Regina, Saskatchewan, September 26, 2011—To raise awareness of the abuse of older adults in Canada, the Government of Canada is providing additional funding to the Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism, under the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP).

Mr. Ray Boughen, Member of Parliament for Palliser, made the announcement today on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, and the Honourable Alice Wong, Minister of State (Seniors).

“The Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism has successfully increased awareness and knowledge of elder abuse and financial fraud across the province,” said Mr. Boughen. “By continuing to support its projects, we are working together to help reduce the incidence of these types of offences.”

The Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism is receiving an additional $62,119 in NHSP funding to continue its work on two successful projects: Fraud Awareness for Seniors Toolkit and Abuse Prevention and Response Network project. This funding will allow the organization to translate the toolkit into multiple languages and continue raising awareness of elder abuse through provincial roundtables in remote areas.

A call for proposals for pan-Canadian projects that expand awareness of elder abuse, including financial abuse, will be launched this fall. Organizations will be able to apply for up to $250,000 per year in contribution or grant funding, for a maximum of three years.

– 30 –

This news release is available in alternative formats upon request.

For further information (media only):

Alyson Queen
Press Secretary
Office of Minister Finley
819-994-2482

Media Relations Office
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
819-994-5559

Backgrounder

New Horizons for Seniors Program

The New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) is a federal grants and contributions program that supports projects led or inspired by seniors who make a difference in the lives of others and in their communities. Since its beginning, the Program has funded more than 8 500 projects in hundreds of communities across Canada.

The NHSP supports projects that aim to address one or more of the following five program objectives:

promoting volunteerism among seniors and other generations;
engaging seniors in the community through the mentoring of others;
expanding awareness of elder abuse, including financial abuse;
supporting the social participation and inclusion of seniors; and
providing capital assistance for new and existing community projects and/or programs for seniors.

Through Budget 2011, the Government of Canada is investing an additional $5 million per year in the NHSP, bringing the Program’s 2011–2012 budget to $45 million.

For more information on the Program, elder abuse or upcoming calls for proposals, please visit www.hrsdc.gc.ca/seniors.

SUPPORTING CANADA’S SENIORS

Minister of State (Seniors) Alice Wong today will highlight that more than 680,000 of Canada’s lowest-income seniors will now benefit from the most significant increase to the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) in 25 years. The GIS increase is the latest measure the government has taken to support Canada’s seniors.

Since 2006 the government has provided over $2.3 billion in annual tax relief for seniors and pensioners, removed 380 000 seniors from the tax rolls completely, introduced pension income splitting, ushered in an automatic renewal of the GIS, made significant investments in affordable housing for low-income seniors and doubling the pension income credit.

As pledged in the Speech from the Throne, the government will also combat elder abuse in all its forms and raise awareness of this serious issue.

The Targeted Initiative for Older Workers has been extended, and mandatory retirement age for federally-regulated employees has been eliminated, giving seniors who want to remain active in the workforce the freedom to make that choice.

The government received a strong mandate from Canadians to improve seniors’ quality of life. Alice Wong is working hard to ensure that policies, programs and services continue to provide opportunities for seniors to improve their well-being and quality of life.

Media Advisory: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

The Honourable Alice Wong, Minister of State (Seniors), and Sophia Aggelonitis, Minister of Revenue and Minister Responsible for Seniors, will speak at a press conference following the 13th Meeting of Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Seniors.

Minister of State Wong will be available for a photo op and to answer questions from the media following the statement.

Please note that all details are subject to change. All times are local.

DATE:
Tuesday, June 28, 2011

TIME:
5:15 p.m.

PLACE:
Hamilton Convention Centre
Room 207
1 Summers Lane
Hamilton, Ontario

Contact Information:

Robert Lynch
Director of Communications
Office of Minister of State Wong
613-790-0219

Media Relations Office
Service Canada
819-994-5559

On June 20, 2011, the House of Commons had an opposition day where they were debating the following motion (moved by Ms. Irene Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP)):

That, in the opinion of this House, ending seniors’ poverty in Canada is fiscally feasible, and, therefore, the House calls on the government to take immediate steps to increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement sufficiently to achieve that goal.

Alice Wong made the following speech in the House of Commons and also gave two responses for the “questions and comments” period after her speech:

Hon. Alice Wong (Minister of State (Seniors), CPC):
Mr. Speaker, I will address the issue raised by the hon. member of London—Fanshawe in regard to ending seniors’ poverty.

