FEWO Committee Report

NO TIME TO WAIT: Challenges Faced by Senior Women and the Factors Contributing to their Poverty and Vulnerability

A Minority Report submitted by the New Democratic Party of Canada
To the Government of Canada

 

As members of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women heard during testimony on the study of Challenges Faced by Senior Women and the Factors Contributing to Their Poverty and Vulnerability, Canadians are living longer, and the proportion of seniors ^[1] in Canada is increasing more quickly than any other age group. Women are disproportionately represented among Canadians 65 years of age and older, and women outlive men on average by several years. ^[2]

It is important to address the factors contributing to the poverty and vulnerability of senior women in Canada using an intersectional lens. Senior women are more likely than senior men to experience income disparity, which is more severe when intersectional variables are considered. Women of colour, racialized women, Indigenous women, ^[3] LGBTQ2S+ women [4] [5]and “women with disabilities are not a homogenous group. There's a very broad range of considerations; again, the intersectional analysis is quite critical here.” ^[6] As the FEWO report indicates, intersectional impacts contribute to even greater income disparity[7] and health outcomes throughout women’s lives and into their senior years.

New Democrats have long held that Canada needs a National Strategy on Ageing ^[8]that will bring together all levels of government to create and implement meaningful solutions for Canadian seniors. While this report contains recommendations specific to the unique needs of senior women facing vulnerability and poverty in Canada, we understand that many of the recommendations included in the seniors’ strategy would be effective in addressing the increased risks for vulnerability and poverty faced by senior women in Canada.

Therefore, New Democrats call upon the Government of Canada to adopt and implement a National Strategy on Ageing to reduce risks of vulnerability and poverty faced by senior Women in Canada.

For the purposes of this report, priorities for consideration are grouped into the categories of health, housing, financial security, justice, inclusive society, and reconciliation. It should be noted that these are by no means an exhaustive list of issues.

Evidence and recommendations based on these priorities are as follows:

HEALTH:

“The cost of medication certainly is a pressing concern for many seniors, just in reviewing their histories.... They may or may not have private coverage. There are huge gaps in terms of what the public system covers. As a consequence, seniors who are facing high rents or transportation challenges and the like have precious few dollars to devote to medication. It remains a paralyzing concern for many… I believe you're talking about a national pharmacare program. It's a critical piece of infrastructure and is really a huge gap in the Canadian health care system. Proportionately, it does detrimentally impact seniors to a greater extent. Our organization has been advocating for a universal single-payer health care model.

We understand that there's an interim report out from Dr. Hoskins and that the government itself is looking at a model and putting it forward. We would encourage, from our own research, support of a single-payer universal system in order to provide a foundation for everyone, as opposed to a “fill in the gaps” system” [9]

Therefore, New Democrats call upon the Government to implement a universal, comprehensive, single-payer pharmacare program to ensure that low-income seniors can afford the medication they need.

“Women told us the lack of publicly-funded dental care is also a significant barrier to well-being, given their low-incomes in old age.”[10]

Therefore, New Democrats call upon the Government to implement a universal comprehensive dental and vision care program for low income seniors.

“In terms of supporting senior women survivors of violence and abuse, we learned that violence has a significant impact on ageing. Some women do experience violence in old age. Others experienced violence as children or younger women that continues to impact their quality of life. In particular, historic trauma has had an enduring impact on the lives of indigenous older women. Keeping their children and youth safe is a priority.” ^[11]

Therefore, New Democrats call upon the Liberal government to fulfill its promise of a national action plan to end gender-based violence, including focus on elder abuse.

And therefore, New Democrats call upon the Government of Canada to immediately demonstrate leadership and coordinate federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal government responses to protect women, senior women and girls against violence, via a National Action Plan – to  ensure equality of access to services across and within jurisdictions in policies, laws, and education, and to prevent and address violence against women and girls – and that the National Action Plan be developed working in partnership with Indigenous peoples and communities.

HOUSING:

The committee heard from several witnesses on the importance of safe, affordable housing as a factor contributing to senior women’s poverty and vulnerability. New Democrats stand with progressives worldwide who understand that access to safe, affordable housing is a human right. Canadians are experiencing a housing affordability crisis that has compounding and intersectional impacts on senior women when we consider that they have experienced pay inequities throughout their lifetime as a result of the gender wage gap and providing unpaid care work. The impacts on diverse groups of women – racialized women, disabled women, women of colour, immigrant women and Indigenous women, are even greater. The Canadian Government has a responsibility to ensure that safe, affordable housing is accessible to all Canadians, including senior women.

