Speech from Minister Jean-Yves Duclos - Seniors’ Summit: “Together Towards the Future”  Fédération des aînées et aînés francophones du Canada  

Ottawa, Ontario

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Check against delivery

Hello everyone, and thank you very much to Mrs. Blouin for that nice introduction.

What a pleasure to be with you today!

First of all, I would like to respectfully acknowledge that the lands on which we gather today are the traditional lands of the Algonquin people.

I would like to thank the Fédération des aînées et aînés francophones du Canada and the Fédération des aînés et retraités francophones de l’Ontario for this charming invitation. I am deeply honoured.

I am the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development. Considering the fact that I am responsible for most of the programs for seniors, it is also my privilege to be the minister of seniors. I am your minister.

I strongly believe that those who built our country deserve a worthy and secure retirement. And I also recognize your substantial and continued contributions to your communities—as workers, neighbours, parents, grandparents, spouses, caregivers and volunteers.

Did you know that protecting vulnerable seniors is one of the main reasons why I went into politics?

For 23 years, I was an economics professor at Université Laval in Quebec City. A lot of my research was about population aging.

When the previous government decided to increase the age of eligibility for Old Age Security from 65 to 67, I noted that they did not fully understood the consequences of this change, especially on our most vulnerable seniors.

So I formed a team of researchers to assess the likely social and economic effects of the change in the age of eligibility for Old Age Security.

According to our results, this change would have plunged about 100,000 seniors, aged 65 and 66, into severe poverty, every year. That’s 100,000 more seniors in poverty per year! This represented a tripling of the poverty rate of these seniors, from 6% to 17%.

Furthermore, senior women would have been the most affected: a middle-income senior would have seen her income drop by a third.

The worst consequences would have been for the individuals less able and less likely to adapt their work behaviour and their saving habits in order to protect themselves from this increase in the age of eligibility. The previous government didn’t take the time to understand the effect of this reform and didn’t want to care.

So I went into politics to better support the seniors of our country. And now, I am a minister, with a bit more power to do it.

I am here to talk to you about our government’s global approach in regard to seniors, but first, I’d like to acknowledge that I recognize the challenges you face, as do many French-speaking minority communities across the country.

I know it’s not always easy. I spent many years in Alberta and England, so I know what it’s like to live in English and dream in French.

I congratulate you for your efforts and success in protecting our French language, generation after generation.

I know that having a grandchild being able to tell you “Je t’aime, grand-maman, et grand-papa” is precious, especially when he or she grew up in Alberta, or Yukon, or Nova Scotia or Ontario.

As a matter of fact, I just signed a historic agreement with the provinces and territories about child care, and we wish to ensure that more child care services are offered to children from linguistic minorities.

I hope that French can flourish even more across our country. And that’s the reason why I work closely with my colleague, Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, to ensure that the federal government’s services are always available in French everywhere in Canada.

Let’s now talk a bit more directly about my government’s program for seniors.

We all know that Canadian population aging is real. In 2015, the number of people aged 65 and older was greater than the number of children aged 14 and under—a first in our history.

Based on demographic projections, seniors will represent approximately 23% of the total population in 2031, up from 17% in 2016.

The question is: What should we do differently?

As a government, we try to implement initiatives aiming to achieve four specific objectives for seniors:

1. Income security

2. Affordable housing

3. Health

4. Social inclusion

1. Income Security

Firstly, our government is taking steps to improve your income security. It is the basis of our strategy.    

We restored the age of eligibility for Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement to 65, instead of raising it to 67 as the previous government had proposed. It was one of the first decisions I made as minister and I am very proud.  

We also increased the Guaranteed Income Supplement by up to $947 per year for single seniors.  

This measure alone improved the financial situation of almost 900,000 seniors and enabled approximately 13,000 seniors, the majority of whom are women, to exit poverty.    

And, for tomorrow’s seniors, we enhanced the Canada Pension Plan, increasing retirement benefits and increasing financial security for future generations.  

2. Affordable housing

Secondly, we plan to improve housing conditions for older Canadians.  

All Canadians deserve safe, adequate and affordable housing.   

We are working to increase access for seniors, particularly vulnerable seniors, to affordable housing by investing in the construction, repair and adaptation of housing for seniors.  

In Budget 2017, we invested $200 million for this purpose, which will transform housing conditions for 5,000 senior households.

Over the past year, we have collaborated with the provinces and territories and led extensive consultations with Canadians to develop the first National Housing Strategy.

This strategy will allow more Canadians, including seniors, to access housing that meets their needs and that they can afford.

3. Health

Thirdly, in regards to health, our government has heard our seniors' desire to live as long as possible in their own homes and significantly increased its support for home care.  

In addition, our government actively supports implementation of age-friendly communities, communities in which older Canadians can age in dignity and health.

4. Social inclusion

Finally, let’s talk about social inclusion. Our government cares about the well-being and participation of seniors.

You are an important part of our society and you contribute to building our great country.

To encourage your participation, our government funds the New Horizons for Seniors Program. Its main objective is to reduce seniors’ isolation and support their social inclusion.

This program promotes volunteering among seniors, supports mentoring activities and offers essential help to community programs and projects for and by seniors.

Every year, this program provides over $35 million to community projects managed or inspired by seniors as well as to important pan-Canadian projects dealing with issues such as senior abuse and social isolation.

In fact, I would like to mention that today, June 15, is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

We must raise awareness and it’s through organizations such as yours that we can fight harmful behaviour towards our seniors.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, let me say that we are united in recognizing the remarkable contribution of Canadian seniors to our society.

Demographic changes create opportunities. There are more and more seniors. We are living longer and in better health. And you are more and more willing to contribute to our society’s development.

All of this strengthens our nation.

But while demographic change creates opportunities, it also creates challenges that the government has a responsibility to recognize and overcome.

We need your help to overcome these challenges. In fact, I am very grateful for the work that the Fédération des aînées et aînés francophones du Canada has done to make our government aware of this.

You asked that we maintain the age of retirement at 65—and we listened!

You asked that we improve the Guaranteed Income Supplement—and we listened!

You denounce elder abuse—and we join in this!

You fight for the development of a policy on aging in Canada. I am pleased to say that our government supports Motion 106 tabled by Franco-Ontarian MP, Marc Serré. This motion required creation of a national strategy for seniors.

Our government delivered and we will continue to deliver.

We have all the reasons and all the strengths to progress towards the future together.