Human Resources Committee on Oct. 19th, 2017

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Pat Armstrong, you talked about training more people in geriatrics. How do we get more people trained? Pediatrics has the attraction of beautiful babies, and you get paid more in pediatrics. How do we get more people involved with geriatrics?

[Dr. Pat Armstrong]

I think one of the things we need to do is make it part of the apprenticeship program that doctors and nurses go through. You actually have to do a cycle that is with older people. I think the idea of bringing a seniors lens to all of our strategies is a really good place to start. It's about housing. It's about all of our policies. It's not just a seniors policy that is isolated from other policies. We really do have to think about that.

I also want us to think about long-term residential care. I think it is really important. We basically don't want to talk about it—Romanow didn't talk about it—because we want to forget about it. There are an awful lot of people who are going to have to live in long-term residential care. We need to think about ways to make it as good as it can be rather than say we'll put everybody at home, because we can't do that. I really want to make an extra plea for long-term residential care.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bryan May]

Thank you very much.

We'll now go to Mr. Robillard for six minutes.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

I have five questions for you, Mr. Prud'homme. If I don't have time to ask them all, I will work with the clerk of the committee to submit them to you in writing so you can answer each of them, and we can then in turn consider your answers in our study. I hope you are agreeable to that.

First, I would like to thank you for everything you do for our seniors in Quebec and welcome you to the HUMA committee. I believe your network has a program that helps seniors get acquainted with iPads and other technologies such as Word and Excel.

Can you tell us about the success of that program?

[Danis Prud'homme]

Of course. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about it.

We had to implement this program, which has been around for about 10 years. The groups now have a maximum of eight to ten people, and the instructor is a volunteer close in age to the learners. We train about 5,000 people per year. We started this to keep pace with changes in society, which is completely natural. We must not forget our people though. Today's teenagers were born with those devices in their hands, whereas our seniors never had access to them at that age. So we have to teach them to use these tools if we want them to learn to keep pace with us and include them in our society.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Can you tell us about the trends among seniors that your network is seeing?

What issues and needs have become more pressing since the Réseau FADOQ was founded, in 1970?

[Danis Prud'homme]

Our first objective was to break their isolation. Even at that time, the aging population was isolated. We had to create spaces where women and men could interact and engage in activities they enjoyed. That was the first thing we noticed.

A few years ago, we created something we call a social contract to foster an acceptable quality of life for seniors, based on the four pillars of health, safety, well-being, and belonging. These four pillars cover all the problems we see today. People are poor and isolated, need housing, activities, and adequate income.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

As I understand it, anyone in Quebec aged 50 or over can belong to your organization. It does not matter if the person is retired, not yet retired, or still working.

Can you elaborate on the strategy you adopted in this regard?

Why not use age as a criterion? Do you think that is more effective and produces more positive results for our citizens aged 50 and over?

[Danis Prud'homme]

When the FADOQ network was created, we focused on the sector of the population that was having problems, such as individuals who were isolated.

Over time, we have seen this sector of the population shift from the age of 60, to 55, and now to 50. We hope it does not get to age 25 some day, because that might point to problems that are not being addressed and that we would have to address.

In the case of experienced working people, for example, we now see that it is increasingly difficult even for individuals aged 45, or closer to 50, to find a new job if they lose theirs.

Our approach is based on the difficulties experienced and, after the age of 50, people start having more problems.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

How could a national seniors' strategy be geared to individuals before they retire? How do the issues differ as compared to retirees or seniors who are still working? How should the government respond?

[Danis Prud'homme]

We do not like the word “retired” actually because it is not properly defined. Retired means that a person takes back their life and uses it differently, rather than not doing anything at all. These are people who are still active.

We have 15,000 volunteers and 800 boards of directors in our organization. Without volunteers, the FADOQ network would not exist. Most of our family caregivers are people who work, at least the women in some cases, and are 60 and over. These people all contribute to society.

In talking about retirees and people before they retire, we see age as a continuum. When we are born, we need help. At the end of our lives, we need help. We give back to society, whether we are working or not. Volunteers contribute more than people who are working because they are not paid. The contribution is very positive and there is a good return on investment.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Do I have any time left?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bryan May]

You have one more minute.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

It's a long question. Can I pass my time and come back later?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bryan May]

You can't pass your time and do it later. If you're done, you can share.... Go ahead and get it on the record.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

I understand that the FADOQ network has joined the UN's Global Action on Aging committee, or GAA, to establish an international convention on the rights of seniors. Your website indicates that you defend the following causes: dying with dignity; equality between senior women and men; experienced workers; housing; poverty; abuse; and retirement income.

What can you tell us about your work with the UN to help develop our government's national strategy for seniors?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bryan May]

Keep the answer very brief, please.

[Danis Prud'homme]

After five years of work, it has been shown that seniors are not protected, in any part of the world. We need a tool to protect them, such as a convention. A convention provides the basis for a policy to ensure that things are done properly. Those two aspects are interrelated.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bryan May]

Thank you very much.

Now we'll go to MP Blaney.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Thank you so much, everybody, for being here today.

I want to start by asking a very quick question. Perhaps you could just answer yes, no, or abstain. The question is this: do you believe the government should implement a national seniors strategy?

Dr. Cottle, perhaps I could ask you first.

[Dr. Margaret M. Cottle]

I'm going to equivocate—I know this is a political meeting—because to me it would depend what it looked like.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

So you abstain.

Professor Phinney.

[Dr. Alison Phinney]

Well, I won't abstain. I would say, yes, I believe there should be a national strategy.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Thank you so much.

Pat.