:
I call this meeting to order and welcome you to meeting number 38 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.
Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the House order of January 25, 2021. The proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website, which will always show the person speaking rather than the entirety of the committee.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Tuesday, February 2, 2021, the committee will continue its study on the impact of COVID-19 on seniors.
I'd like to welcome Dr. Suzanne Dupuis-Blanchard from the National Seniors Council.
Dr. Blanchard, interpretation is available at this video conference. You have the choice at the bottom of your screen of floor, English or French. When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly, and when you're not speaking, your mike should be on mute.
You'll probably see me from time to time holding up one finger. That's not because I have something to say; it's to signal that there's one minute left in the turn of the person who's asking you a question.
Thank you so much for being with us, Dr. Dupuis-Blanchard.
Without further ado, you have the floor for your opening remarks for a five full minutes, if you need them.
:
Thank you Mr. Chair, and thank you to the members of the committee for your interest in the impact of COVID-19 on older adults.
On behalf of the members of the National Seniors Council, I want to provide our sincerest condolences to Canadians who have lost a parent or loved one during this pandemic, and our thoughts go out to family members who have been separated from their relatives in long-term care facilities for the past 13 or 14 months.
In addition to my role as chairperson of the National Seniors Council, I am a registered nurse, for the past 30 years, with experience in aging and community health, currently involved in vaccination efforts against COVID-19; a professor at the school of nursing at l'Université de Moncton, where I also hold a research chair in population aging from the Consortium national de formation en santé, studying aging in place and director of the centre on aging.
The National Seniors Council was created in 2007 to advise the Government of Canada, through the Minister of Seniors and the Minister of Health, on matters related to health, well-being and quality of life of older adults. The council currently has 11 members, including me, who come from a wide variety of sectors related to aging, including academia, social and health sectors, community and front-line organizations and the private sector. In developing its advice to ministers, the council undertakes a range of activities, including commissioning research, consulting with older adults and stakeholders across the country and convening expert panels and round tables.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, the council was in the process of implementing a three-year work plan covering 2018 to 2021. The work plan had four main priorities: first, identifying measures to reduce crimes and harms against seniors; second, examining potential objectives and elements of a national seniors strategy; third, developing an age-friendly healthy aging policy lens to potentially examine federal policy and initiatives; fourth, identifying measures to counteract ageism by shifting the public discourse on aging.
[Translation]
In 2019, in the context of a general public meeting and expert roundtable in Winnipeg, we addressed the priority of action to reduce crimes targeting seniors and financial harm to seniors. In addition, we released the “What We Heard” report, which is available on our website. However, I would like to make a few points that remain relevant to COVID‑19.
[English]
The council found that financial crimes and harms against seniors are perpetrated by different actors and assume a variety of forms, from romance scams to aggressive door-to-door sales. Of importance is that social isolation can be a key risk factor, as scammers often prey upon the loneliness of older adults who are isolated and in need of basic human contact. Poverty and economic insecurity can also make older adults more susceptible to certain scams.
You can understand that with social isolation having increased as a result of the pandemic, new frauds are being perpetrated against older adults. These include unsolicited calls claiming to be from a private company or from health care providers offering home self-testing kits or even vaccination for an upfront fee; and private companies selling fraudulent products that claim to treat or prevent COVID-19.
When the pandemic began, the council quickly shifted its priorities to monitoring the pandemic situation of older adults. We immediately recognized that the pandemic was having, and was going to have, a disproportionate impact on older adults, and that studies were appearing to take stock of the situation from various perspectives, especially in relation to long-term care, but to a somewhat lesser extent, notions such as social isolation and older adults residing outside of long-term care facilities.
The council determined that to add value, it would provide high-level advice to ministers by reviewing research findings and the viewpoints of older adults and stakeholders, and by identifying values and principles to support the health and well-being of older adults. In response, and prior to the beginning of the second wave, the council prepared a report for ministers based on a review of over 40 reports regarding older adults and the pandemic. The report, entitled “Seniors Well-Being in Canada: Building on Lessons Learned from the Pandemic”, will soon be added to the council's website. If members of the committee would like to receive a copy, I'd certainly be happy to share it after this meeting.
[Translation]
The report suggests 22 actions, supported by conclusive data, as they relate to five main themes. Each action is further broken down into short, medium and long-term actions. Our advice to ministers has taken into account such fundamental elements as healthy aging and quality of life for seniors, the full continuum of care from home to nursing home, the negative impact of COVID‑19, and respect for federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions.
[English]
Since then, the council has continued working on the impacts of the pandemic on older adults, and has recently submitted advice to the ministers regarding the national long-term care standards, as these were included in the ministers' revised mandate letters and budget 2021. We continue to monitor the research that is being published related to the pandemic and older adults, and we will continue advising the ministers on this important issue. We are also in early discussions related to our next work plan.
Thank you for the opportunity to be here with you. I certainly look forward to our discussion.
