Status of Women Committee on Feb. 21st, 2019

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Good morning, and welcome to the 131st meeting of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. This meeting is being held in public.

Today, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Tuesday, June 19, 2018, we will commence our study on the challenges faced by senior women, with a focus on the factors contributing to their poverty and vulnerability.

For this, we are pleased to welcome the following witnesses in our first hour.

From the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, we have Charles MacArthur, Senior Vice-President, Assisted Housing; and Romy Bowers, Chief Commercial Officer.

From the Department of Employment and Social Development, we have Karen Hall, Director General, Social Policy Directorate, Strategic and Service Policy Branch; Catherine Scott, Director General, Community Development and Homelessness Partnerships Directorate, Income Security and Social Development Branch; Jackie Holden, Senior Director, Seniors Policy, Partnerships and Engagement Division, Income Security and Social Development Branch; as well as Patrick Bussière, Director, Social Research Division, Strategic and Service Policy Branch.

I now turn the floor over to Jackie Holden.

You will have seven minutes for your opening statement.

[Jackie Holden, Senior Director, Seniors Policy, Partnerships and Engagement Division, Income Security and Social Development Branch, Department of Employment and Social Development]

Thank you so much, Madam Chair and committee members.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you this morning as you begin your study on challenges faced by senior women. It's a pleasure to be here with my colleagues on behalf of Employment and Social Development Canada.

Seniors are an important part of our social fabric and contribute to the rich diversity of Canada. That's why the government is committed to seeking widespread stakeholder views on seniors' issues, so that older Canadians can age with dignity, in the best health possible, and with social and economic security.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Jackie, can you slow down just a tad?

[Jackie Holden]

Of course.

The government is committed to responding to the diverse needs of older Canadians and recognizes that life experiences are not the same for all Canadians. Women face gender-specific challenges throughout their lives and continue to face unique challenges as seniors. It's important to fully understand these challenges and how they can be addressed.

Both men and women are now living longer and healthier lives than ever before and are projected to live even longer in the future. As women age, they face unique challenges. For example, many senior women face economic insecurity stemming from limited pensions, minimal retirement savings or widowhood. In addition, low-income seniors and senior women living alone are populations with high incidence of core housing need. Women are also more likely to be providing informal care to a family member, which puts additional pressure on women who might need or choose to participate in the workforce or social activities.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Can you slow down? It's for interpretation purposes.

[Jackie Holden]

Of course, sorry.

The Government of Canada is working to capitalize on opportunities presented by our growing and diverse population of seniors, as well as to address the challenges and provide supports that seniors need. Your study will help inform these efforts.

On August 21, 2018, the Government of Canada released “Opportunity for All: Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy”. The strategy sets the foundation for future government investments in poverty reduction. “Opportunity for All” lays out a bold vision of a Canada without poverty, where all Canadians—including senior women—should be able to live in dignity and have a sense of security.

The strategy establishes an official measure of poverty—the official poverty line—based on the market basket measure. lt includes concrete targets for poverty reduction, which are to reduce the rate of poverty by 20% by 2020 and by 50% by 2030, based on Canada's official poverty line. Meeting these targets will mark a significant reduction of poverty in Canada, reducing the number of Canadians living in poverty to about 10% by 2020 and to 6% by 2030, a historic low.

This year, the government is investing nearly $10 billion in support of poverty reduction, including investments through the Canada child benefit, the guaranteed income supplement and the national housing strategy. This builds on new investments in poverty reduction the government has already made, totalling $5 billion in 2016-17 and nearly $7.5 billion in 2017-18. Government efforts are already showing results. Investments will help lift about 650,000 Canadians out of poverty by 2019, with more expected as the impacts of these investments are realized in the years to come.

