As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s departure from Ottawa grows ever closer, his replacement will be faced with the unenviable task of making financial ends meet, said Moses Znaimer.
Addressing CARP’s annual general meeting, held at Toronto’s ZoomerPlex, as well as thousands more online, Znaimer explained that our “treasury is empty, wasted by years of systematic deficits made against all sanity and against all advice.”
Now, Canada’s already fragile reserves will be further strained while the country fends off tariff threats and economic demands that seem to come daily from U.S. President Donald Trump’s America-first administration.
Znaimer, the chairman and president of CARP’s board and founder, president and CEO of ZoomerMedia Limited wasn’t just critiquing the fiscal policies of the Liberal government – he was warning older Canadians that, with an era of austerity on the horizon, politicians will begin tightening their belts. And he’s worried that the first cuts they make will come at the expense of seniors, starting with Old Age Security.
“They’re going to be looking for the big numbers to save. And you [seniors] are one of the biggest numbers,” he said. “Because there is no other way to find the money.”
The best defence against cuts, he said, is the older demo’s numbers. It’s why he wants CARP to grow its membership, creating a bloc of voters with sufficient strength to stop the assault on seniors’ programs. “Politicians will do anything to get elected.” And if you have big numbers, “that’s when you can actually get something done,” he says.
In the face of the imminent threat to senior benefits, CARP is well aware of the need to rally around the cause. “We have developed a strategic plan trying to get people to join the movement,” said CARP president Rudy Buttignol.
He’ll accomplish this by strengthening CARP chapters throughout the country, enhancing the benefits of joining the organization and bolstering advocacy by amplifying seniors’ rights to key decision makers.
Buttignol also reviewed CARP’s successes, such as enlarging the scope of practice for pharmacists in Ontario, allowing them to offer some services that were solely under the purview of doctors, and successfully pushing the government to enact the National Dental Plan to cover services for low-income seniors.
“We have more work to do and we need more members to do that,” he said.
The AGM also included talks by two seniors’ advocates from opposite coasts: Susan Walsh of Newfoundland & Labrador and Dan Levitt of British Columbia.
Walsh spoke of the “significant impact” that ageism has on seniors. “Robert Butler coined this term 60 years ago, and he basically likened it to bigotry,” she said, pointing out the prevalence of ageism in the workforce, health care and, especially, the long-term care system. “And it’s disheartening that we’re here 60 years later still talking about this.”
Walsh said her role is to bring up these issues with provincial parties to make sure they understand the problem and reflect it in their legislation: “Until policy makers, service providers and professionals acknowledge ageism and institutional ageism, we’re really not going to recognize the changes that are necessary.”
Levitt spoke about employment ageism, noting that because of inflation or lack of savings, seniors are remaining in the workforce longer than ever. However, when they turn 65, many will lose their workplace benefits, medical coverage or be removed from company pension plans.
“By definition this is age discrimination,” he said.
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