Thank you, Ms. Dupuis-Blanchard, for being here today.
What really got me going when you first started speaking was the issue of phone scammers in conjunction with social isolation during the pandemic. My grandmother—my oma—who's 93, lives on her own and made a really good friend in Jamaica who talked to her about Jesus Christ and wanted her bank information. My oma was about to give it to him, had it not been for a family member who came into the house when the man called. They had numerous conversations over the phone. I will note that my oma has day-to-day care in her house through her grandchildren and children.
What can we do at the federal level to try to temper phone scamming? It is prevalent and almost ubiquitous, and it's only getting worse. Do you have any recommendations about how we can combat financial crimes that are taking place over the telephone?
:
Thank you for that important question.
It is something that we looked at when we did our consultation in Winnipeg. We had national representation there from experts and whatnot. A lot of the recommendations that came forth, which would be related to what you just shared, are on creating a campaign to create awareness. We all think that people know about these scams, but I'm sure that if we think back, we ourselves, or others, have been involved in clicking on something or receiving a call and providing information that we probably shouldn't have.
We definitely need to create that awareness about being careful. Those efforts need to continue. Actually, the federal government has wonderful resources already available, but a lot of people don't know about them.
I have to say, even during that meeting of experts [Technical difficulty—Editor] we presented to the experts there some of the federal resources, and a lot of them were not even aware that those existed. One of those is “The Little Black Book of Scams”. It's been wonderfully done. It's been widely accepted by the people who do know about it, but we certainly have to continue facilitating or creating that awareness. Also, people do not know how to report it.
:
Thank you. That's very, very helpful. We need to do a better job of promoting existing resources that are available.
You mentioned, as well, and we heard in our last panel on Tuesday, especially from the seniors advocate from the province of British Columbia, where I reside, that social isolation has led to even worse mental health outcomes for seniors during the pandemic.
Could you talk briefly about the role that civil society can play, and more importantly, family and friends? What can the federal government do to facilitate more interactions with seniors, maybe either through funding community groups or empowering people in the community who want to play a role helping seniors but don't know how to do it?
:
Thank you again for another important topic, that of social isolation.
The council, previous to my involvement, also looked at social isolation. There's work on our website that dates from 2017. There were some consultations done previous to that report as well.
Some of the recommendations that the council made to the ministers at that time were, again, to increase public awareness about the importance of, but also the consequences of social isolation. It also went further, to say that we need to improve access to information on the programs and the services that are available in the local community. Some services are available, and activities, but a lot of seniors don't know about them. Until you're in a position to seek those services or activities to get you out of the house, you don't really pay attention to it. So we definitely have to facilitate that.
We all have a role to play in addressing social isolation. For me, that's where age-friendly communities come into play, as well as initiatives like the new horizons for seniors program, which I know you all know about. That plays an important role in bringing community programs and initiatives to seniors who are isolated as well.
Thanks to the witness, Ms. Dupuis-Blanchard.
It's great to have you here. Thanks for your testimony.
I want to go back to what Mr. Vis was talking about in relation to social isolation and loneliness. Certainly it's a concern. I am fully aware in my community of constituents in long-term care, but also seniors who are isolated at home for long periods of time. From your perspective, what are the health impacts that seniors have been experiencing as a result of this?
As an example, my mother has vascular dementia and has been isolated for almost 15 months in long-term care and I've seen a very significant decline in her overall physical health.
Could you comment on the health impacts of that?
:
There are definitely some important health impacts of social isolation, be it in long-term care, like what you just shared, or for people in the community. I've seen it myself in my own projects on aging in place and the impact that social isolation is having on things like mobility, because people are not moving around as much as they used to. That really has an impact even on muscle loss and risk of falls.
There is an impact mentally as well. I'm thinking about dementia. I'm thinking mostly about those who would be maybe in the early stages of dementia and who haven't seen their extended families and whatnot. There's certainly going to be an impact when we start opening up again and when family members interact with older adults who have been isolated and who may have progressed in their loss of mobility or cognition.
These are important impacts on life and on trying to keep seniors independent as well. That's what it gets at. We want to make sure seniors remain as independent as possible in terms of mobility, meal preparation and socialization.
Also, socialization is so important. When we look at social isolation, the latest research talks about how it's almost like chain-smoking. The impact on a person's body is the same as smoking about 15 cigarettes a day. If we think about that in the context of COVID, then with everything else and the precautions and the stress of it, it certainly is something seniors are living now.
The effects on mental health, as well, will certainly have to be addressed as we think about post-pandemic times.
:
Mr. Turnbull, we now have Dr. Kuperman with us. I'm going to suggest that we suspend to do a sound check for him and then allow him to deliver his opening remarks. You are about halfway through your turn. If all goes well and Dr. Kuperman is ready to go, then you'll have three minutes when we come back.
We'll suspend while we do the sound check.
