OTTAWA, ONTARIO, April 6, 2009—The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, and the Honourable Marjory LeBreton, Leader of the Government in the Senate and Minister of State (Seniors), today launched the latest call for proposals under the New Horizons for Seniors Program.
Federal support is available under the Program’s Elder Abuse Awareness component, which helps non-profit organizations develop national, provincial/territorial or regional education and awareness activities for seniors, their families and those who provide services to them, in order to help prevent the abuse of older adults. The Program is accepting proposals from now until May 15, 2009.
“The Government of Canada recognizes the contributions Canadian seniors have made in building our country,” said Minister Finley. “They deserve to have the best quality of life possible—this is an important goal of the New Horizons for Seniors Program. Raising awareness of elder abuse will help to ensure the safety and security of seniors across Canada.”
“Elder abuse is a very serious issue,” added Minister of State LeBreton. “The federal government understands the need to raise awareness to help educate, change attitudes and increase prevention across Canada.”
The New Horizons for Seniors Program has three funding streams. With the two other components—Capital Assistance and Community Participation and Leadership—the overall budget of the Program is now $35 million per year.
Since its beginning, the New Horizons for Seniors Program has funded over 5,000 projects in hundreds of communities across Canada.
For more information about this call for proposals and the New Horizons for Seniors Program, please visit www.hrsdc.gc.ca/seniors.
In Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the federal government made a clear commitment to protect Canadians, including seniors, in difficult times by implementing several key measures:
- Increasing the Age Credit by $1,000 for 2009 and beyond to allow eligible seniors to receive up to an additional $150 in annual tax savings.
- Providing seniors with $200 million in tax relief by reducing the required minimum withdrawal amount for 2008 from Registered Retirement Income Funds by 25 percent, in recognition of the impact of the deterioration in market conditions on retirement savings.
- Helping older workers and their families through these tough economic times by investing an additional $60 million over three years in the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers, and by expanding the number of eligible communities to include older workers in small cities.
- Providing $400 million over two years through the Affordable Housing Initiative for the construction of housing units for low-income seniors.
- Establishing an independent Task Force to make recommendations on a cohesive national strategy on financial literacy for Canadians.
For more information on the Government of Canada’s actions for seniors, please visit: http://www.seniors.gc.ca.
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This news release is available in alternative formats upon request.
For further information (media only):
Michelle Bakos
Press Secretary
Office of Minister Finley
819-994-2482
Media Relations Office
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
819-994-5559
New Horizons for Seniors Program
Across Canada, the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) helps to ensure that seniors are able to actively contribute to and benefit from the quality of life in their communities.
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 of the additional $10 million, the Program offers three types of funding to organizations:
- Community Participation and Leadership funding (up to $25,000 in 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.
- Capital Assistance funding (up to $25,000 in funding): this funding helps non‑profit organizations that need to upgrade facilities or equipment used for existing seniors’ programs and activities. It enables seniors to continue to lead active lives by participating in existing programs and activities in their communities.
- Elder Abuse Awareness funding (for this call, up to $100,000 in funding over two years): this funding helps 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.
