Seniors issues and pensions

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In our first issue following the outbreak of COVD-19 in Canada, Monitor contributors assess the federal and provincial government responses to date and propose how we might use this moment of government activism to fix the gross inequalities in our society—by improving social programs such as employment insurance, income assistance and our health care system, for example. 
Des experts et expertes réclament des mesures à court, à moyen et à long terme afin de soutenir les collectivités et de les protéger contre les effets de la pandémie 
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Nous publions le Budget fédéral alternatif 2020 — notre 25e édition depuis 1995 — à un moment très instable pour le Canada et le monde. La combinaison de COVID-19, une vente mondiale de pétrole et l'effondrement des marchés financiers mondiaux menace non seulement la santé et la sécurité publiques, mais aussi la stabilité de notre économie, qui sera probablement en récession d'ici la fin de l'année. Il est maintenant temps de penser au-delà des correctifs fiscaux standard et des plans de sauvetage des banques.
 REUTERS/ERIN SCOTT
The idea of a Green New Deal—a radical and comprehensive transformation of the economy to cut greenhouse gas emissions while tackling inequality—has been gaining steam as an organizing principle for the environmental and social justice movements. Yet there are many questions that GND advocates have yet to think through or agree on. Like how can we produce enough electricity to rapidly replace all fossil fuels? Will new, green jobs be good, unionized jobs that are accessible in the places where jobs are needed most? Crucially, how will we pay for it all?
Too many seniors in our province struggle to find publicly subsidized assisted living where they can be supported as they age. Amidst an affordable housing crisis felt across generations, the need to significantly boost the supply of subsidized assisted living is more urgent than ever before. 
Access to publicly subsidized assisted living in British Columbia has fallen since 2008 for British Columbia seniors. Between 2010-2017 BC added only 105 units of publicly subsidized assisted living despite a growing seniors’ population while—more than 10 times that number—1,130 private-pay units were added. Seniors who cannot afford to pay privately may go without care altogether or wait until their health deteriorates to the point of requiring a nursing home or hospitalization, this report explains.
Vancouver — BC added a mere 105 units of publicly subsidized assisted living over nearly a decade (2010-17), despite a growing population of seniors. As a result, access to subsidized assisted living dropped, while the number of private-pay units grew by leaps and bounds over the same period, with 1,130 private-pay units added. 
Photo by Hugo Morales, Wikimedia Commons