Chasing the seniors' vote

Now that one in six Canadians is over 65, we've become a key demographic, one that bothers to vote, and the politicians are taking notice. Great, you might say, now we can get to work on those key issues for seniors: things like pensions that take us above the poverty line; a reliable accessible healthcare system; good quality home care and long term care that meets our needs as we age; housing we can afford to live in on a fixed income. So what are the major parties offering us?

Conservatives

• Expand the pension income credit for single or widowed seniors, amounting to about $300 per year.
• Increase the contribution limit for tax-free savings accounts.
• Relax rules around withdrawals of registered retirement funds.

Liberals

• Invest in affordable housing and seniors' facilities.
• Restore eligibility for OAS and GIS from 67 back to 65.
• Increase GIS by 10% for single, lower-income seniors.
• Create Seniors Price Index to track the cost of goods typically purchased by seniors, and peg OAS and GIS to this index.
• Work with the provinces to enhance the CPP.
• Extend flexibility of compassionate leave for caregivers.

NDP

• Create a national housing strategy to expand access to affordable housing.
• Expand home care for seniors, create more nursing home beds, improve palliative care.
• Restore eligibility for OAS from 67 back to 65.
• Increase GIS, which affects the poorest seniors.
• Work with the provinces to enhance the CPP.
• Launch a national Alzheimers and dementia strategy.
• Launch a national pharmacare program; federal government would negotiate for lower prices for generic drugs.
• Launch a tax benefit to support caregivers looking after family members at home.
• Boost the compassionate care benefit available through Employment Insurance.

We're a disparate group, especially in terms of income, but share many crucial issues, like healthcare, supportive care, pensions and appropriate housing. These issues require some coordinated long-term planning from all three levels of government, and a strong, unified, authoritative advocacy voice from among our ranks. It's not good enough to be sliced, diced, and boutiqued at election time. For the sake of all those baby boomers heading into their senior years, let's roll up our sleeves, prepare our research, create our networks, agree on common ground, and make our influence felt. October 20 would be a good day to start.