Minister Fantino's Parting Letter
Julian Fantino has been named Associate Minister of National Defense and Alice Wong will now be occupying the position of Minister of State for Seniors. He has written a letter to CARP to thank us for working alongside him during his tenure. Click here to read the letter
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No flies on us! CARP’s first contact with the new Minister of State for Seniors
CARP has already had the opportunity to make inroads with Alice Wong, the newly minted minister of state for seniors. White Rock/Surrey chapter chair Jack Mar and board member Denice Thompson were at the Richmond Focus on Seniors Expo yesterday where they were approached by the new Minister. Read more
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CARP welcomes new Minister of State for Seniors and looks forward to her to champion the cause of older Canadians in new Parliament to act promptly on election promises.
TORONTO, ON: CARP wanted to be among the first to welcome the Honourable Alice Wong, the new Minister of State for Seniors and to brief her on the issues which CARP has raised with her predecessors and which in fact were addressed during the recent election. CARP released its open letter to Minister and its briefing on CARP’s priority issues. Read more
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Message to CARP members from Ontario Minister of Transportation
Greetings CARP Members
Last Wednesday, I was pleased to attend the historic launch of CARP’s downtown Toronto chapter and to bring greetings on behalf of our Premier Dalton McGuinty as well as talk to you about some issues that are important to you and CARP.
CARP’s work to promote and protect the interests, rights and quality of life for Canadians as we age has cemented its deserved reputation as a leader in effective advocacy – I applaud each and every member for their outstanding contributions. Read more
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Accountability in City Government: The City of Toronto's Ombudsman
Municipal government has a responsibility to provide services that are fair to all of its communities. As part of that accountability, the Ombudsman was established by the City of Toronto Act, which assures that this office is independent. My role is to provide a ‘check and balance’ – to even the playing field between citizens and their government. Read more
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CARP welcomes Ontario Conservative promise to remove HST on Home Energy – but should target lower income seniors
CARP members would welcome the HST relief promised by Tim Hudak, Leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party in today’s announcement but not at the expense of other public services. Relief should be targeted at those who need it the most. Read more
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The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party is hoping that Ontarians are up for a change, come election time
Today, the Ontario PCP released its $7.2 billion election platform, called Change Book, which focuses on reducing energy costs, lowering a number of taxes, and maintaining investments in healthcare and education. The plan foresees the $16.7 billion budget deficit being wiped out by 2017-18, the same year as the Liberals have forecast. Older voters and multigenerational families, however, were targeted with a number of policies proposals. Read more
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Counsel from prominent Canadians
With Prime Minister Stephen Harper having secured the majority he wanted, Carmen Chai asks some influential people what advice they would give him at this point
Dear Prime Minister Harper, there has been unprecedented attention paid in this election to issues that resonate with older Canadians. Every party made promises to address pension reform, caregiver support, poverty among pensioners and elder abuse. Such consensus should let Parliament move quickly on these pressing issues. Read more
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Susan Eng's Open Letter to the Prime Minister
Your promises to eliminate mandatory retirement and increase sentencing for elder abuse are long overdue protections for the rights of older Canadians and should be the first order of business.
Health care reform is your next major challenge and CARP members consistently call for restructuring public service delivery rather than increasing taxes, imposing user fees or cutting services. Home care, primary health care teams, chronic disease management, bulk purchasing of drugs and fending off demands to extend drug patent protection are opportunities to contain costs and ensure adequate funding for necessary public services. Read more
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Nations must better adapt to greying world: Report
Nations need to improve on their long-term care strategies to accommodate a growing demand for eldercare services as the world's population of seniors steadily increases, a new Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development report says.
The latest OECD report, released Wednesday, told its 34 member countries — which include Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia — to consider new policies that would fight high turnover for professional caregivers and help informal caregivers, such as family and friends. Read more
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Wong a big step up from Fantino: NDP critic
“Every party made promises to address pension reform, caregiver support, eliminating poverty among pensioners and dealing with elder abuse. And now that there is a strong majority government with an official Opposition party that was even more expansive on those promises, there will be no excuse for not acting on these pressing issues. ” Read more
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Parliamentary budget officer calls Canada's population an age-old problem
Now that the Conservatives have their majority, they need to figure out how Canada is going to cope with an aging population before it's too late to avoid serious economic harm, says the country's fiscal watchdog.
Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page says the government has so far failed to confront the enormous health-care, pension and productivity implications that are no longer a long-term discussion but an immediate issue. Read more
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Budget and Throne Speech
‘Nobody likes surprise’s was a constant reminder by Prime Minster Stephen Harper on the campaign trail. His promise to Canadians was that if elected with a majority, the conservatives would reinstate the budget tabled before the election was called and proceed with a steady, predictable hand.
Re-appointed Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told the CBC that "While minor tweaks and adjustments will be presented, this will almost exclusively restate all the same commitments made two months ago in the budget, along with some platform commitments". Read more
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Previous Issues of CARP Action Online
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CARP Post Election Poll Report
Members are evenly split on whether they are satisfied or dissatisfied with the results of the federal election, but majorities agree a Conservative majority government will be good for Canada and that the NDP will make an effective opposition. Members disagree that the Liberals and NDP should explore a merger.
While members approve of the focus given issues of interest to older Canadians in the Conservative budget and platform, they insist it is important for the government to enhance these program offerings to at least the level offered by the opposition parties during the campaign. Read more
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How Does The CARP Poll™ Stack Up?
May 30, 2011: The day before the last election and this one, CARP polled its members on their preferences. How did these final polls match the actual election results? Read more
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Taxing Questions: What to Make of BC’s HST Debate
It’s difficult to know what to make of all this: since the HST was introduced economists, politicians, former premiers, think-tanks, commentators, columnists, taxation experts and members of the public have all weighed in and it seems that amidst all the noise there is no consensus to take to the bank.
What’s more, there is a deep sense of distrust with the way the politicians have handled the HST. At the outset, the BC Liberals had said they would not bring in the HST. But once elected, they implemented it anyway. They also oversold the HST, relying heavily on a report from Calgary economist Jack Mintz who said that it would trigger 113, 000 new, “better-paying jobs”. Now, it turns out that the government-appointed panel has undermined several of the government’s selling points for the HST. Read more
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Caregiver's Diary: Another Journey Begins
My wife has been dealing with her own father's esophageal cancer. In her own words:
The first time you hear the word ‘Palliative’ it gives you a start. My Dad and I heard it the first time after his radiation treatments for esophageal cancer had concluded. Dad was still tired and had some stomach discomfort a month after the treatments and his radiologist didn’t think it was the radiation effects doing it. But he couldn’t be sure. At any rate, he had done what he could for Dad, who, at 88, was not a candidate for surgery or chemo, and now was referring him to another doctor at the hospital where he was being treated: a Palliative Care Specialist. Her name came on a card, which he handed us. It was in black and white, the word “Palliative” clear and impressive. She would be Dad’s contact from now on. Did we have any questions? Read more
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Limited Returns on Investment with Expensive Private Sector Pensions
Australian Pension Study finds that high fees and costs of private sector pension plans seriously limit investment returns for pensioners
A new study, called Redesigning Choice and Competition in Australian Superannuation, has found that the high fees and costs of private sector pension plans in Australia seriously limit investment returns for pensioners. All the more reason for a public option and real competition.
The Australian Superannuation model was founded on the assumption that market competition will deliver economic efficiency in a largely private, defined contribution system.
The report, commissioned by the government of Australia, shows that while total assets in the system have grown substantially through contributions, net earning from investments were relatively low. Read more
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Historic Toronto Chapter Launch
The launch of the downtown Toronto CARP Chapter exceeded all expectations as close to 500 CARP members and others interested in our "New Vision of Aging for Canada" joined on the campus of U of T last Wednesday evening.
Interim Downtown Toronto Chapter Chair, Adina Lebo was delighted at the turn out, as she shared her vision for the Chapter and the many projects and plans her Board already has in the works... as she solicited the support of members to fulfill those plans. Read more
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Watching Out For Ontario's Most Vulnerable Seniors
McGuinty Government Develops Silver Advisory, Seniors With Dementia Better Protected
Ontario is developing a program to help quickly find seniors with Alzheimer's and other cognitive impairments when they are missing.
The program will establish a standard province-wide model that communities can use to alert the public when vulnerable seniors go missing and may be in danger. The program will be the first of its kind in Canada. Read more
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