After a lifetime of hard work, seniors want to live healthy, safe and independent lives. Many seniors want to stay in the homes they built and the communities that support them for as long as possible. The Government of Canada is committed to helping seniors to age in the right place.
Today, the Minister of Seniors, Kamal Khera, announced $1.68 Million in funding for three projects in Alberta under scaling-up for Senior's stream of the Age Well at Home initiative. The Minister made the announcement while visiting the Drive Happiness Seniors Association in Edmonton, which will receive $563,537 for their Rural Access to Transportation Expansion. The Drive Happiness project will expand volunteer-assisted transportation for seniors and increase access to in-home supports in urban and rural settings in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
The selected projects will make a real difference in the lives of seniors. For example, the Parkinson Association of Alberta, which has also received funding, will expand support services for people living with and affected by Parkinson disease. Additionally, the Calgary Immigrant Women's Association will provide services aimed at helping low-income racialized immigrants and newcomer seniors age in place.
Through the Age Well at Home initiative, various organizations are being funded that meet the needs of diverse groups of seniors, including seniors who have a low income, are Black or racialized, Indigenous, members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, seniors who live in rural and remote settings, members of official language minority communities (OLMCs), newcomers, or seniors who speak a language other than English or French.
This announcement builds on the Government's commitment to improving the quality of life of seniors. To strengthen the financial security of the most vulnerable seniors, the Government of Canada increased both the Old Age Security by 10% for seniors aged 75 and older, and the Guaranteed Supplement Income up to $947 annually for low-income single seniors. Importantly, these benefits are indexed to ensure they can keep up with the cost of living and they can never go down. Budget 2023 introduces the new Canadian Dental Care Plan which will become accessible to eligible seniors by the end of 2023. Upon full implementation, the program will help up to 9 million uninsured Canadians to get the dental care they need and help ensure they don't have to choose between taking care of their health and paying the bills at the end of the month. Through Budget 2023, the Government is also providing one-time Grocery Rebate to help the Canadians hardest hit by the rising of food prices. Seniors were among those who received additional funds in their pockets on July 5th.
