Government Doesn't Solve Problems...

...they apply bandaids.

Aging Gracefully?

...or just another example of senior abuse?

Wiarton Willie Rerun...

...the truth about retirement faces you everytime you go into a Home Depot, Walmart, etc.

Hopefully You Are Right John...

...and we will have to wait until March when the buget comes down but in all fairness we are dealing with politicians and they are noted for their manipulation of the English language.

John Ivison: Note to Bob Rae: Yes, we have a pension problem

The NDP will use its opposition day in the House of Commons Thursday to try to embarrass the government over its plans to increase the age at which Canadians are eligible to claim Old Age Security.
The motion hammers Prime Minister Stephen Harper for attempting to “balance the Conservative deficit on the backs of Canada’s seniors.” It’s all good, knockabout stuff and one can hardly blame the New Democrats for subtracting from the sum of human knowledge in the interests of kicking the Tories in the guts.
But, as will become crystal clear once the government gets its act together, the Tories’ proposal to raise the eligibility age for OAS will not take effect for another decade — and even then is likely to be phased in over a period of four years. The reality is that the books will have been balanced for five years before any measures to make people work longer come into force. As importantly, no one now over 50 is going to be impacted.

Read More »

...and The Star offers

Conservative pension reforms would hurt low-income seniors most: Bob Rae

Opposition MPs say low-income seniors would be the real victims of changes to a key element of Canada’s Old Age Security program. (32)

Lost Count Of The Media Scrums...

Dulltoon McGoonty and his Unhealthy Ministry lackeys have held on the problems in nursing homes and elderly problems in general.

VIDEO: Ontario task force to tackle abuse in nursing homes
2011/11/19 10:39:56
The Ontario government has created a task force to stop nursing home abuse, following a Star investigation. (5)

The Media MUST Share The Guilt...

Shed light on abuse cases
Thu Nov 17 2011
When things go wrong in Ontario’s nursing homes, the public should know. (0)

...Penn State has been in the media highlight constantly for the last 10 days but when it comes to abuse of residents the scenaerio is local media publishes an "expose," the Minister Of Health/Premier of the day has a media scrum vowing to implement safeguards -30- Solution: pass legislation that all media must setup a tip line on senior abuse and these are published on a daily basis with a followup within a certain period.

Jonathan Kay on elder abuse: It doesn’t get any worse than this 14 Comments

Nov 17, 2011 2:42 PM ET
Today’s Toronto Star features a sickening story about a 71-year-old woman raped in a nursing home. As awful as this is, the greater tragedy is that for every reported case like this, there no doubt are dozens more that never get reported.
Good on the Star for putting this on the front page. The truth of it is that editors often see little payback in senior-abuse stories, because society has an ageist double-standard in this area. If a child gets abused or harmed in daycare, it’s banner news across all media platforms. But the elder stuff is relegated to special “investigative” reports that win awards, but don’t pull in the readers in the way that child-centered stories do.
The reason: Most children are lucky enough to have a built-in constituency group — their parents. But the sort of elderly people who end up in homes where workers are abusive and incompetent (something that would never be tolerated in childcare facilities) often tend to be childless, or effectively abandoned by their family. (This was not the case in Danae Chambers’ case, I hasten to point out.)
This is one of the few areas where the only real solution is big government: To put more resources into elder-care facilities — including investigators who can snuff out the sort of deviants who assaulted Ms. Chambers, before they commit their crimes.

Bed sores, hunger and neglect: Elderly continue to suffer By Jesse McLean and Moira Welsh
Eight years after an Ontario government promise to revolutionize nursing home care, the elderly are still suffering abuse.

Elder abuse a ‘hidden crime,’ MPs say (1)

Are THC Members Any Less Guilty of Abuse Than The Woman's Family...

'Outraged' Toronto Community Housing CEO vows discipline

The report says staff spent public money on manicures, expensive chocolates and trips to golf courses. (38)

Woman lived in garage for four months


A man and a woman are facing charges after allegations a 68-year-old woman was kept in a non-insulated garage.

It's No Surprise...

Goar: Who is looking after your parents?


By Carol Goar Thu Jan 13 2011

Canada turns to migrant workers to care for its aging population

...when you consider that 2nd and 3rd generation "Canadians" seem to find anything that requires manual labour, dealing with bodily functions, etc. to be demeaning and the majority of persons in nursing and provinding patient care in nursing homes need to be recognized. We have thousands of homeless and able bodied persons on social assistance but we need to bring in migrant workers during havest times.

Pay Heed; Your Time Is Coming...

Goar: Seniors cut through silence on elder abuse

by Carol Goar

A simple solution: Seniors living in poverty


Mon Dec 27 2010

A flaw in the GIS could be fixed by sending it automatically to every eligible senior.

A Little Advice For The Star's Editorial Staff...

...do a computer search for "photo ops by politicians and retirement homes and seniors" and I will bet you will be inundated by the volume...including your candidate, Depends Snivelman, for mayor.

Retirement homes: Seniors need more protection Sun Oct 3 2010


The government has to turn its attention to the bigger challenge of providing safe, humane care for Ontario’s aging population.

Diary: Seven sad days



Video: Undercover at In Touch


Retirement home photos

When It Comes To Seniors Politicos See It As Media Photo Op...

Christie Blatchford


Verdict in seniors’ home fire a call to action – but will anyone listen?

Oct 02, 2010 6:37AM EDT

Ontario under increasing pressure to make sprinklers mandatory.

