Notes for Inaugural Address to the National Seniors Council

Hon. Marjory LeBreton, P.C.

Leader of the Government in the Senate and Secretary of State (Seniors)

May 25, 2007

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Good morning everyone, bienvenue.

I’m sure this is a very proud day for all of you. I know it certainly is for me.

In the last federal election campaign – which now seems like a long time ago – our Government promised to create a Minister responsible seniors, someone who can stand up on their behalf and speak to their interests at the Cabinet table.

On January 5, Prime Minister Harper summoned me to Rideau Hall where I was appointed Secretary of State for Seniors. It was a tremendous honour to take on this huge responsibility.

In that same election – where I had the opportunity to travel on the National Tour with Prime Minister Harper and meet with seniors and others – we said we would create a National Seniors Council to advise Canada’s New Government on seniors issues of national importance.

Today, as I look around this room, I am proud to say that we have delivered.

This is a proud day for me, and I’m sure it is for each of you. Today you sit at this table as members of Canada’s National Seniors Council.

The mandate of the National Seniors Council is to advise the Government on issues of national importance to Canadian seniors.

Your role as Council members is to help ensure that our Government’s policies, programs and services meet the evolving needs of seniors, and meet the challenges Canada faces as a result of our rapidly growing and aging population.

That is no small task.

But when I look around this room, I know we have a Council that is more than capable of delivering on the high expectations Canadians have of us, especially seniors.

Jean-Guy Souliere, our Chair, is a distinguished former public servant with a proven track record among Canadian seniors and seniors groups.

He brings to our Seniors Council over 29 years of administrative experience in the public sector, and 15 years directly serving the interests of seniors.

I know I can rely on Jean-Guy to lead our Seniors Council and get results for Canada’s seniors because that is exactly what he has been working to do for the last 15 years of his life: representing seniors, standing up for their interests, and working to get results.

Since 2002, Jean-Guy has been Chair of the Congress of National Seniors Organizations, one of the largest seniors’ stakeholder networks in the country. Since 1994, he has represented Canadian pensioners as Executive Director of the Federal Superannuates National Association.

I hope the appointment of the head of one of Canada’s top seniors’ networks shows that our Government takes seriously the Seniors Council’s ability to engage seniors and seniors groups from coast to coast.

And even though he has been speaking on behalf of seniors for nearly two decades, Jean-Guy will be the first to tell you: he’s not yet a senior himself!

When Minister Solberg, Minister Clement and myself set out to name someone to Chair our Council, we knew we needed someone who can lead. Someone who has the ear of seniors and seniors groups, and someone who can initiate a dialogue that will lead to this Council providing recommendations to our Government that are both real, and realistic.

Real, because they provide tangible, immediate benefits to Canadian seniors.

And I say realistic, because they are recommendations that take into account Canada’s diverse seniors population, the unique role of the provinces and their relationship with the federal government, and the commitments our Government has made to seniors – including the realities facing any Government that must balance its decisions with the interests of all Canadians.

Council Members, as you carry out your responsibilities: meeting with experts, consulting stakeholder groups – I expect many of you will find that seniors, by in large, are a relatively content group.

They’ve worked hard, saved responsibly, and are optimistic about their future.

A recent Macleans magazine poll showed just how confident Canadian seniors are about leaving the workforce and embarking on a new chapter of their life.

70% of seniors who responded to the Macleans survey felt they’d done enough to prepare for their retirement. Nearly half of those polled felt they had enough to retire comfortably, and over half of those 65 and up also said they’d be fine.

Only 20% of Canadians surveyed felt strongly that they had not taken the steps necessary to ensure that they’d be able to retire comfortably.

It also seems for many seniors that with age comes wisdom! Over 70% of those polled between 18 and 44 told Macleans that they saw a strong connection between money and the ability to enjoy life to the fullest. But just under half of seniors aged 65 and up agreed.

I strongly believe that when our National Seniors Council begins its work and speaks to seniors, the Council will come to similar conclusions: that the majority of Canadian seniors are a relatively optimistic group, who work hard, pay their taxes, and want to enjoy the rest of their lives in peace, stability, and security.

Since taking office in February of 2006 our Government has not only delivered on our campaign commitments – we have also delivered on several significant measures for seniors that will help ease their tax burden, provide incentives to stay in the workforce, strengthen health care, and help them remain active within their communities.

I would like to take the time this morning to briefly describe some of those measures.

To start, our Government believes that all Canadians – including seniors – pay too much tax. We will always look for ways to ease the tax burden on Canadians, including seniors – and especially our country’s most vulnerable.

That’s why we increased the maximum benefit of the Guaranteed Income Supplement so it will help an additional 50,000 seniors, and passed legislation so seniors never have to find themselves reapplying year after year to receive the GIS.

