Seniors issues and pensions

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While COVID-19 didn't cause the crisis in long-term care, it certainly exposed it for all to see. In Saskatchewan we witnessed the unprecedented step by the government to take over ownership of five previously privately-operated long-term care (LTC) homes after a deadly outbreak killed 39 residents. But despite these steps, has the crisis in long-term care been adequately addressed in Saskatchewan? To find out we talked to the people who know long-term care better than anybody else - the people who work in the sector.
The case of the sale of Lions Place represents both a major net loss of affordable housing and an example of the targeted dismantling of community for older adults in Winnipeg.  We conclude that it can also be conceptualized as organizational elder neglect and abuse in a community setting, reflective of a broader problem of mistreatment of older adults more generally, manifested here in mistreatment by a non-profit charitable organization.  Read full report above.
The Convoy that took over Ottawa for a month last year just met outside Winnipeg this past weekend. While the right to protest is an essential part of our democracy, it is important to look critically at this movement that has harboured white supremacist, libertarian and in some cases even fascist beliefs.  These ideas have originated most recently in the USA, but have a long and odious history elsewhere in the world.
Since learning on July 26, 2022 that their home would soon be listed on the private market, the residents at Lions Place have been fighting hard to keep their home out of for-profit hands. This is not a battle that they should have to fight in their senior years. Their needing to do so raises several questions about an obvious gap in our social safety net and the responsibility and accountability of non-profit housing providers who have been supported by tax dollars to address this need.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the many ways in which inequality is baked into our economy and institutions. The crisis in care work predates the pandemic, rooted in the deeply gendered treatment and positioning of care work, intersecting with racist and ableist stereotypes and immigration policies designed to service Canada’s care deficit. A structural re-think and systemic change is needed.
OTTAWA—Today’s fall economic statement shows that the federal government still has significant room to spend in the fight against COVID-19 and move ambitiously toward a public-led recovery for all Canadians, says the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
Previously published in the Winnipeg Free Press June 15, 2021 
This paper draws on 2016 census data to provide an intersectional analysis of seniors’ income and of retirement savings among the adult population in Canada. It considers whether two core objectives of government policy— retirement security and reduction of seniors’ poverty—are being achieved equitably. Colour-coded Retirement documents the income gap between white, racialized and Indigenous seniors and it examines retirement savings for these groups. The data reveal significant differences in both income and savings among these groups.
Ce rapport s’appuie sur les données du recensement de 2016 pour fournir une analyse intersectionnelle du revenu des aînés et de l’épargne-retraite au sein de la population adulte au Canada. Il cherche à déterminer si deux objectifs fondamentaux de la politique gouvernementale—la sécurité de la retraite et la réduction de la pauvreté chez les aînés—sont atteints de manière équitable. Écarts de revenus de retraite documente l’écart de revenu entre les aînés blancs, racialisés et autochtones, et se penche sur l’épargne-retraite au sein de ces groupes.
Selon une nouvelle étude que publie aujourd’hui le Centre canadien de politiques alternatives, les aînés autochtones et racialisés jouissent d’une moins bonne sécurité de la retraite et sont affligés par un taux de pauvreté plus élevé que les aînés blancs au Canada.   « L’étude montre clairement que la sécurité de la retraite, dans les faits, se classe par couleur au Canada », déclare Grace-Edward Galabuzi, co-auteur du rapport et professeur agrégé au Département de politique et d’administration publique de l’Université X.  

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