WESTVILLE, NOVA SCOTIA, January 15, 2008 — The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, on behalf of the Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, and the Honourable Marjory LeBreton, Leader of the Government in the Senate and Secretary of State (Seniors), today announced funding for 47 projects under the New Horizons for Seniors Program, to ensure seniors in Nova Scotia have the opportunity to participate and take an active leadership role within their communities.
Total funding of $619,901 is being provided to support 35 communities throughout Nova Scotia.
"The Government of Canada is proud to support seniors in strengthening our communities and building our country," said Minister MacKay. "These projects will encourage seniors to continue sharing their skills, wisdom and experience to benefit others."
In the 2007 federal budget, the Government of Canada announced an additional investment of $10 million per year for two new components of the NHSP: raising awareness of elder abuse, and providing capital assistance for upgrades to facilities and equipment used for existing seniors' programs. Projects funded under these new components will be announced in the spring of 2008.
The federal government is also acting to address the needs of Canada's seniors through the introduction of a series of important measures that include:
establishing the National Seniors Council to advise the Government on issues of importance to older Canadians;
enabling 1.6 million low-income seniors to benefit from increased monthly benefits available under the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) and to make a one-time application for the GIS. As long as these seniors file income tax returns every year, they will never have to reapply;
providing more than $1 billion in tax relief to Canadian seniors and pensioners in Budget 2007;
allowing seniors to build their retirement savings in Registered Pension Plans and Registered Retirement Savings Plans for an extra two years until age 71; and
raising the amount that seniors can claim under the age credit on their tax returns for 2007. With less income taxed, seniors save more.
Since its launch, the New Horizons for Seniors Program has funded over 2,600 projects across Canada, inspiring seniors to bring their leadership, energy and skills to projects that benefit our communities. For more information about the Program, please visit: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/community_partnerships/seniors/index.shtml
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A detailed list of funded projects in Nova Scotia is included in the attached backgrounder.
This news release is available in alternative formats upon request.
Additional information (media only):
Pema Lhalungpa
Press Secretary
Office of Minister Solberg
819-994-2482
Media Relations
Human Resources and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559
backgrounder
New Horizons for Seniors Program
Across Canada, the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) helps to ensure that seniors are able to benefit from and contribute to the quality of life in their community through their social participation and active living. This is achieved by funding community projects that help seniors share their skills, wisdom and experience to benefit others, while reducing their social isolation.
Building on the success of the NHSP, in Budget 2007 the Government of Canada increased the Program's budget by $10 million per year to provide capital assistance for repairs to facilities and equipment related to existing seniors' programs, and to raise awareness of elder abuse across Canada. This has increased the total budget for the NHSP to $35 million per year.
As a result, the Program now offers three types of funding to organizations:
Pre-existing component
Community Participation and Leadership Funding: This funding supports community-based projects across Canada. The projects encourage seniors to continue to play an important role in their communities by helping those in need, providing leadership and sharing their knowledge and skills with others.
New funding components
Capital Assistance Funding: This funding will help non-profit organizations that need to upgrade facilities or equipment used for existing seniors' programs and activities. It will enable seniors to continue to lead active lives by participating in existing programs and activities in their communities.
Elder Abuse Awareness Funding: This funding will help non-profit organizations and coalitions raise awareness of the abuse of older adults on a national or regional level. Through this funding, new educational and awareness resources about elder abuse will be available to improve quality of life, safety and security for seniors.