The government has taken several steps to improve the income security of seniors. ln 2016, the guaranteed income supplement was increased by up to $947 annually for the most vulnerable single seniors. This has improved financial security for almost 900,000 seniors and allowed approximately 57,000 Canadian seniors to exit poverty, the majority of whom are women. The government also restored the age of eligibility for the old age security pension and the guaranteed income supplement from 67 back to 65. Without this change, it is estimated that 100,000 future seniors aged 65 and 66 would have fallen into poverty. Vulnerable seniors would have been the most affected, but the least able to protect themselves by adjusting their work and savings behaviour.

We've also enhanced the Canada pension plan for today's workers—the seniors of tomorrow—including new measures that will increase CPP retirement benefits and provide larger benefits for disabled contributors, widows and widowers. We're also working to help Canada's seniors remain in the labour force for as long as they can and want to. We're doing this through new workforce development agreements with the provinces and territories, which they can use to provide support for older workers to retrain or upgrade their skills.

I would now like to discuss with you the Government of Canada's investments to address homelessness. We know that homelessness has an impact on every community in Canada. lt affects a diverse cross-section of the population, including individuals, families, youth and, of course, women and seniors. “Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy” will replace the current homelessness partnering strategy on April 1, 2019. As part of the national housing strategy, the Government of Canada has committed $2.2 billion over 10 years to tackle homelessness. By 2021, this amount will double annual investments compared to 2015-16.

“Reaching Home” will support the goals of the national housing strategy—in particular, to support the most vulnerable Canadians in maintaining safe, stable and affordable housing and to reduce chronic homelessness nationally by 50% by 2027-28. “Reaching Home” will also work with communities to develop and deliver data-driven system plans with clear outcomes. This new outcomes-based approach will give communities greater flexibility to invest in homelessness prevention and the opportunity to identify, test and apply evidence-based practices that achieve results for vulnerable Canadians, including women and seniors.

Having said all this, as you can appreciate, living a full and healthy life goes beyond being financially stable later in life. lt is about connecting with our communities, maintaining close-knit relationships and playing a meaningful role in society. ln fact, maintaining quality of life for seniors and keeping them socially engaged in their communities is among the most pressing issues facing Canadian families today. Seniors who are lonely, isolated and generally disconnected from the community cannot lead healthy, active lives. Through initiatives like the Government of Canada's new horizons for seniors program, we are helping seniors to stay engaged and connected with their communities through volunteerism, mentoring and other community activities.

The abuse of older adults is another often hidden but serious social problem that affects the lives of thousands of seniors in Canada. Specific forms of mistreatment include physical, psychological, financial and sexual abuse and neglect.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

You have one minute.

[Jackie Holden]

Each year, the Government of Canada, through the new horizons for seniors program, continues to fund community-based projects to raise awareness about elder abuse. For example, the government approved over $1.1 million in funding for 53 elder abuse awareness projects across Canada in the new horizons for seniors program's 2016-17 community-based call for proposals.

As part of our commitment to seniors, we recognize the importance of engaging with Canadians and making decisions based on solid evidence. The National Seniors Council plays an important role in this regard and advises the government on issues important to the health, well-being and quality of life of seniors.

I know that there is much interest in a national seniors strategy among stakeholders. For this reason, the government has asked the National Seniors Council to further examine the potential objectives and elements of a national seniors strategy through commissioning research and leading consultations with seniors and stakeholders, for example.

Federal, provincial and territorial governments are also working together to support present and future generations of older Canadians in meaningful ways. Through all these measures, the government is seeking to improve the social and economic inclusion of all seniors.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Excellent. Thank you very much, Jackie. I appreciate that.

We'll move over to Charles MacArthur, for seven minutes.

[Charles MacArthur, Senior Vice-President, Assisted Housing, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

It's a pleasure to be here on behalf of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. I am joined today by my colleague Romy Bowers. We appreciate the opportunity to meet with the committee and support your study of the challenges facing senior women in Canada.

As Canada's national housing agency, we are keenly aware that accessing affordable housing that meets their needs is a fundamental challenge for many senior women in communities across the country. Through Canada's national housing strategy, we are actively working with a wide range of partners to better understand those needs and to close this housing gap.

