Canada needs a national seniors strategy: report

The report includes a series of 37 recommendations that it says should feature in a national strategy on aging, with the overarching goals of keeping older Canadians leading healthy, active lives; remaining independent for as long as possible; and, facilitating care for them that is delivered close to home, rather than by institutions.

The recommendations touch on a broad swath of issues that may face the country as its population ages. In terms of retirement savings, the report says that, “Ensuring that Canadians are adequately prepared for retirement will require a number of reforms across the retirement income system and within each component program. Given the overlapping jurisdiction in this area, it is critical that federal and provincial governments be on the same page.”

In particular, the report calls on the federal government to engage with the provinces to reach a consensus on the future of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP); and to ensure that any provincial initiatives, such as the proposed Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP) and Quebec’s Voluntary Retirement Savings Plan (VRSP) “are adequately coordinated with a common vision.”

The report also recommends that future enhancements to GIS/OAS component of the public pension system aim to ensure that no one falls below the poverty line. “This will require targeted efforts to enhance the generosity of GIS/OAS for certain groups, particularly those who live alone,” the report says.

In additional, the government should look at moving away from retirement benefit programs that are geared to a fixed age, the report says, and toward a more flexible formula that changes in relation to mortality and life expectancy. It adds that these reforms should also be aligned “with other measures related to private, voluntary savings (RRSPs and TFSAs) to ensure Canada’s retirement income system remains cohesive.”

The report notes that, while there has been an intense debate over the merits of more mandatory retirement saving, the most important thing is that governments act. “Canada’s retirement income system has succeeded over the last half century because governments have been committed to ensuring a high degree of coordination and harmonization, even as regulatory jurisdiction overlaps. The recent impasse between the federal government and the government of Ontario over the future of the CPP undermines that tradition and is harmful to a well-functioning retirement income system for all Canadians,” the report says.

In terms of tax policy, the report recommends that the federal government pursue policies that better support caregivers. For example, it recommends: removing the cohabitation requirement for caregivers to be eligible for caregiver tax credits; expanding eligibility for the Compassionate Care Benefit (CCB), and other benefits, beyond terminal illnesses so that those caring for individuals suffering from chronic illnesses also qualify; and aligning CCB with other support and job protections offered by the provinces.

The report also recommends reforming the approach to funding the healthcare system so that it is at least partially linked to demographics, and favours more community-based care and less hospitalization. The report also calls for a broad public debate on the future of palliative and end-of-life care in Canada, led by Parliament, not the government.

“This report is a call to action for governments and citizens across Canada who believe a new approach is needed to meet the needs and challenges of an aging population and who want to ensure the public debate that must take place is national in scope and informed by evidence,” the IRPP report says.

“Other groups will have their own frameworks to propose, and they, too, should be considered. But as we stated in our introduction, it is time to move from discussion to action. Let us bring together the various proposals for a national seniors strategy, choose the elements on which we want to build and decide together on the best way forward. We believe this debate can — indeed should — happen now,” the report concludes.