“Appropriate housing is a basic human right for all Canadians. For older people, that means clean, accessible housing that meets their needs for independence, dignity, safety and social participation, yet here is the reality for older women in Canada: 27% are in core housing need, meaning after housing costs they don't have enough money for food, medication and transportation.” [12]

“What this tells us is that many have little income above and beyond what's available through basic pensions. They have the basic OAS/GIS, and a modest CPP, depending on their work history. It also tells us why, for instance, core housing need is so acutely high among older women; in particular, women living on their own. It tells us why many face untenable choices each day of paying for the high cost of housing, medication, food or other basics.” ^[13]

Therefore, New Democrats call upon the Government of Canada to immediately introduce legislation that recognizes housing as a basic human right.

And therefore, New Democrats call upon the Government of Canada’s to immediately invest, without delay, in affordable housing as part of its National Housing Strategy, to address the housing affordability crisis that disproportionally affects senior women.

And therefore, New Democrats call upon the Government of Canada to include in its National Housing Strategy, in partnership with provinces and territories, a specific stream addressing senior care and that the federal government ensure that this is enforced across all jurisdictions in Canada.

FINANCIAL SECURITY:

The committee heard from several witnesses that financial security in senior years is hugely affected by income disparities experienced by women during their lifetime leading up to the age of 65. These income disparities are the result of the gender pay gap that pays women less than men for work of equal value, as well as time spent out of the paid workforce raising children and caring for family members in the home. All these factors result in decreased ability to contribute to pension plans, be they employer-provided, private contributions, or contributions to Canada Pension Plan.

“divorce, separation or widowhood may alter women's income or housing through, for example, the move from home ownership to rented accommodation; how the onset of illness or impairment may prompt changes to labour, income, mobility or housing through, for example, part-time work or early departure as a result of injury; the short- and long-term impacts of immigration related to care trajectories, including, for example, how low income and/or reduced pension contributions may affect financial security in late life; and transitions between locations of care, such as home, hospital and long-term care….Disadvantage can accumulate across the life course through structures that produce inequality and heighten insecurities and risk. For example, women's labour and care trajectories may result in poverty, which can have knock-on effects in relation to housing stability, access to care, transportation, health and well-being... Proposed solutions include strengthening public pension to protect those most in need, including consideration for unpaid care as part of the calculation; developing public care systems and accessible public transportation, particularly for low-income women; the provision of social housing that is safe and affordable and can accommodate changing mobility needs; and ensuring justice across programs to ensure that situations such as being discharged from hospital to the street do not occur.” [14]

“we have three recommendations related to income security. We recommend that the government enhance the old age security and guaranteed income supplement programs; amend the Canada pension plan to include a dropout provision, parallel to the child rearing provision, that would be applicable to all years of full-time family caregiving; and develop programs providing better financial, housing, and other supports to senior women who are the primary caregivers of underage children, particularly indigenous women. What happens often is that eligibility terminates when you turn 65, but caregiving does not stop.” ^[15]

“One of the key policy issues that emerged from this research was the loss of pensionable earnings experienced by unpaid family caregivers. CCEL recommended an expansion of the CRP to include eldercare and other forms of adult caregiving or the introduction of a parallel adult caregiving drop-out provision.” ^[16]

“Caregiving has a significant impact on older women’s lack of income security during retirement years. Many Women commented that their Canada Pension Plan payments were very low because they had spent many years out of the paid work force caring for children and spouses. As one woman explained, succeeding generations of women may face the same fate, …. Women on CPP Disability who have custody of their grandchildren pointed out that it is unfair that they lose the child benefit when they turn 65 and go on regular CPP” [17]

Therefore, New Democrats call on the Government to amend the Canada Pension Plan to include drop-out provisions parallel to the Child-Rearing Provision that would be applicable to all years of full-time family caregiving, including care of elders, extended family and community members.

New Democrats call on the Government to amend the rules for CPP such that women receiving a disability benefit and caring for a grandchild receive continued CPP child care benefits after the age of 65.