Dr. Kuperman, you might have missed some of the preamble. I'll give you the condensed version.
Interpretation is available on the bottom of your screen. You have the choice of floor, English or French. Please close your microphone when you're not speaking, and speak slowly and clearly for the benefit of the interpreters. That's the Reader's Digest version.
Now we're going to resume with questions, beginning with Mr. Turnbull for three minutes.
Mr. Turnbull, you have the floor.
:
Thank you so much, Chair Casey. I appreciate being here, and I thank you for your patience.
I'm an associate professor at the Department of Linguistics and Languages at McMaster University, and I am a member of the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging. I study two topics: the psychological and emotional well-being of seniors and the public discourse regarding seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic. I will touch upon both topics today.
I use language as my data: media and social media, stories written by seniors, and messaging by federal and provincial authorities. The present testimony is based on my own work and existing international research.
Our studies of stories written by older adults show that the psychological fallout of COVID-19 on Canadian seniors has been profound. Linguistic analysis of the choice of words and topics pointed to signs of profound psychological distress among seniors. We saw an increasing use of language markers of pessimism, anxiety, fear and uncertainty. This evidence maps well onto the Canadian statistics of deteriorating mental health.
We set up a longitudinal study that uncovered the dynamics of the emotional toll that the pandemic took. Psychological well-being of seniors did not decline immediately after the global lockdown in March 2020. Rather, seniors showed emotional resilience to stress, which set off this decline by roughly four months, yet since August 2020 and up until now, the seniors have remained at the same deteriorated emotional state—the “new normal”. If the lockdown continues, our data predict that this state will worsen, leading to further loss of health and lives. Our analyses further confirmed robust findings that loneliness, social isolation and pre-pandemic health issues are the key determinants of psychological vulnerability.
What brings relief to seniors? Many participants in our studies mentioned the success of intergenerational online projects involving storytelling and story-sharing, a creative and therapeutically relevant form of communication, yet these projects leave out those seniors that may need them the most, that is, the ones without access or knowledge to engage in online communication. Unless caretakers provide training in the use of online tools of social engagement to such individuals, the digital divide will grow and social isolation exacerbate.
Given available data, I recommend to support further development of social engagement programs, especially those across generations; provide reliable Internet infrastructure and access to technology to all seniors; and, support education in digital literacy for seniors with the help of trained caretakers.
Another topic that looms large in my current research and the international research is the rise of ageism in the public discourse on the pandemic. This discriminatory sentiment is not new, but it has now been fuelled by the greater vulnerability that seniors show to COVID-19. Ageism surfaces in media as an undifferentiated portrayal of all seniors as frail, helpless or burdensome. This negative perspective can even find support in social policies if they are formulated in terms of age as a number, rather than talking about individuals and their situation. In its most radical form, ageism surfaces as blatant disregard for seniors’ lives. It is illustrated in social networks by an offensive, insulting label: #BoomerRemover.
Ageism is not a prevalent sentiment in social media, but it is persistent, so it strengthens negative stereotyping against seniors in all age groups. It has been widely reported to bias triaging decisions in health care delivery against seniors, as well as employment decisions. Seniors themselves absorb this negative public discourse as well. It adds to their daily stress, harms their cognitive functioning and undermines their self-esteem.
With these findings in mind, I recommend to support educational and public awareness programs about aging and its physiological, cognitive and emotional components. In official communication, including policies and public health messaging, I recommend avoiding an emphasis on age as a critical group variable. Instead, public messaging should target socio-economic or health-related characteristics of individuals.
Thank you for your attention. I'm looking forward to further discussion.
That was absolutely perfect, because the question I was going to ask you was basically answered in your opening remarks. Thank you for that. I have other questions that follow up on your opening remarks, so perhaps I'll get to dive a little further into the topic as a result.
You mentioned intergenerational programming as potentially a way to reduce social isolation and loneliness among seniors. You also talked about digital literacy and the divide that is perhaps there. I think we're all present to that. I know the new horizons for seniors program has at times, at least in my riding, focused on some of the programs that can be delivered in a virtual format during the pandemic.
Mr. Kuperman, could you expand on how we address digital literacy when dealing with seniors?
Thank you to the witnesses.
My question is for Ms. Dupuis‑Blanchard, president of the National Seniors Council, whom I welcome.
At the beginning of your remarks, you reminded us of the objective of the National Seniors Council. I'm looking at it myself right now: your role is to engage seniors, stakeholders, and experts in order to advise the government.
When it comes to engaging seniors, in what ways do you consult them?
I am asking you this because in Quebec, the mobilization of seniors has been very strong with regard to the impoverishment of seniors and their financial situation. Yes, the pandemic has hit hard, but it has also highlighted the impoverishment of our seniors. Yes, health and mental health issues must be considered, but the financial issue is also important.
In your recommendations and advice to government, do you address the issue of the impoverishment of seniors?