That’s also why we introduced pension income splitting for seniors couples, which will allow seniors to reduce their tax burden starting in the 2007 tax year.

Budget 2007 also increased the age credit by $1000, from $4,066 to $5,066. This measure will directly benefit low income seniors: a group that needs our help the most.

In total, Minister Flaherty’s Tax Fairness Plan has put $1 billion into the pockets of Canadian seniors – and they deserve every penny.

Budget 2007 also introduced other positive measures to benefit seniors, like increasing the age limit from 69 to 71 for converting a RRSP. This will provide seniors with more opportunities to work and save.

Last year, our Government doubled the pension income credit to $2000. This put almost $900 million back into the pockets of Canadian seniors, and was the first such increase in 30 years. It also took 85,000 seniors off the tax rolls.

Seniors not only deserve tax relief. They also deserve to have grassroots community programs available to them that encourage them to stay active within their communities.

Our Government’s New Horizons for Seniors Program encourages seniors to make a difference in their community. In Budget 2007 we increased the budget of New Horizons by $10 million. We plan to use some of this money to focus on programs to raise public awareness on elder abuse.

The New Horizons for Seniors Program is great for seniors. It’s also a great way to strengthen communities.

Since taking office in January 2006, I believe our Government has accomplished a lot for seniors. We have delivered money for health care, affordable housing, encouraged more seniors to stay in the labour force, and provided tax relief to seniors that need it the most.

But there are still many areas where we can and should act to improve the lives of seniors in this country.

There are two priority areas in particular where I think the National Seniors Council has an opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of Canada’s seniors.

The first is an area which I have identified as a personal priority: providing support to unattached, low-income senior women.

Senior women form the majority of Canada’s seniors. They live longer, and are 60% more likely to suffer age-related injuries than senior men.

Many senior women live alone, often in isolation. Nearly 50% of senior women aged 75 to 84 live on their own. This number is guaranteed to increase in the next decade.

Canada has worked hard to reduce poverty among seniors. In the last 25 years, poverty has fallen from 21% to an all time low of 5.6%.

But unattached seniors have a poverty rate almost 10 times greater than seniors’ couples. The median income for unattached senior women is just $19,000 annually. That is the poorest level of income security among seniors.

Most senior women also don’t have access to their own private pension income or the CPP. Most rely on Old Age Security or the Guaranteed Income Supplement.

This group of seniors needs more than just income support: they need social activity outside their home, and help with housework and other similar tasks, and assistance to stay independent in their homes, if they wish.

They also need protection against criminals and scam artists who prey on our most vulnerable seniors, and support to give those who are physically abused or neglected the courage to speak out.

Which brings me to the second priority area where our Government is looking to the Seniors Council for guidance: the issue of elder abuse.

Most people involved in the study of elder abuse define the issue as “the mistreatment of older people by those in a position of trust, power or responsibility for their care.”

We need to understand: elder abuse is not just physical. It is also financial, emotional, even psychological or sexual. Neglect is also another form of abuse.

Not surprisingly: the vast majority of elder abuse victims are senior women.

According to a 2004 Health Canada report, 75% and 85% of victims of elder abuse in two separate surveys conducted in Saskatchewan and Alberta were senior women.

It is undeniable that elder abuse happens: we hear about it all the time.

But many seniors do not report abuse. Many are scared. Many are isolated. Many are embarrassed to speak out.

And so the statistics on elder abuse are largely unreliable. Right now our best estimates based on 2002 data show us that between 4 and 10% of seniors reported some form of abuse.

Of course, we can only study and learn from the elder abuse cases that are reported. When seniors talk about what’s happened to them, it gives other seniors the courage to do the same. When elder abuse isn’t reported, the wall of silence is allowed to continue.

We need the National Seniors Council to look at ways to reach out to our seniors’ communities on the existence elder abuse – in all its ugly forms.

Secondly, we need the Council to present ways in which we can break down the wall of silence and show to seniors that elder abuse exists, that it is not tolerated, and there is help available in our communities to cope.

Public awareness alone will not lead exclusively to prevention. But if we can get people talking – if we can make seniors understand that elder abuse exists – and how it exists, I think we can make a positive difference.

Many provinces have already taken action. Ontario recently implemented a five year plan to combat elder abuse, focusing on raising awareness and promoting public education.

And as early as 1991 the Seniors Advisory Council of British Columbia identified elder abuse as a priority and established a task force to examine the issue more closely.

Our Government has also acted. Budget 2007 added $10 million to the New Horizons for Seniors Program and some of that money will help combat elder abuse.

I hope the National Seniors Council can come up with realistic proposals to complement this work.

There are of course many other issues where the National Seniors Council can provide direct support to our Government.