As the committee is aware, the national housing strategy is a 10-year, $40-billion plan that aims to create a new generation of housing and give more Canadians a place to call home. The strategy is focused primarily on vulnerable populations, including seniors, who have special housing needs and often limited financial resources.

During the consultations on the national housing strategy, Canadians told us time and time again that the federal government's primary role in housing should be to support people who are falling through the cracks; seniors and women were often at the top of the list. We know that Canadian seniors can face huge challenges when it comes to housing. These challenges are made more difficult by escalating house prices, an aging housing stock, inadequate supply and a growing seniors population.

Almost 14% of senior-led households are in core housing need today. This means that close to 400,000 senior households are spending more than 30% of their disposable income on shelter, which leaves them less money for other basics like food, medical care and transportation. The problem is even more acute for seniors who are living alone, particularly senior women—27% of senior women living on their own are in core housing need, compared to 21% of senior men. Many senior women face economic insecurity stemming from limited pensions, minimal retirement savings and widowhood.

The national housing strategy has been designed precisely to address problems like this. In fact, 33% of all investments under this strategy are aimed to support the unique needs of women and girls, including senior women. For example, the national housing strategy includes the national housing co-investment fund, which will provide close to $16 billion in federal funding over 10 years for projects that aim to increase housing supply and repair and maintain units. Among other targets, the fund is expected to create at least 12,000 new, affordable housing units for seniors in locations where they have access to community and health services. It will also support much-needed renovations of existing community housing to allow seniors to age in place.

Just last month, the Government of Canada announced two projects under the national housing co-investment fund that will directly benefit senior women. In Porters Lake, Nova Scotia, the federal and provincial governments are jointly investing more than $650,000 to create 13 new, affordable housing units for seniors living on low incomes. The one-bedroom-plus-den units have been designed to help seniors stay in their homes longer, with features such as low-threshold showers with seats and lower kitchen cabinets. These units should be ready for occupancy this spring.

The co-investment fund is also contributing more than $4.7 million to support the construction of 100 new housing units at the YW Calgary hub facility. Although the units are not designed specifically for seniors, the Alberta Ministry of Seniors and Housing is partnering in this project, which will provide shelter and transitional housing for women experiencing domestic abuse, poverty and homelessness. All units and common areas of the building will be accessible through universal design, which of course is of great benefit to seniors.

Seniors are also benefiting from the national housing strategy investments in community housing stock, to ensure these can continue to be affordable when old operating agreements expire. Seniors currently occupy about one third of these housing units across Canada.

Beginning next year, low-income seniors will also be able to access the Canada housing benefit, which will provide an average of $2,500 per year directly to those struggling to make ends meet.

The national housing strategy will also address knowledge gaps regarding the needs of seniors and other vulnerable groups by collecting new housing data, funding new housing research and showcasing innovative approaches to housing. This work will inform future policy decisions that will improve housing conditions for senior women and others.

These national housing strategy initiatives are in addition to the $200 million set aside for seniors housing in budget 2016. More than 6,200 senior households are enjoying better housing as a result of this investment. Thousands of other senior-led households are living in better conditions thanks to the investment of $490 million, also part of budget 2016, to retrofit and renovate existing community housing units.

The national housing strategy has set measurable targets for reducing homelessness and improving access to suitable, affordable housing. However, at CMHC, we have set an even bolder goal: to ensure that by 2030, everyone in Canada will have a home they can afford and that meets their needs.

This aspiration will guide everything we do in the years to come. To that end, we are modernizing and restructuring our company to achieve housing affordability for all. Everyone at CMHC is focused on this goal, because we understand that housing is critical to Canada's economic health, social inclusiveness and the well-being of individuals, families and communities.

Thank you again for the opportunity to be here. We would be pleased to answer any questions.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Thank you very much.

We will go to our first round of questioning. Each of the participants has up to seven minutes.

We'll begin with Pam Damoff for her seven minutes.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to all the witnesses. We have quite a crew here today. I was going to say “cast of thousands”, but it's not quite that many.