If so, do you recognize that seniors can find themselves in very precarious financial situations as early as age 65?
:
Thank you, Ms. Chabot. This is a most important issue.
The mobilization role of the National Seniors Council can be interpreted in different ways.
The members of the council often come from different provinces, so we have a fairly national representation. All members are very close to the elders in their communities and engage with them in different ways. Often, my council colleagues bring back the experiences and stories of the seniors they consulted.
Of course, when we launch a consultation or hold a roundtable, for example, it allows us to reach out to certain groups of seniors. We recognize that the number of people we can engage is limited. However, we always make a strong effort to reach out to seniors so that their voices are heard.
I can speak from personal experience, although I know we are focusing on the council right now.
We are certainly well aware that there are seniors living in poverty or with low incomes. The council has done some work on elder crime and elder abuse. In that work, we have found that seniors with low incomes are often at risk.
In terms of my own work, our team in New Brunswick worked to develop a picture of the economic situation of seniors. We focused on the situation of francophone seniors in the province. Often, statistics show us that francophone seniors have a lower income than anglophone seniors because of their education. They have a lower level of education and hold more precarious or seasonal jobs. This results in their having a much lower income when they reach retirement age than their anglophone counterparts.
So my personal work converges with my work on the council. My colleagues on the council and I are always trying to get [Technical difficulty—Editor] and see what other sometimes underrepresented subgroups of seniors need to be part of our discussions and recommendations.
:
Yes, certainly, and I agree with your comment about how sad [
Technical difficulty—Editor]
Ageism certainly happens in the intersection of sexism as well and sexuality. It's not an isolated phenomenon that happens.
During the pandemic, what we've seen is often what we say is “compassionate ageism”. What I mean by this is that older adults have been portrayed as passive persons who should rely on someone else to receive care and support. We've portrayed them in that pity kind of way of looking at things. For sure, the pandemic's impact has been phenomenal and we can't deny that, but there is certainly a way to portray it that would not necessarily conduct to ageism.
As Dr. Kuperman said in his opening remarks, as soon as the pandemic was declared an older adult disease and something to be preoccupied by, on Twitter all of a sudden we saw the BoomerRemover hashtag and things like that. We've witnessed during the pandemic that ageism is certainly present, even in new ways that weren't there, like needing to take care of them, but they're so passive and they're not active, it's.... Yes.
:
It's a complex question. Certainly, at the National Seniors Council, we are just starting our work on ageism. It was one of our priorities in the last work plan and we are carrying that priority into our new workload as well, because we have ongoing work that's happening there.
As far as recommendations go, again, I think it's to have that link that we're able to apply and to look at new policies and programs and at our discourse, the vocabulary we use, and to be conscious of that: to understand what ageism is, first of all, and to be conscious of it. I would certainly say create a lot of awareness around it as well. A lot of people and even we gerontologists will say things sometimes, and we'll stop ourselves and say, “Oh, that was so ageist on my part to say that.” It's sort of part of that regular vocabulary we use, and all of a sudden you have to stop yourself and say that there's a better way to say that, that there's a positive way to say it as well.
Thank you, witnesses, for what you have shared today and for your work during the pandemic and the public service that you're doing representing an important segment of our population, which I think, especially during the first and second wave, was overlooked. Unfortunately, the pandemic has ravaged the senior population more than any other segment, whether in terms of actual direct effects of COVID or indirectly in suffering during the restrictions. I think as a country we should have bubble-wrapped our seniors and supported them a lot better than we have.
I'd like to hear from both of you whether you have individual stories about seniors who have passed away, unfortunately, from COVID and how the grieving process has changed during a pandemic and all the restrictions. Do you have any individual stories you'd like to share?
Thank you to our witnesses today.
Dr. Kuperman, thanks for your patience in working through the new reality that is Zoom and technology.
To both of you, we very much appreciate the work that you do in your professional academic careers and your willingness to share that. It will be of great benefit to us in our work.
We appreciate the patient and comprehensive way you've handled all the questions. Thanks for being with us.
Colleagues, we're going to suspend for a couple of minutes to do the sound checks for the next panel.
To our witnesses, you're welcome to stay, but you're free to leave.
:
I call the meeting back to order.
We have one witness who is besieged with technical problems, but Mr. Prud'homme is in a position to deliver the opening statement for Réseau FADOQ and Ms, Tassé‑Goodman will join us when that is possible. We don't have the leisure to extend the meeting today, so we're going to proceed.
We are continuing our study on the impact of COVID-19 on seniors.
The following comments are for the benefit of the witnesses.
Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. When you're ready to speak, you can click on the microphone icon to activate your mike. Interpretation is available at this meeting. You have the choice at the bottom of your screen of floor, English or French.
[Translation]
When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. When you aren't speaking, your microphone should be on mute.
I now want to welcome the witnesses to continue our discussion. They'll have five minutes to give their opening remarks. The committee members can then ask questions.