New Democrats would therefore amend Recommendation 3 of the Standing Committee’s report to read:

That the Government of Canada make changes to the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) and Old Age Security (OAS) programs to improve senior women’s economic security such as ensuring adequate benefits to lift every senior woman out of poverty; ensuring that senior women who are financially vulnerable, including newcomers to Canada, are aware of and have access to OAS; increasing the GIS benefits and earning exemption; and extending GIS benefits of a deceased recipient to a surviving spouse for the duration of the surviving spouse’s lifetime.

The Committee heard about the need to ensure workers in the caregiving industry have access to secure work and adequate pay to provide quality care to senior women in long-term care. These workers are more often than not, women themselves and experience all the negative factors contributing to their own poverty and vulnerability as seniors. A publicly funded system of home and long-term care for seniors would ensure sustainability, not only for senior women requiring these services, but for the caregivers providing them.

New Democrats support the increase of targeted funding to provinces and territories for the purposes of supporting home and community care and creating national standards and guidelines for standardization of care across the country [18]enforceable under the Canada Health Act.

In addition, lack of protection for employee pension plans when companies declare bankruptcy, such as the Sears Canada bankruptcy, demonstrate the potential for senior women to be left with pension incomes that are drastically reduced from what these same women had expected to receive after retirement. Pension contributions are deferred wages, and the refusal to acknowledge this fact on the part of corporations and the Government of Canada is unconscionable.

New Democrats call on the Government of Canada to implement NDP MP Scott Duvall’s Private Member’s Bill C-384 to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) and the Companies Creditors and Arrangement Act (CCAA) to bring any pension plan fund to 100% before paying any secured creditors, and to prevent a company from stopping payment of any retirement benefits during any proceeding under the BIA or CCAA.

JUSTICE:

In Canada and around the world, violence against women is shockingly prevalent. Domestic violence or Intimate Partner Violence is still one of the most common forms of violence against women in Canada. Indigenous women are seven times more likely to be murdered than non-Indigenous women. Thousands of Indigenous women in Canada have been murdered or gone missing over the past 30 years. Sexual assaults experienced by Indigenous women are more than three times that of non-Indigenous women, and women with disabilities experience rates of violence nearly three times higher than non-disabled women. [19]

“Prevalence studies show that between 15% and 30% of older women report intimate partner violence at some time over their life (e.g. Bonomi et al., 2007). Incidence studies showed that 8.6% of currently partnered women experienced intimate partner violence since turning age 55 (Zink et al., 2005). Older women who experience intimate partner violence require appropriate access to services that meets their needs. Domestic violence services are often not attuned to meeting the needs of older women (LeBlanc & Weeks, 2013). In addition, adult protection services are often not attuned to the dynamics of intimate partner violence. The impact of leaving a relationship in later life can be even more dramatic than for younger women, such as a greater impact of the loss of financial security combined with poor health reducing the ability to earn an income, and the loss of a long-term home and pets (Hightower, Smith, & Hightower, 2006).” [20]

Therefore, New Democrats renew their call to the Liberal government to fulfill its promise of a national action plan to end gender-based violence, including a focus on elder abuse.

And New Democrats call upon the Government of Canada to immediately demonstrate leadership and coordinate federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal government responses to protect women, senior women and girls against violence, via a National Action Plan – to  ensure equality of access to services across and within jurisdictions in policies, laws, and education, and to prevent and address violence against women and girls – and that the National Action Plan be developed working in partnership with Indigenous peoples and communities.

INCLUSIVE SOCIETY:

The committee heard from several witnesses regarding the need to create and nurture an inclusive environment with accessibility to services for diverse senior women. Access long term care options for senior women in the LGBT2S+ community was highlighted as a priority.

“Shortages of long-term care beds disproportionately affect older women. For Canadians age 80 and older, women are much more likely than men to live in a nursing home, chronic care or long-term care hospital or residence for senior citizens (Statistics Canada, 2011). While enhancing community-based services such as homecare is imperative (Better Home Care in Canada: A National Action Plan, 2016), these services can not meet the needs of all older adults who experience physical and/or cognitive frailty and do not have family or friends able to care for them. Those who identify as LGBTQ2+ are particularly vulnerable as they experience invisibility and discrimination in accessing community-based health and social services and long-term care (Brotman, Ryan & Cormier, 2003; Furlotte, Gladstone, Cosby, & Fitzgerald, 2016).” [21]

In addition, the availability of accessible, safe and affordable public transit was also identified by several witnesses as fundamental to providing community access for senior women and reducing their risk of vulnerability. Of particular importance is access to transit options for disabled women and for women in rural and remote locations. Access to transit should be viewed as a human right. It is one of the social determinants of health and should be funded accordingly. ^[22]

