Thank you, and thank you for this opportunity.
Certainly, from the Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism's perspective, we wanted to ensure that we spent a moment just trying to provide some characterization of the older adults whom we serve in Saskatchewan. We certainly know from our members and from our feedback that older adults prefer to stay in their communities, stay in their homes as long as possible, and maintain their independence, and they look for and have varying needs for services, depending on where they choose to live.
They are in transition in terms of the use of electronic services. Not all older adults are computer illiterate. That isn't increasing as baby boomers move into that category. There are more people becoming more computer literate, but our elderly members and elderly older adults are less so these days.
We find older adults can become very isolated and vulnerable if their service access is limited. As far as mail delivery is concerned, this is an important service for all Canadians, especially older adults. We see mail delivery as a point of access, a way to connect, to communicate, and to access services to stay connected with family and the community they choose to live in.
Distance is an issue. We certainly support the concept of regular home delivery. Our members tell us that we could certainly consider the concept of home delivery that is less frequent than daily; however, access to community mailboxes is problematic in Saskatchewan, particularly in winter, when we have snow and icy conditions and people have difficulty getting to community mailboxes. We would ask the committee to consider that.
Service is better in urban centres. There are other issues in rural Saskatchewan that have different challenges. Transportation and access are issues in many small communities across the province.
We do see the role of Canada Post, particularly in rural Saskatchewan, as being part of a community hub, a notion for contact, a gathering spot, a place where people can come together in smaller communities particularly. They have over time almost become a community centre by default, because they are a destination for people to pick up their correspondence. The whole concept of community hubs, community development, and connections is part of the age-friendly concept, which is really a global movement that was started through the World Health Organization to create community inclusiveness and bring people together.
We have some questions, some concerns, some thoughts about northern access. Northern Saskatchewan does have limited or no traditional financial institutions, and there's insufficient electronic access in the north. Not all Canadians have embraced the concept of e-payments. People still look for paper cheques from time to time. We see Canada Post as potentially a catalyst for northern services for older adults.
The last thing we wanted to touch on just in passing, because we saw it in the task force material, was the whole issue of pensions. It is a key concern for the Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism. We always will advocate for adequate income for older adults because it's directly linked to the quality of life. We think pension preservation is something that should remain a priority for both Canada Post and organizations in general. Older adults do rely on pension income as a key source to retain their independence and continue to contribute.
With that, I thank you very much for listening and for our opportunity to present.