[English]
From the United Way of Canada, we have Debra Shime, vice-president of community initiatives.
[Translation]
I also want to welcome the representatives of the provincial secretariat of the Réseau FADOQ: Danis Prud'homme, director general, and Gisèle Tassé‑Goodman, president.
It's a pleasure to see you.
:
Good afternoon. Let me start by recognizing and thanking the committee and the government for the critical and important work you are doing to support people across Canada and to support the essential community services that are helping our families and communities.
United Way Centraide is Canada's largest funder of vital community services. We focus on eliminating poverty and ensuring vulnerable Canadians have the support they need to build sustainable livelihoods.
Each year United Way invests over $500 million to support over 3,500 organizations in over 5,000 communities across all provinces and territories. Of that, over $23 million is invested in specific seniors programs that help 330,000 people annually. In addition, we know that thousands of other seniors attend many other types of programs addressing such things as food security, disability services and general community well-being. With the support of our donors and corporate partners, we mobilized during the pandemic an additional $47 million, which aggregates both our initial investment in community and the government's investment.
In June 2020, with the support of the federal government through the new horizons for seniors program, we rapidly expanded funding to over 870 organizations that supported isolated seniors. These programs offered a total of 1.3 million services to over 700,000 vulnerable seniors during the pandemic. They were offered by a network of community agencies in every province and territory. These programs were enabled to reconfigure existing services to meet public health guidelines, expand existing services and support previously underserved areas. Over the course of the last year, we also funded over 5,200 community service programs through the emergency community services fund, of which 2,000 were services specifically for seniors.
To ensure that every person had access to services, with support from the federal government, we rapidly expanded our 211 navigation service to all regions of Canada so that every Canadian could get help finding the services in their community. The 211 service saw a staggering 39% increase in contacts over prior years. Many of those callers were and continue to be seniors or those seeking support for their [Technical difficulty—Editor] particularly vulnerable group. The extended shutdown of public activities affected the many community programs and services that those already vulnerable seniors relied on to combat isolation, build social networks, access culturally appropriate food, receive mental health support and stay active.
United Ways worked with municipalities, public health entities, foundations and front-line agencies to coordinate pandemic community responses. We collectively mobilized quickly around community response tables to problem solve such things as how to maintain Meals on Wheels deliveries, transition in-person contact to phone check-ins, assist seniors with prescription and grocery delivery and pivot seniors to online gatherings to maintain vital social connections.
Based on the context of each community, Centraides identified and responded to the needs of those who face barriers. Some of the barriers that we identified are living on a low income, being a member of a minority group or being over the age of 80. Those were identified as considerations of overall vulnerability. The most frequently funded programs were food and grocery support; outreach to prevent and address isolation, and hygiene and cleaning supports.
I'd like to leave you today with five key takeaways.
First, the last year has shown the level of innovation and agility that is possible within the community services sector. We do not want to lose that spirit of innovation and collaboration as we emerge from the pandemic.
Second, it is important to focus on the role that caretakers play as part of the continuum of care. It is an essential part of our response going forward that caretakers have the supports they need to keep seniors safe, secure and healthy at home.
Third, partnerships and collaborations have been the foundation of the innovation and response that we have seen over this past year. We can and should encourage collaboration and coordination between organizations, rather than foster competition. Seniors and their caregivers will be better off for it.
Fourth, we would be remiss to not mention the disproportionate impact of COVID on communities of colour—Black, indigenous and South Asian specifically. Our efforts must double to address systemic racism and the barriers and inequities they create.
Finally, one of the lessons for funders is the need for flexibility. Local leadership knows what they need, and with the right supports they will find the right solutions. We expect that services are going to start costing more and that agencies will not be able to deliver the same level of services over the coming months. These organizations have stepped up during this crisis and they are under great stress. We need to help them maintain their operations.
The United Way Centraide network remains committed to supporting seniors as Canada emerges from the third wave and as we turn our attention towards building back better. If we want a strong and equitable recovery that supports healthy aging, we need to support the community-based and community-led organizations that support seniors where they live.
This is particularly true for seniors from the most marginalized communities, including Black and indigenous communities, and those living in vulnerable circumstances.
I am happy to speak further to any of these issues, as requested.
Thank you very much for your time and attention today.
Parliamentarians, my name is Gisèle Tassé‑Goodman. I'm the president of the Réseau FADOQ. I'm joined by Danis Prud'homme, the director general of our organization. I want to thank the committee members for this invitation.
The Réseau FADOQ consists of a group of people aged 50 and over. The group has nearly 550,000 members. Each time that we take political action, we want to help improve the quality of life of seniors.
Sadly, seniors were the first victims of COVID‑19. The people who receive only old age security benefits and the guaranteed income supplement must live on less than $18,500 a year. It was hard enough to live on this income before. The onset of the health and social crisis exacerbated this financial distress, since prices for basic necessities increased. In addition, given the lockdown, many seniors temporarily lost their support network. This led to additional costs, especially for delivery services.