“research indicates that women with disabilities are more likely to be the target of sexual assaults in transit environments. In terms of accessible or specialized transit usage among women with disabilities, the risk increases with the severity of disability. A lack of access to information about transportation and travel, coupled with limited financial assistance, prevents women with disabilities from fully participating in social life. Of the women who report either a severe or very severe disability, 46% report difficulty in using public or specialized transportation. For women in the north, of course, this is particularly true.” [23]

Therefore, New Democrats call upon the Government of Canada to recognize its obligations under the UN Committee for Disabled Persons and develop policies and programs to address the intersectional impacts of disability on women as they progress through the workforce, family life and age.

RECONCILIATION:

The committee heard from several witnesses who spoke to the gaps in services, programs and care for senior women in the Indigenous community. 

“First nations women aged 50 to 64 have decreased access to primary care outside of hospitals. As I mentioned earlier, it depends on how we purchase services, and how isolated and remote the communities are. It's a general trend, across the board, for most communities purchasing those services, and having access to continual, consistent, adequate and safe primary health care for communities, particularly for our elders....” ^[24]

“There are no facilities in Inuit Nunangat for dementia care. As a result, elders are routinely being sent to residential care facilities thousands of kilometres away. Here in Ottawa, there are around 30 Nunavummiut elders at Embassy West Senior Living. In my region, because of the lack of long-term care facilities, our elders are being sent to facilities in Inuvik and Yellowknife, which often have long wait-lists. We should not have to send our elders out of our communities or down south for specialized care. Saying that it is challenging and expensive to provide care for Inuit Nunangat is not an excuse…     Many of our elders who are being sent out of Inuit Nunangat to the south for care are the same elders who experienced colonization and residential schools first-hand, only this time they are being sent away and will never return. First they took our children and now they are taking our elders. Our families and communities are losing our elders. They should not be removed from their families, traditional foods, language, culture and environment. In another 50 years, will there be another payout and an apology for this? This is not reconciliation…. Inuit women are the main providers of care for family members, including elders. The federal government must take leadership in consultation with Inuit women to develop a solution to provide for dignity and better quality of life for our elders. This requires a dual investment, both in facilities that incorporate our way of life and in building capacity within our own communities so that we can take of our elders.” [25]

New Democrats call upon the Government of Canada to respect its obligations to reconciliation with Indigenous people and ensure that services for senior women such as home care, extended care, and homeless shelters are available locally without forcing elders to relocate long distances from their families and communities.

SUMMARY:

National leadership is long overdue to coordinate responses to the needs of senior women in Canada experiencing poverty and vulnerability; yet successive Liberal and Conservative governments have failed to act. To date, the Trudeau government has failed to translate its feminist rhetoric into real change. As the curtain falls on the 42^nd Parliament and we move closer to the 2019 Federal Election, Canadians will remember that governments have a responsibility to deliver affordability, safety and security in the form of accessible public services – health care, affordable housing, child care, pension security, a clean environment and sustainable energy solutions. All of these are achievable, affordable and sustainable if there is the political will to accomplish them. New Democrats are ready to get to work on these goals now. Canadians have had enough of empty promises anchored in a future beyond the next election. We don’t have time to wait for life to get better. Senior women don’t have time to wait. The time to act is now.

New Democrats urge the Canadian government to demonstrate leadership by walking the talk, and by dedicating the political and financial support, resources and funding to meet the needs of Canada’s senior women. It’s beyond time to put words into action.

FINAL NOTE:

A word about the process by which this report was undertaken and produced: In our opinion, the overly-ambitious schedule adopted by the Liberal majority on this committee at the beginning of the Parliamentary session was designed to create the illusion of Liberals working diligently for Canadians rather than producing a fulsome document and recommendations. As a result, this dissenting/supplementary report is being drafted at the same time as the committee is finalizing its draft report; any overlaps between the two reports are the result of drafting our dissenting report without having a final committee report to work from or rebut. This lack of consideration from the government in planning ahead does not serve the witnesses who provided testimony in the hopes of contributing to a substantive and meaningful report; nor does it respect the staff, analysts and translators who are required to produce these reports with inadequate time and resources. In the future, we hope that the standing committee take this into consideration when setting future agendas.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the New Democratic Party