backgrounder
FUNDING TO NEW HORIZONS FOR SENIORS PROJECTS
IN NOVA SCOTIA
Organization
Project Title
Location
Amount
Cumberland County Genealogical Society
Down Memory Lane
Amherst
$16,200
Cumberland African Nova Scotian Association
"The Community Foundation....from the Group Up!" - a Senior Story
Amherst
$20,000
Club 60
Computer Savvy Seniors
Antigonish
$3,228
Paq'tnkek First Nation Band Council
Paq'tnkek Elders Preservation Project
Antigonish
$15,000
South West Shore Development Authority
Friendly Visiting
Barrington Passage
$7,450
LaHave Islands Marine Museum Society
"Vera Mae" The Boat Project
Bell Island
$12,300
Friends of the Big Bras d'Or Fire Hall
Boularderie Island Seniors Network
Big Bras d'Or
$20,000
Western Area Women's Coalition
The Work We Do-Women Supporting the Social Well-being of their Communities
Bridgetown
$25,000
Rosedale New Horizons
New Sounds & Fun for Seniors (& Guests)
Bridgewater
$1,439
Newport Jolly Seniors Association
Monthly Seniors Birthday & other Celebrations
Brooklyn
$3,888
Cornwallis New Horizons
Improving Senior Lives in Canning
Canning
$12,500
Shamrock Seniors Club
Seniors Taking Responsibility to Oversee New Growth (STRONG)
Canso
$20,000
La Société Saint-Pierre
At my Grandmother's Knees
Cheticamp
$20,700
Coldbrook and District Apple Valley Seniors
Fellowship and Entertainment
Coldbrook
$12,920
Dartmouth Stroke Support Club
Innovative Services
Dartmouth
$15,710
Lake Loon Cherry Brook Senior Citizens Group
(S.A.R.A.) Seniors and Research Activities
Dartmouth
$17,500
Glace Bay and Area Business and Professional Association
S.W.A.P. - Seniors With A Purpose
Glace Bay
$20,430
Glace Bay Senior Citizens and Pensioners Club
Educating Seniors
Glace Bay
$13,920
Residents of MacDonald's Lane Seniors Complex
Seniors on the Move
Glace Bay
$13,750
Chebucto Communities Development Association
Wise Elders in our Neighbourhood
Halifax
$24,850
Joseph Howe Tenant Committee
Joseph Howe Active Seniors
Halifax
$11,010
King's View Academy
Opus for a Miracle
Halifax
$9,000
Sir John Thompson Tenant Committee
Sir John Thompson Citizen Helpers
Halifax
$14,870
Vietnamese Association of Nova Scotia
Vietnamese Intergenerational Project
Halifax
$21,250
Hantsport and Area Historical Society
Genealogy Resource Center
Hantsport
$15,920
Hantsport Elders Project
Outreach to Others
Hantsport
$7,500
Porter's Lake Senior's 50+Club
Operation "Wake Up" and Play, Create & Enjoy Life
Head of Chezzetcook
$10,132
L'Arche Cape Breton Society
Isn't That What Friends Are For
Iron Mines
$16,000
Victorian Order of Nurses Valley Branch
VON Volunteer Visiting with Wings
Kentville
$17,000
Lake Echo Senior Citizens Club
Lake Echo Seniors - Leading the Way
Lake Echo
$8,500
Lansdowne Outdoor Recreational Development Association
Active Seniors "Outdoors"
Lansdowne
$21,220
Sackville Seniors Advisory Council
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Lower Sackville
$12,000
StoneRidge Fellowship Baptist Church
3 F's for Fifty Plus (Friendship, Fellowship & Fun)
Lower Sackville
$11,405
. E. Margaree Seniors & Pensioners Club
Twenty-Fifth Anniversary & Mentorship Drive
Margaree Valley
$10,000
Maple Hill Manor Society
Let Me Tell You My Story
New Waterford
$4,500
North Sydney Seniors and Pensioners Club
Seniors helping Seniors in Mind & Body
North Sydney
$5,000
Healthy Parrsboro & Area Committee
Computer Skills for Seniors
Parrsboro
$7,234
Port Williams Seniors and Pensioners Club
Improving and Educating Seniors in Port Williams
Port Williams
$10,500
River Bourgeois Seniors 50+ Club
Richmond County Seniors Expo 2008
River Bourgeois
$5,282
Springhill Senior Citizens & Retired Pensioners
Springhill Senior Citizens Good Time Band
Springhill
$16,055
Willow Bend Senior's Club
SOS-Serving our Seniors
Stewiacke
$7,750
Bay St. Lawrence Community Center
Heritage Circles
St. Margaret's Village
$8,290
Cape Breton Regional Library Board
Senior's Cafe - Health & Wellness
Sydney
$10,600
Kiwanis Club of Cape Breton Golden K
Ambassador Program
Sydney
$24,483
Pictou Landing and Council
Mawi-elukuti'k (We Are Working Together)
Trenton
$10,050
Multicultural Association of Colchester County
Seniors helping all Shades of Seniors
Truro
$20,465
Seniors Safety Program Association of Hants County
Seniors Working Together-Learning Fun and Fellowship
Windsor
$7,100