In the end, the government provided a one‑time payment to seniors who were struggling to make ends meet last summer. Obviously, the Réseau FADOQ would have preferred that the government speed up the implementation of the old age security increase promised in 2019. This improvement was ultimately announced in the latest federal budget. Any improvement is welcome. However, the Réseau FADOQ believes that people aged 65 to 74 should also benefit from it. The government must review this proposal to avoid creating two classes of seniors.
As president of the Réseau FADOQ, I must point out the elephant in the room. A great deal has been said about residential and long‑term care facilities. Many seniors have paid the price for a flawed health care system during this health and social crisis. In reality, the provinces are chronically underfunded by the federal government when it comes to health care.
Granted, some money has been provided during the current crisis and the latest federal budget proposes investments in long‑term care. However, this support is neither recurring nor proportional. Health care funding takes up 40% of provincial and territorial budgets, while the Canadian government funds only 22% of the spending.
According to the Conference Board of Canada, based on the current growth rate of the Canada health transfer, the federal share of health care funding will drop to less than 20% by 2026.
The Réseau FADOQ is asking the federal government to increase the indexing of the Canada health transfer by 6% each year, in other words, to its pre‑2017 level.
The Canada health transfer must also take into account the aging population of the provinces and territories.
The COVID‑19 crisis has exposed significant shortcomings in terms of financial literacy and the affordability of Internet services. This reality has left many seniors doubly isolated, both physically and virtually.
The Réseau FADOQ is actively working to strengthen digital literacy among its members through training workshops. This type of initiative deserves more government support.
Moreover, Internet service packages are very expensive and seniors have limited incomes. The federal government must improve competition among service providers so that more affordable Internet packages are available to everyone.
I want to thank the committee members for listening. Mr. Prud'homme will answer questions. However, I'll reserve the right to answer them as well.
Thank you.
:
Thank you so much for the question.
In preparing our statement for today, we looked quite broadly at the communities that were adversely affected by COVID, and I would say that we know the South Asian community has been disproportionately affected overall in the pandemic, so we draw our conclusion from that. We're happy to provide you with some data and statistics following this meeting if that would be helpful for you.
I would say that one of the things we do know is that many from the South Asian community who are working in essential work also live with combined families, so they were putting their families, including elders, at risk when they were coming home from the jobs that allowed all of us to eat and to get our prescriptions delivered and to get our food delivery and Amazon delivery and things like that. I think that's just drawing conclusions from what we know of the community, but I'm happy to provide additional information.
:
I would say that there are a couple of things.
I think my colleague here talked about interconnectivity, to have access online [Technical difficulty—Editor] and to get supports for mental health or to speak to your doctor or what have you. The transportation issue was huge.
We also saw that in a lot of the rural communities there were additional costs for food, whether it was for delivering the food or that the actual cost of the food was higher, especially in more remote areas. The dollar has to stretch that much further for those seniors who are living in those remote and rural areas, but the lack of transportation is a significant issue. Also, you're farther away from your neighbours in rural and remote areas.
I live in urban downtown and there are lots of supports locally. I can knock on my neighbour's door. In a rural and remote area, that's harder to do, so those natural communities of caring are harder to organize and manage in a rural or remote area.
Good afternoon to my colleagues.
Thank you very much to our presenters. Those were very, very good presentations.
Ms. Shime, I want to start by thanking you and United Way for the outstanding work and the service you deliver right across the country. Here in Saint John—Rothesay, the executive director is Alexya Heelis, who does a fantastic job. She's been in her role now for a little over a year.
I want to talk first and foremost about the emergency community support fund, the $350 million that our government announced to support community organizations. An amount of $9 million went to United Way Centraide Canada for seniors. In my riding I think there were 22 applications, and 13 organizations received funding. One of them was Meals on Wheels in Saint John, which got a $12,000 grant. Meals on Wheels obviously provides hundreds of free meals for seniors who need that support, especially during the pandemic.
That's a great example of the kind of service needed from community organizations who understand what seniors need. To continue the positive contribution to our society, how do we better leverage the work of such long-standing partners as United Way?
:
Thank you for that question. I really appreciate the feedback as well. For a relatively new ED in your local community to deliver in this year was quite extraordinary.
I would say that we're really pleased to see that there's attention being paid to the charitable and non-profit sector in the budget for 2021. We welcome the announcement of the community services recovery fund, which is now focusing on modernizing and adapting and resilience in the community going forward. For that kind of resource to be successful and for us to work in partnership with government and others in the delivery of that, we want to make sure that the supports for longer-term change management for organizations to adapt are reasonable; that we have the supports for system-wide thinking around IT, fundraising and HR capacity; and that there is a role for national organizations to play along with intermediaries [Technical difficulty—Editor] CFC and CRC.
