Every senior deserves to age with dignity and choice, in their communities and on their terms.
Today, Canada's Minister for Seniors, the Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr. and the Minister of Health, the Honourable Mark Holland, welcomed a new report from the National Seniors Council (NSC) examining measures to further support Canadians aging at home, titled Supporting Canadians Aging at Home: Ensuring Quality of Life as We Age.
The report provides insights into the services, supports, strategies, and solutions that enable Canadian seniors to age at home on their terms and in good health. It highlights three priority areas for action including additional financial benefits for low-income seniors, reinforced community-based support and services, and new initiatives to promote and help plan for aging, retirement, and life in later years.
The NSC engaged with a diverse audience to prepare its report, including seniors, caregivers, stakeholders, and experts. Through online consultation, roundtables, and interviews, they worked to determine the needs of Canadian seniors and identify the gaps in current supports for aging at home.
The Government is currently reviewing its findings and recommendations.
The Government of Canada is leveraging the care economy to help seniors age on their terms and create good, well-paying jobs for Canadians. In addition to their work, Budget 2024 announced the upcoming introduction of the Safe Long-Term Care Act, so that we can do right by seniors, their families and care workers and make sure that what happened during the pandemic never happens again. Budget 2024 also announced the Government's plans to develop a National Caregiving Strategy to think big on the future of care, and starting up a new Sectoral Table on the Care Economy to listen to the experts on what we can do to tackle the care crisis today. It's all about listening to the people who know best, so seniors can age on their own terms and caregivers have what they need to be at their best.