In the last 5 months I’ve listened to seniors and seniors groups. They’ve shared with me some of the issues raised by their members. I’ve heard their concerns, and we’ve maintained a dialogue.

Please allow me to share with you a few of those issues.

Many seniors, for instance, have raised with me the issue of mandatory retirement in federally regulated industries, where for some, retirement is mandatory at age 65.

Currently, the average age for retirement is 62. But let’s face it: age for many seniors is a state of mind. Today seniors are staying active and vibrant well past 65.

In fact, it is often said that today’s 65 is the new 45! I know most people at this table would certainly agree.

This issue does not relate just to federally regulated industries. No matter who they are or where they work, seniors should have the opportunity to choose their own future.

For some, that may include remaining in the workforce – perhaps because their income needs demands it, or perhaps because they simply enjoy their job or the environment in which they work.

It should be a matter of choice. That’s why in Budget 2007 we introduced phased retirement, a positive measure that will permit an employer to simultaneously pay a partial pension to their employees aged 55 and up, and provide further pension benefit to the employees as well.

This will provide employers with an incentive to hire seniors, and allow seniors to further their pension benefits while working at the same time.

It is all about choice: if seniors want to stay in the workforce, they deserve that opportunity.

Many provinces have already taken action to amend their labour laws. Last December, Ontario’s Government introduced legislation to abolish mandatory retirement. And in April, the Attorney General of British Columbia introduced a bill to give seniors who turn 65 the option to keep working.

In the months to come, the Seniors Council may also wish to take a closer look at this issue.

As I conclude my remarks to the Council this morning, I must say a few words about an issue which will influence all aspects of the work we are about to undertake together.

I am referring, of course, to our country’s changing demographic landscape.

In the next two decades the number of seniors in Canada will grow tremendously. By 2031, seniors will makeup nearly 25% - one quarter – of our population.

I just mentioned the issue of seniors’ health and wellbeing. Thanks to healthy living and pharmaceuticals, seniors are living longer. By 2041, the average life expectancy for males will be 81, and for females 86.

In 1980, the median age of Canadians was 29 years. In 2000, it was 37. By the year 2050, it will approach 43.

Needless to say, Canada’s aging population will have huge implications on our country’s health care system.

I know today I have raised a number of issues relating to personal security, and income security. But I must say that among the seniors I’ve met with, having access to timely, affordable health care is without a doubt their number 1, top of mind concern.

It is a priority concern because it affects so many seniors on a deeply personal level.

44% of Canada’s health care spending is directly for Seniors, who make up 13% of the population. And remember: seniors aged 80+ is the fastest growing age group in Canada.

Seniors’ access to care – whether it be medical care, caregiving, or long term palliative care – will be a profoundly important issue to Canadians in the next several decades.

Imagine this: there are currently 4 million seniors in Canada. Remember that in the next 20 years, that number will double to roughly 9 million.

Right now there are just 200 working geriatricians, according to a recent CBC radio report.

Currently, in the year 2007, there are eight new students in Canada practicing geriatric medicine. Eight students in the entire country.

In 2011, when the first batch of the baby boomers are set to retire, close to 1/3 of the 200 geriatricians in Canada will have retired themselves.

This is just a snapshot of some of the complex problems that Canada is facing in the decades to come. Our Government has already responded to meet some of these challenges.

One of the main reasons the National Seniors Council was created was to assist our Government in tackling head-on these critically important problems facing our country.

We need the National Seniors Council to understand and grasp some of the hugely important issues that Canada will face in the coming years.

We also need the National Seniors Council to reach out across the country to seniors and their communities.

We need the Council to meet with seniors, and seniors groups. We need you to hear their concerns. But we must work together.

Today I have highlighted areas where I hope the National Seniors Council can make a difference in the lives of Canada’s seniors.

Now I need the National Seniors Council to let our Government know what you think are the most important issues facing seniors today.

Simply put, our communication must be a two way street. This Council has the mandate to study and report on seniors’ issues of national importance.

To do that, the Council will have to seek out those issues by meeting seniors, listening to them, and most of all, by reaching out.

I sincerely hope that we can use this Council as a vehicle to engage the views of all seniors, in all parts of this country.

Our seniors in this country deserve nothing less. They built this country, worked hard, and sacrificed so the next generation could enjoy a better standard of living.

In short, they’ve helped to build this country and make it what it is today.

They deserve to have a say in the issues that matter to them. That’s why we created the National Seniors Council, and that’s why each of us have the privilege of being here today.

As Council members, our Government needs your help to develop ways to help them reach that goal.

As I look around this room, I know we have a Council that is more than capable of delivering on the high expectations all Canadians have of us, but especially seniors.

I don’t think anyone at this table intends to let them down. Thank you.