As the hon. Minister of State for seniors, I am pleased to say that we have already taken action to address this serious issue in budget 2011. That is why we will support this motion today.

The hon. member suggests that we increase the guaranteed income supplement. We have increased the guaranteed income supplement in budget 2011, which we tabled earlier this month.

I would also like to correct the member on some other facts.

With the strong mandate the Canadians have given us, we are using the next phase of the economic action plan to not only enhance the GIS but also the new horizons for seniors program.

We are also working for seniors to ensure the strength of the retirement income system by introducing a new family caregiver tax credit. In fact, when asked about these measures, CARP’s vice-president of advocacy said that its members were, “happy” and “thrilled that these issues–are being mentioned” in the budget.

I would like to go back and discuss the issue, which, in my opinion, is the most important news for seniors in budget 2011, the boost to the guaranteed income supplement. This increase will directly help those seniors who rely exclusively or almost exclusively on federal benefits. This includes many senior women and singles with inadequate incomes.

Budget 2011 measures will provide a new annual top-up benefit of up to $600 for single seniors and $840 for couples. This will improve the financial security of more than 680,000 seniors across Canada. It will help the most vulnerable seniors. This is a significant investment into our seniors population despite the government’s tight fiscal situation that will see us balance our budget by fiscal year 2014-15.

However, do not take my word for it. Let us hear what some key stakeholders have to say about our 2011 budget commitments following the initial tabling of the budget.

The C.D. Howe Institute said:

…the new Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) top-up benefit for low-income seniors, would bring a meaningful increase in benefits too low-income seniors.

Both the Service Employees International Union and the Canadian Labour Congress stated in press releases that the guaranteed income supplement increase “is a win for every senior living in poverty in Canada”.

We are providing the largest GIS increase in a quarter century to the lowest income seniors who need it most. This makes sense.

However, the GIS increase is only one of the many ways our government is helping seniors preserve their standards of living.

Canada’s seniors have worked hard to build a better country and our government believes they deserve a secure and dignified retirement.

Furthermore, Canadians are living longer, healthier lives than people in past generations. Therefore, helping Canadians prepare for and achieve financial security in their later years is a priority of our government.

It goes back to the very beginning of our mandate when we created the portfolio of minister for seniors so that older people could have a stronger voice at the cabinet table.

Since 2007, our government has made life better for Canadian seniors through a number of programs and initiatives. In fact, it was our government who introduced pension income splitting and doubled the pension income credit. We have lowered taxes and removed 85,000 seniors from the tax rolls completely. We also raised the GIS exemption, putting more money in the pockets of 1.6 million more seniors.

What did the opposition do? It voted against all of those measures. If the opposition truly intends to help seniors, it would have voted for our budget.

Speaking of the next phase of Canada’s economic action plan, we will do even more.

As minister for seniors, I am happy to say that budget 2011 has good news for older Canadians. In budget 2011, we introduced new measures to improve the financial security of Canada’s seniors, to expand their opportunities and to enhance their quality of life.

I have already mentioned that Canadians are living longer than people in past generations and they are naturally concerned about financial security after they retire.

It is important to point out that we have a strong public pension system. This year, Canadian’s will receive $70 billion in benefits through the Canada pension plan, old age security and the guaranteed income supplement, or what we call GIS. Over the years, GIS has been a major factor in reducing poverty among Canadian seniors but it is not the only factor and it is not the only area where we are making things better.

Our government also wants to improve federally regulated private pension plans. We are now working with the provinces to introduce new private pension options, such as the pooled registered pension plan. These plans would benefit millions of Canadians who have not had access to this kind of coverage before, such as employees of small and medium-sized businesses and self-employed workers.

We are helping seniors hang on to more of their hard-earned money. As a result of measures introduced by this government, seniors and pensioners will receive about $2.3 billion in targeted tax relief in the 2011-12 fiscal year.

There are many seniors who are not quite ready to draw a pension. The National Seniors Council has found that many seniors are staying on the job where they continue to share their wealth of knowledge and experience. For those seniors who want to keep working, we are changing the rules to eliminate the mandatory retirement age for most federally regulated employees.

We are also extending the targeted initiative for older workers for another two years. This initiative helps older workers who have been laid off from their jobs to retrain for new careers.

All of those measures are helping seniors financially. They are all anti-poverty measures. In fact, the incidence of poverty among seniors in Canada has dropped from a rate of 21% in 1980 to less than 6% in 2008. That is one of the lowest rates in the world.