...and for examples just look back over the last 8 years and a prime example is Depends Snivelman.

Ask Depends Snivelman About His Accomplishments While Minister Of Health...

Lest We Forget

Dirty rooms, bad food at retirement home, reporter finds

Sam, an 82-year-old resident of In Touch retirement home, struggles to get up after falling down. After hearing complaints, the Star's Dale Brazao went undercover as a resident.

By Dale Brazao and Moira Welsh

Fri Oct 1 2010

Star reporter goes undercover to discover neglected residents, bad food and overworked staff.

Diary: Seven days in hell

Look To Ontario To See How Well Liberals Have Dealt With Home Care...

...and I am sure anyone covering the Toronto Mayorality Race could question Depends Snivelman about McGoonty and his successes in this area.

Lawrence Martin

Policy-pinched Liberals eye home-care plan

‘This isn’t about a nanny state,’ said one Grit. ‘This is about people taking care of each other’

Adult Diapers, eHealth, Windmill Farms...

Smitherman has some of it right


By SUE-ANN LEVYToronto Sun

The man who claimed he delivered Ontarians “more for less” as minister of health unveiled a proposed Budget Blueprint Monday that will not just eliminate the city’s operating deficit and bring in more revenue next year.

Lie Down And Play With Skunks...

...no amount of protesting and shifting blame will get rid of the smell.

Growing Old Fraught With Apathy...

...funding for the artsy fartsy crowd, funding for homeless condos, funding for hockey rinks and the list goes on and on and you have to wonder how much this crisis gets.

Globe editorial


Kick at the darkness to fight dementia

In the new world of fearless senior citizens, there is a largely hidden group that should not be forgotten. Those who have dementia will be a large and growing, and difficult-to-care-for, population.

Finally A Study That Has Value...

It's on Mikey!

Time to stave off the effects of aging...

Put more sex in your life: It slows aging. A Scottish study found that thrice-weekly action stripped at least four years off participants' faces, and getting busy even boosts immunity and reduces heart disease. There are beauty bonuses, too — sex perks up your appearance instantaneously.

Jeepers!  On our schedule, I should look like a newborn by now ;)

Wonder Woman

And Survival Puts Them In A Higher Tax Bracket...

  Goar: New pool of cheap labour — seniors

By Carol Goar

Fri Jul 30 2010

 

Canada basks in its reputation as the nation that lifted seniors out of poverty. But increasing numbers need McJobs to survive.

Protection For The People Who Earned It...

Pension myths

 The campaign to give priority-creditor protection to defined-benefit plans rests on five dubious claims
By John Manley

Most Canadians would agree that it makes sense to try to protect the retirement incomes of private-sector workers who are covered by defined-benefit pension plans. On the face of it, that’s the objective behind Bill C-501, an NDP-sponsored bill that recently passed second reading in the House of Commons. The proposed legislation would force bankrupt companies to give so-called “super-priority” status to unfunded pension plan liabilities, on the grounds that this will help to ensure benefits are paid if a company goes out of business.
It sounds simple, but it isn’t. And regrettably, advocates of Bill C-501 have made a number of misleading claims in support of their position, while playing down serious flaws in the legislation.
Here are some examples of the misleading claims made in support of Bill C-501:
Myth Most other developed countries already provide priority-creditor protection to defined-benefit pension plans.

Read More »

Being A Senior...

Bedridden Women Sexually Assaulted At Senior's Home 

Subway attack on senior sparks anger - thestar.com

Beaten 79-year-old lucky to be alive

Wait times for long-term care in Ontario triple since 2005: report

City life can be hostile terrain for the elderly

April Lindgren

04 June 2010 06:00

My 78-year-old neighbour Rosa holds court on her front porch every evening with a few of her equally aged friends. They yak in Italian, greet passersby and berate me for not watering my flowers. I think of them as the neighbourhood mayor and council.
When the evening “meeting” breaks up, Rosa goes inside, Theresa walks a block and a half home, Lucia goes to her house three doors down and Maria limps around the corner to her place.
These women live a good life in our downtown neighbourhood. None of them drive, but there are three drug stores, three butchers, myriad greengrocers, a shoemaker, a half-dozen hairdressers, dentists, lawyers, a doctor’s office, a church, a post office, a hardware store and a subway stop within a few short blocks of home.
Statistics Canada predicts there will soon be a lot more seniors like Rosa and her friends. The number of people 65 and older is expected to nearly double to between 9.9 million and 10.9 million by 2036, up from 4.7 million in 2009.
With 60 per cent of seniors living in communities of more than 100,000, the aging population poses a significant challenge for cities. Simply getting around, for instance, will be a growing problem for the surburban elderly who can no longer drive.
Research suggests that inadequate transit, the lack of nearby amenities and an environment hostile to pedestrians means seniors living in sprawling developments take fewer trips each week than those living in denser, downtown neighbourhoods. They are less likely to leave their homes on any given day. What’s more, traffic lights that change too quickly and streets that are too wide make walking a dangerous endeavour: In 2001, there were 3.7 pedestrian fatalities per 1,000 population among those 65 and older — the highest rate for any age group in Canada.
Cities are hostile places for the elderly in other ways. They lack public toilets. There are too few places to sit and rest. Rough sidewalks make it easy to trip.
Having said all that, there is hope. The first of the baby boomers turns 65 next year and by 2031, they will all be 65 or older. This is a demographic that gets what it wants and if boomers demand better transit, safer intersections, more public toilets and more places to sit — well it just might happen. And that means better cities for people of all ages.