in late 2006.
"What we were not aware of to the same degree until the study was the amount of abuse around competency," she said, noting some seniors have their capacity to make decisions taken away when it is not in their best interests.
Sask. Party MLA Laura Ross said that she and a fellow member plan to bring forward a bill on elder abuse this fall.
"We've compared our legislation to every other province and found, in fact, Saskatchewan comes up fairly shy on what we should be doing in regards to vulnerable adults," Ross told the conference following Carstair's address.
Al Morrison, president of the SSM, said of elder abuse that "we're only cracking the lid on it right now, and the more you crack the lid, the more you see and the more you think, 'oh, boy.'"
Beverly MacLeod, SSM executive director, said that "collaboration is crucial, because no one person, organization or arm of government is going to solve this alone. It's a huge problem."
jcouture@leaderpost.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post
May 5, 2009
CANADA: Growing senior population will pose problems, says senator
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REGINA, Saskatchewan / The Regina Leader-Post / LIFE / May 5, 2009
By Joe Couture, Leader-Post
Many issues related to Canada's growing population of seniors are old news, but what's still in its infancy is understanding of the scope of the problems, according to Senator Sharon Carstairs.
Senator Sharon Carstairs"We need to get ready," Carstairs, chairwoman of the Special Senate Committee on Aging, said following a speech at a conference in Regina on Tuesday.
"The seniors' population is growing faster and faster, and quite frankly, the support systems are not there, in the health care system, housing . . . the transportation sector, to meet those needs."
Carstairs, whose committee recently finished its final report on whether or not Canada is ready for its aging population, noted that by 2031, one in four Canadians are projected to be over 65.
"If you think we have some problems now, if we don't start addressing some of those problems, they're only going to get larger and larger," Carstairs told dozens gathered for the Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism (SSM) annual conference.
In her keynote address, the senator focused on the findings of the committee's report, and its "framework" recommendations for the federal government.
Those include: promote active and healthy aging, fight ageism, integrate programs and strategies, reform funding systems, and help seniors have choices.
The report details 32 specific recommendations for government to follow.
As with all senate reports, there isn't any guarantee government will act, though there has been "a lot of interest" in Ottawa so far, according to Carstairs.
"Government can start to respond now, or they can just be hit with it as this rolling train moves towards them.
"We need to grab the attention of the policy-makers, particularly the federal level," she said, adding "the provinces are, quite frankly, running to keep up."
Carstairs spoke positively about Saskatchewan, which she said is "better off in the fact that the potash has made (it) king, so to speak, in terms of (its) financial well-being." Saskatchewan's long-higher proportion of seniors means that it is "better ready because (it has) been making these changes more gradually."
Carstairs also specifically addressed her committee's research on the conference's theme, which was senior abuse.
Physical and financial abuse were well-known problems prior to the committee beginning its work in late 2006.
"What we were not aware of to the same degree until the study was the amount of abuse around competency," she said, noting some seniors have their capacity to make decisions taken away when it is not in their best interests.
Sask. Party MLA Laura Ross said that she and a fellow member plan to bring forward a bill on elder abuse this fall.
"We've compared our legislation to every other province and found, in fact, Saskatchewan comes up fairly shy on what we should be doing in regards to vulnerable adults," Ross told the conference following Carstair's address.
Al Morrison, president of the SSM, said of elder abuse that "we're only cracking the lid on it right now, and the more you crack the lid, the more you see and the more you think, 'oh, boy.'"
Beverly MacLeod, SSM executive director, said that "collaboration is crucial, because no one person, organization or arm of government is going to solve this alone. It's a huge problem."
jcouture@leaderpost.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post
Senator Sharon Carstairs"We need to get ready," Carstairs, chairwoman of the Special Senate Committee on Aging, said following a speech at a conference in Regina on Tuesday.
"The seniors' population is growing faster and faster, and quite frankly, the support systems are not there, in the health care system, housing . . . the transportation sector, to meet those needs."
Carstairs, whose committee recently finished its final report on whether or not Canada is ready for its aging population, noted that by 2031, one in four Canadians are projected to be over 65.
"If you think we have some problems now, if we don't start addressing some of those problems, they're only going to get larger and larger," Carstairs told dozens gathered for the Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism (SSM) annual conference.
In her keynote address, the senator focused on the findings of the committee's report, and its "framework" recommendations for the federal government.
Those include: promote active and healthy aging, fight ageism, integrate programs and strategies, reform funding systems, and help seniors have choices.
The report details 32 specific recommendations for government to follow.
As with all senate reports, there isn't any guarantee government will act, though there has been "a lot of interest" in Ottawa so far, according to Carstairs.
"Government can start to respond now, or they can just be hit with it as this rolling train moves towards them.
"We need to grab the attention of the policy-makers, particularly the federal level," she said, adding "the provinces are, quite frankly, running to keep up."
Carstairs spoke positively about Saskatchewan, which she said is "better off in the fact that the potash has made (it) king, so to speak, in terms of (its) financial well-being." Saskatchewan's long-higher proportion of seniors means that it is "better ready because (it has) been making these changes more gradually."
Carstairs also specifically addressed her committee's research on the conference's theme, which was senior abuse.
Physical and financial abuse were well-known problems prior to the committee beginning its work in late 2006.
"What we were not aware of to the same degree until the study was the amount of abuse around competency," she said, noting some seniors have their capacity to make decisions taken away when it is not in their best interests.
Sask. Party MLA Laura Ross said that she and a fellow member plan to bring forward a bill on elder abuse this fall.
"We've compared our legislation to every other province and found, in fact, Saskatchewan comes up fairly shy on what we should be doing in regards to vulnerable adults," Ross told the conference following Carstair's address.
Al Morrison, president of the SSM, said of elder abuse that "we're only cracking the lid on it right now, and the more you crack the lid, the more you see and the more you think, 'oh, boy.'"
Beverly MacLeod, SSM executive director, said that "collaboration is crucial, because no one person, organization or arm of government is going to solve this alone. It's a huge problem."
jcouture@leaderpost.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post