That is not all. The next phase of Canada’s economic action plan builds on commitments to seniors made in previous budgets. These commitments include $13 million over three years in budget 2008 to help combat elder abuse, of which the most prevalent form is financial abuse. By helping seniors protect themselves from financial abuse, we are protecting their incomes and savings, and that is an anti-poverty measure.

In a previous budget, we also committed $400 million over two years for the construction of new housing units for low income seniors, and that is an anti-poverty measure because it allows older people to find decent homes at a rent they can afford.

We are also introducing general measures to help Canadian families financially that will also benefit seniors.

Caring for an infirm dependent relative can be really expensive. That is why we are introducing a new family caregiver tax credit. In addition, we are removing the limit on the amount of eligible expenses that caregivers can claim under the medical expense tax credit in regard to their financially dependent relatives. For the first time, the definition of caregiver has been expanded to include spouses and common-law partners. Many seniors are acting as caregivers and these measures will relieve some of their burden.

Seniors are also major beneficiaries of the broad-based tax relief measures that our government has introduced and other financial measures, such as the tax free savings account.

Again I would like to point out to members of the House that these measures are directly or indirectly anti-poverty measures.

The interests of older Canadians are becoming more important as seniors make up an increasingly larger proportion of our population.

Financial security is obviously important to seniors, as it is to all Canadians. It is essential to meeting the challenges and enjoying the opportunities that come with getting older. Our government will continue to do its part to ensure that security.

Ms. Irene Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, I was interested in some of the things my colleague said, so I have two questions.

First, if the budget of the government is so tight, if it is so concerned about measures to reduce spending, why is it still giving corporate tax cuts to profitable corporations? Why is there $840 million for the banks and $35 billion for jets built in the United States, but only $1.65 a day for a single senior?

Second, if she thinks that expanded pensions are so good, that this private pooled pension is so great, then why not expand the CPP and make it adequate so people can have a decent and dignified retirement?

Hon. Alice Wong:
Mr. Speaker, the most important thing is to speak to the seniors directly and also speak to the major stakeholders.

I am happy to report to the House that I have already spoken to the vice-president of CARP and had a meaningful conversation. In fact, I will be meeting her soon in Toronto, face to face, to listen to her client’s voices.

I am also very proud to report to the House that I have already met seniors face to face. I have spoken to the stakeholders in B.C. over the past few days. I look forward to meeting the president of the National Seniors Council later this week. As well, I look forward to meeting the ministers from the provinces and territories for seniors. We will definitely come to very good solutions to better improve the lives of seniors.

Hon. Gerry Byrne (Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, there was a very serious issue that affected senior’s income not long ago. For those senior citizens who decide to withdraw their registered retirement income funds to respond to a housing crisis, emergency home repairs, emergency medical assistance, or anything else, the government decided on May 17, 2010 that they would lose their GIS benefits. Consequentially, they would also lose their drug cards and other provincial benefits tied to the GIS.

When this was brought to the floor of the House, the government said that it would amend its decision and prevent that from happening. This required a change to the Old Age Security Act.

Will the minister of state commit today that her government will immediately bring in amendments to the Old Age Security Act to ensure that senior citizens, should they withdraw their RRIFs, would not lose their GIS benefits as a result of a loss of optioning?

Hon. Alice Wong:
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Revenue has already addressed the issue, so I will not comment further on it.

However, I will be meeting the provincial and territorial ministers at the end of this month. We will be discussing a lot of issues that will be related directly to the territories and provinces.

On June 15, 2011, Alice Wong answered the following question in Question Period regarding Seniors:

Ms. Irene Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, today is Elder Abuse Prevention Day, a time to recognize the abuse many seniors face in our neighbourhoods. Sadly, too many seniors are being physically, sexually and mentally abused by caregivers and loved ones. This should not be a day just to recognize elder abuse, but a day to take action and protect some of our most vulnerable people.

Could the minister tell the House and the seniors across this country why the government allowed the elder abuse awareness initiative to end on March 31, with nothing in its place to protect seniors in our country?

Hon. Alice Wong (Minister of State (Seniors), CPC):
Mr. Speaker, any form of abuse is unacceptable. Our government is committed to supporting seniors by combatting elder abuse in all its forms. That is why we have introduced an extensive awareness campaign to take action on this serious issue. We have also committed additional funds in budget 2011 to further support elder abuse awareness.

Our government is taking action to protect vulnerable seniors and we will continue to work hard to do so.

Mr. Merv Tweed (Brandon—Souris, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, today Canada joins countries around the world to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day and collectively speak out against all forms of abuse.