We generally fund to the general operating costs, as the United Way, not project funding. More support for general operating costs from the federal government would certainly help ensure that organizations serving seniors and other vulnerable populations could continue to do their good work locally in the community and be really responsive to what's happening as we build back and come out of this third wave. We're really focused on that system-change thinking of how we as a sector can transform with the learnings we have gathered through the last year and a half.
I hope I answered your question.
What you're speaking to is a very specific project, but across the country, I would say United Ways have been deeply involved in ensuring that seniors and other vulnerable populations have access to technology, have the connectivity, have the training and support, and equally important, that the community agencies that are providing the services have the infrastructure to support them and that they themselves are equipped. We often forget that those organizations need that infrastructure and that ongoing support, as well, so they can reach those seniors. It's not just about the seniors having it.
Those are all important pieces of the puzzle to ensure that we can continue to reach vulnerable seniors who are living at home or in congregate care.
Mr. Wayne Long: Thank you for your time.
I thank the witnesses. Engaged individuals have provided us with good testimony with a lot of depth. That really helps us in our work.
My question is for the Réseau FADOQ representatives, Ms. Tassé‑Goodman or Mr. Prud'homme.
As everyone knows, you have been putting in a lot of effort, especially in the public arena. You also participated in a meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance, following the recent federal budget announcement concerning the old age security pension increase, which will be available to people aged 75 and over starting in 2022. Like you, we feel that this will create two classes of seniors. I have even said that it would be a first, as the old age security pension applies once people turn 65.
I would like you to explain the impact of this measure, which will create two groups of seniors.
:
I will first answer and will then yield the floor to Mr. Prud'homme, so he can complete my answer.
Thank you for the question.
I would begin by saying that social inclusion is paramount for healthy aging. For example, the growing price of gas is quite real for everyone, and it is even more difficult for people who are receiving the guaranteed income supplement and the old age security pension. Increasing the old age security pension by 10% starting at age 75 creates inequality among seniors. A number of seniors have been saying this to us.
Rent also increases every year, and that affects people aged 65 and over, as it does those aged 75 and over. The grocery bill has also increased a lot. I was told that a dozen eggs no longer cost the same as they did one or two years ago. The price of fruits and vegetables has increased dramatically. The grocery bill is a heavy burden for people aged 65 and over, as it is for those aged 75 and over.
In many cases, there are more widowed women than widowed men among those aged 65 and over. Those women often become caretakers for their aging parents. Therefore, that means those women are deprived of income because they dedicate their time to taking care of their aging parents' health.
In many other cases, as well, men and women—but especially women—stayed at home to raise their children and take care of their education. They have not participated in the labour market, which means they have very low or no pension funds.
Those people start receiving the old age security pension and the guaranteed income supplement at 65 years of age, and they live with very little money—$18,500 a year. That's very little money to live on. That is why Réseau FADOQ is calling for the 10% increase to be provided to all seniors aged 65 and over, unconditionally.
Mr. Prud'homme, do you want to add anything?
:
I would add that this creates dichotomy.
The government said it wanted to help the neediest people, as expenses were higher for those aged 75 and over. However, the wrong approach was used. The reason is simple: when old age security is increased, a claimant can receive that higher pension until their annual income reaches $77,000. So the wrong approach was used.
If the government really wanted to help those who need money and were in need, it should have increased the guaranteed income supplement.
That is why we are saying that a general increase must be provided, and not only for those aged 75 and over. Otherwise, two classes of seniors will really be created.
:
Thank you for the question.
Yes, one-time payments do not solve the issue; they just push it forward.
We must plan for the future. I will use the example of people aged 85 and over, as they generally need the most care. In 2011, they were 150,000. They will be 600,000 between 2031 and 2041. That number will then increase further to reach 700,000. If we cannot take care of people who need care today, how will one-time payments enable us to plan properly?
That is why we are asking for a 6% increase to get back to where we were before. We are mostly asking for indexing to be introduced and for an aging criterion to be set, so the provinces with the oldest populations can take better care of those people.
:
Yes, of course. Thank you for the question.
It is actually very simple. The government put forward the argument that it wanted to help seniors who were most in need. That is why this measure focused on seniors aged 75 and over.
However, we feel that this measure will not help only those in need, as people are entitled to the old age security pension until their annual income reaches $77,000. Had the government really wanted to help people in need, it should have increased the guaranteed income supplement generally, for seniors aged 65 and over.
For starters, old age security makes no distinction among age groups; the minimum age of 65 is the only consideration. Now that the decision has been made to split old age security in two, two classes of seniors have been created. Unfortunately, that decision is a major mistake, as it will not help those most in need.
:
Thank you for the question.
In briefs we have submitted to the government when we appeared before other committees, we suggested three different possibilities. For instance, the market basket measure could be adjusted by 7% or, as you just said, an adequate income could be established as defined by IRIS, the Institut de recherche et d'informations socioéconomique. So possibilities do exist. It is a fact that not everything has been taken into consideration.
