It Should Read "Welcome To HARDER Timesx..."

Ottawa twists new poverty line
Lowballing shelter costs makes ‘Market Basket Measure’ of poverty absurd.

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)

Some Insight For Baby Boomer's Babies...

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.

Can He Still Get Into Timmies....

92-year-old man banned from public library for sexually harassing librarian...

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.

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’

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.

Still Need To Keep Teenage Daughters Locked Away

Great Balls of Fire! Jerry Lee Lewis rocks again at 75

Hiring A Caregiver Is Noble But Is It Caring...

Goar: Elderly caregivers desperately need help

September 08, 2010
Carol Goar

Two million Canadians live this slow-motion tragedy daily. Their families watch with a mixture of guilt, anguish and helplessness. The rest of society averts its eyes.
Informal caregivers — most of whom are seniors — are the beasts of burden of Canada’s health-care system. They provide $25 million a year in unpaid labour, but they often destroy themselves doing it.
Motivated by love, duty or compassion, they seldom complain. And those who try to speak out for them — relatives, neighbours, a few home care organizations and a handful of doctors — are ignored.
Now a major government-funded agency is sounding the alarm.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) issued a report in late August called Supporting Informal Caregivers: The Heart of Home Care. It showed that one in six people caring for ailing seniors at home is in distress. The number shoots up to one in three if the senior has cognitive problems such as Alzheimer’s disease, one in two if the senior is aggressive or abusive.
These are the first authoritative figures on the problem. Up to now, advocates have relied on estimates or anecdotal evidence.
At a time when Ontario is encouraging seniors to stay in their homes for as a long as possible, it is important to know who is providing the support they need.
If a couple is married, the primary caregiver is the spouse. If not, it is typically an adult child. If neither is available, a relative, friend or neighbour takes on the role.
As the demands of caring for the senior increase, so does the toll on the caregiver, resulting in physical exhaustion, depression, anger and conflict with other relatives and friends. With more support, they could get out, meet friends, go shopping, see their grandchildren. But they aren’t getting it. Many don’t even know where to look.
When Dalton McGuinty became premier in 2003, he promised Ontarians, “If you require care, want it in your home and that care costs less than sending you to a hospital or nursing home, we will make sure you get it.”
That pledge must be kept. Other changes are needed as well.
 • Workplaces will have to allow employees the flexibility to help parents or friends experiencing health problems.
 • Ottawa’s compassionate care leave program will have to be modified. It allows a worker to claim up to six weeks of employment insurance when caring for a gravely ill relative or friend.
But it is seldom used because many Canadians find the idea of providing a doctor’s certificate, stating that the person they want to be with faces a “significant risk of death,” repugnant.
 • The Canada Pension Plan will have to be adjusted. It allows workers to take time off to care for young children without jeopardizing their retirement benefits. A similar provision is needed for workers who do the same for aging parents.
 • And the province will have to make it easier for seniors to navigate the health-care system so they know where to go for help.
Now is the time. We know that Canada’s population is aging. We know the incidence of dementia is increasing. And we know people want to remain independent for as long as possible.
That requires home care. It’s part of the health-care system now, as much as doctors, hospitals, drugs and therapy. It has to be funded properly, delivered when it is needed and include support for both the patient and caregiver.
Who will pay? All of us, either through our taxes or through lost earnings, family stress and caregiver burnout.

Carol Goar’s column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

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.

The Really Important Things...

Lucy Waverman

Where there’s smoke, there’s really good brisket

Elizabeth Renzetti

Get over it, kids – oldsters are cool, and occasionally hot

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.

Guilty As Charged With A Defense...

...five decades of contribution of blood, sweat and tears has to count for something and we shouldn't be held accountable for the leftist cradle to grave mantra of PET and his ilk.

Demographic tsunami? Let’s dance!

Seniors perform at the Seniors Jubilee at Roy Thompson Hall. Moses Znaimer says today's active and healthy Zoomers are doing more than just “staying alive.”

Rene Johnston/Toronto Star file photo

 

By Moses Znaimer

Sun May 30 2010

 

When it comes to issues of health and wellness for today’s seniors, there is a crisis that requires our immediate attention: the belief that an aging “tsunami” of Zoomers represents a financial catastrophe in the making. The supposed problems are the health-care and pension burdens we are about to impose on succeeding generations, as they struggle to pay for our huge, decaying demographic. Open any newspaper, walk into any bookstore, type “Boomer” and “crisis” into Google and you can’t avoid dire predictions. (0)

A lesson for Europe from Nate’s Deli

By National Post editorial board  May 29, 2010 – 9:00 am

 

This week, Nate’s Deli at 316 Rideau Street in Ottawa closed its doors after exactly 50 years in business — erasing from the Ottawa landscape a restaurant famous among locals and Parliamentarians alike. After 50 years of cutting smoked meat (1,500 pounds per week) and making chopped liver (24 pounds per day), founder Dave Smith, now 76, is ready to move on.
But Mr. Smith won’t be heading to the shuffleboard court at Del Boca Vista Phase III just yet. First, he is off to Haiti to create new housing for earthquake victims. Mr. Smith also has some local Canadian charities to manage. And in a few years time, he might even get back into the deli business, he tells reporters.
We mention all this in hopes that someone might get the word out to the folks in France. While Parisians may turn their noses up at knishes and latkes, they could learn a thing or two from Mr. Smith’s work ethic. Read More »

Posted in: Canada, Full Comment, Social Issues, World Politics  Tags: Europe, work ethic, retirement