I would like to ask the minister of state responsible for seniors what the Government of Canada is doing to combat elder abuse.

Hon. Alice Wong (Minister of State (Seniors), CPC):
Mr. Speaker, elder abuse is unacceptable and we as Canadians need to take action against it. Our government is doing just that. Building on the momentum of our elder abuse initiative, budget 2011 provides increased funding to further support elder abuse awareness and we intend to move forward on our Speech from the Throne commitments.

No one deserves to be mistreated or exploited and our government will not tolerate it.

Government of Canada Marks World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

OTTAWA, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – June 15, 2011) – The Government of Canada is joining countries around the world to collectively speak out against elder abuse and mark today as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

“Elder abuse is happening in communities across Canada. It takes many different forms, such as financial exploitation, physical and emotional abuse, and neglect,” said the Honourable Alice Wong, Minister of State (Seniors). “Regardless of the type of elder abuse, it happens far too often.”

“Any form of abuse is unacceptable and should not be tolerated,” added Minister Wong. “We need to create an environment where people will take action against this serious issue.”

Building on the momentum created through the Federal Elder Abuse Initiative, which featured an awareness campaign, the Government of Canada remains active in addressing elder abuse through the New Horizons for Seniors Program. Budget 2011 provides $10 million over two years to increase funding for the New Horizons for Seniors Program. A call for proposals under the program is expected to launch soon. Elder abuse awareness will be included as a funding objective.

The Government of Canada is furthering its commitment to address elder abuse, as the recent Speech from the Throne proposed.

To learn more about the Government of Canada’s initiatives to increase awareness of elder abuse visit, www.seniors.gc.ca or call 1 800 O-Canada to order a brochure.

This news release is available in alternative formats upon request.

Backgrounder

On June 15th, countries around the world mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD). WEAAD was first declared in 2006 by the World Health Organization and the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) to bring attention to the abuse and neglect that older adults experience.

In Budget 2008, the $13 million Federal Elder Abuse Initiative (FEAI) was launched to provide a focused and coordinated federal approach to combat elder abuse by raising awareness and developing resource materials for front-line professionals who provide support and services to seniors. The FEAI successfully concluded on March 31, 2011. The three-year interdepartmental program was led by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and operated in partnership with the Department of Justice, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

The Government of Canada continues to support elder abuse prevention through the New Horizons for Seniors Program and national and regional projects to raise awareness and combat elder abuse and by improving the knowledge of elder abuse and neglect in Canada.

The Government of Canada is working hard to help improve the lives of seniors on many fronts. These efforts include:

• providing Canadians with an estimated $72 billion this year through Canada’s public pension system, including the Budget 2011 proposed increase to the Guaranteed Income Supplement for Canada’s lowest-income seniors;
• providing $2.3 billion annually in additional tax relief to seniors and pensioners through measures such as pension income splitting and increasing the Age Credit;
• providing $400 million over two years under Canada’s Economic Action Plan for the construction of housing units for low-income seniors;
• appointing a Minister of State (Seniors)—someone who can bring the concerns of older Canadians to the Cabinet table and stand up on their behalf;
• establishing October 1st as National Seniors Day to recognize the significant and ongoing contributions seniors make to families, communities, workplaces and society; and
• creating the National Seniors Council in 2007 to provide advice to the federal government on matters related to the well-being and quality of life of seniors.

For more information on the Government of Canada’s seniors initiatives visit www.seniors.gc.ca or contact 1 800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232). For people using a teletypewriter device (TTY), call 1-800-926-91 05.

• Enhancing the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) for seniors who may be at risk of experiencing financial difficulties. This measure will provide a new top-up benefit to more than 680,000 seniors across Canada (up to $600 per year for single seniors and $840 per year
  for couples).

• Supporting provincial front-line delivery of health care and social programs by extending the temporary Total Transfer Protection to 2011–12, representing nearly $1 billion in support to affected provinces.

• Providing $20 million to help the Canadian Youth Business Foundation.

• Reducing the in-study interest rate for part-time students to zero, bringing them in line with full-time students.

• Increasing flexibility to access RDSP assets for beneficiaries with shortened life expectancies.
• Ensuring that individuals can appeal, in every case, a determination concerning their eligibility for the Disability Tax Credit.

• Providing GST/HST relief for Royal Canadian Legion purchases of Remembrance Day poppies and wreaths.

• Providing $65 million for Genome Canada to launch a new competition in the area of human health, and sustain the operating costs of Genome Canada and Genome Centres.

• Strengthening the Government’s oversight of the mortgage insurance industry.