For people with a low income or low savings, we have even asked the federal government not to tax the money they withdraw from their RRSPs for eye care or dental care. We have been asking for this for a number of years, but the federal government has still not responded.
:
What our organization's director general just said is true. At the very least, the guaranteed income supplement should have been increased by $50 a month because it goes to the less fortunate.
In any case, as Mr. Prud'homme said previously, when old age security claimants have an annual income from $77,000 to $120,000—I no longer recall the exact numbers—there is a return. The amount is not the same for someone who receives $30,000 as for a person receiving more than $75,000.
So we are asking the federal government to at least increase the guaranteed income supplement by $50 a month, for the less fortunate.
:
That supports some of the reports we are hearing in the media about the pandemic relief having gone to the most well off versus going to families and seniors who need help the most. That's where I question why that was done and especially for that age group.
My office has been talking with seniors, and it's more the younger seniors who are in tougher financial situations than the older seniors. You'll find low-income seniors in every age group. If you were going to design a program.... Let's think about those who are under 75 years of age versus the ones who are older, It's not just the years they would have worked, and perhaps accumulated more savings; it's the lower-income seniors who are retiring or have retired in the last five years for whom I feel the worst.
The last time our country was facing runaway inflation, they experienced hyperinflation with fewer dollars. They had more debt, such as mortgages. What occurred was that once interest rates skyrocketed for those individuals back in the 1980s, their savings accounts were negatively affected by inflation more so than older seniors. For older seniors who went through that time period and were fortunate enough to have had work at that time, they were actually better off. I question why the Liberals have drawn that line and made two different classes.
It brings up the point of inflation, and you talked about it before. What are you hearing from seniors anecdotally? The cost of living is up. They're making different decisions. I'd like to hear if you have some first-hand stories of what decisions seniors are making, because of inflation and the increase in the cost of living.
:
There are actually several considerations.
The number of choices seniors must make is growing for two reasons.
First, the cost of groceries has increased tremendously, according to what we have been told, as has the cost of grocery deliveries, as seniors are no longer mobile in some cases.
Second, seniors have found themselves isolated. They no longer had visits, and so they no longer had help, either. The lack of access to technology has also contributed to their isolation. In more remote regions, where there was no [technical difficulties]. In some villages, grocery stores, Canada Post offices and bank branches closed their doors. Finally, seniors found themselves even more isolated and even poorer, and that has resulted in additional costs.
:
It's great to see the Conservatives supporting the boost to the guaranteed income supplement. They voted against it, of course, when we did it in the last mandate, which was a landmark move to help reduce seniors poverty. I'm glad they're coming on board to understand that seniors need this help now.
I'd like to ask Deb Shime about some of the collective efforts and the individual efforts.
Of course, individual transfers are important, but Dr. Kuperman from McMaster was here earlier as a witness. He said that there was a real pivot point at the end of August and the beginning of September in terms of major indicators that he was following around seniors health. This is interesting, because in the first wave of support for seniors in the pandemic, we increased direct transfers to seniors, but we were convinced by the provinces that they needed support, too, so we did a block transfer with the safe restart agreement that kicked in for September. It was a $22-billion transfer to the provinces.
Did you receive funding from provincial governments at that point to sustain and extend your services through the safe restart agreements?
:
Thanks for the question.
Yes, I think my comment alluded to the fact that we need to continue to support the community-led community organizations across the country in order for them to have the infrastructure and the adaptive programming to respond to and to support seniors living at home and their families—their caregivers explicitly.
Creating that fabric of a network of organizations across the community is essential, and not only for those organizations and their services. They're often the ones to support and engage volunteers in being active in their community.
We want seniors aging at home as much as they possibly can, and we need to build the infrastructure to support them. Many times, that comes through organizations [ Technical difficulty—Editor].
:
Thank you for the question.
First, if a country wants to have a user–friendly society in terms of care, it must focus the care on aging. That is what experts and the World Health Organization are saying, but that is unfortunately not being done or too much time is being taken to do it.
Second, if we want seniors to live at home, they must be provided with care at home. Unfortunately, that was no longer possible during the pandemic, and we have seen their health deteriorate. So budgets must be reversed: more funding must be provided for home care and less must be invested in curative care—in other words, hospitals.
:
Thank you, Mr. Prud'homme.
[English]
Thank you to all of our witnesses for being with us today.
The United Way is very prominent right across the country, not just in seniors programs but in many others.
We very much appreciate the work that you do and for being with us.
[Translation]
Réseau FADOQ is a very important partner in the province of Quebec. We thank you for your work in your province and in your communities.
We also thank you for your testimony today. I know that your group is often invited to committee meetings, and for good reason.
Thank you very much.
[English]
Colleagues, do we have consent to adjourn?
I see that there is consent in the room. Thank you.
We'll see you next week. Have a good weekend, everyone.
The meeting is adjourned.