Mr. MacArthur, you were talking a lot about housing for seniors and you said that 400,000 are spending more than 30% of their income on housing. I'm surprised it's not higher than that. I suspect that, depending on the municipality, it is probably higher.

I know that in my communities of Oakville and Burlington housing has increased dramatically. We have seniors who bought a home in the 1950s or 1960s who are still there, and their house is now worth a million dollars. They're having trouble even paying their property taxes.

[Charles MacArthur]

Yes.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

I suspect that number, geographically, is higher.

Do you have those stats across Canada?

[Charles MacArthur]

I think we could get our market analysis folks to provide more in-depth numbers.

As well, we're doing two studies at the moment that were launched in November. We're trying to gather more information on the most vulnerable populations. I'm not sure of the exact end date and when that information would be available, but that should provide some additional information. We're going to survey 125,000 households. The other study is going to be for social housing, so we'll have better information.

One of the things identified as a need in the national housing strategy was to gather more precise information, so we've—

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

These women are not necessarily qualifying for social housing, but they are having a challenge in meeting the costs of staying in their own home. My communities are half an hour west of Toronto, and the average rent is $200 more than in Toronto, for example.

Are you doing any innovative programs or grants to allow seniors to stay in their homes? For example, if they have a bungalow with a basement, they can retrofit the basement for student living and having students come in, or two or three senior women can come together to live in one home, but they will need adaptations made to that home.

Are we looking at any programs that might accommodate that?

[Charles MacArthur]

We don't have anything specific, but through the national housing strategy we have innovation funding that can test...if we had a group who were interested in that. There's nothing specific, but we can test innovation to see if it works so we can replicate that, and that might form the basis of some policy advice we could put forward.

[Romy Bowers, Chief Commercial Officer, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation]

I'll just add one point. We've had many discussions with officials from the City of Toronto, and I know that in Toronto they have a pilot program to allow seniors and students to share space. We could put you in touch with that program if you're interested in that kind of initiative. It's a municipal initiative, but it's something that we've become aware of through consultations.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

I think it's happening across the country. I don't think it's something that we need to start from scratch, but if a senior woman could perhaps get a grant to be able to renovate her house.... We're not talking about housing complexes, because I know the national housing strategy is dealing with that, but I'm thinking more on an individual basis, just as we've provided grants for conservation reasons and retrofits for homes. If there was something available for seniors to allow them to stay in their home....

Thank you. Do you want to add anything?

[Charles MacArthur]

I was going to say that, through the initiative for affordable housing for provinces, where the federal government contributes 50% of the funding, there is a renovation component, so speaking to the local service manager would be the place to go. That's some federal funding that's being topped up by the provinces and territories.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

I do recognize that this goes across all levels of government.

[Charles MacArthur]

Yes.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

It's not just federal. You have provincial jurisdiction, and you also have municipalities that might have zoning bylaws that don't even allow it. I recognize that it's a cross-jurisdictional issue.

The Canadian Association of Retired Persons told this committee that financial abuse and elder abuse through fraud are becoming more and more common. I know that just this week, in the region of Halton, there were reports of CRA scams. There was an article before Christmas about a senior woman in Milton who had given tens of thousands of dollars to a supposed suitor in another country who was not a suitor at all. She can't get the money back.

What are we doing to both educate people and combat that type of financial elder abuse, particularly of senior women?

[Jackie Holden]

ESDC has taken a number of different actions in partnership with other government departments to try to address this issue. We recognize that it's widespread and growing in terms of nature and scope.

One of the departmental priorities, as mentioned, is looking at financial abuse specifically and working with other departments. This is part of Minister Tassi's mandate letter. Basically, we're looking at how to best design and implement initiatives that better protect seniors dealing with financial institutions and telecommunications companies with respect to, as you said, public education and awareness to increase the odds of their being able to protect themselves.

Last December, Parliament passed new legislation, together with the new financial consumer protection framework, which advances the rights and interests of bank consumers and provides additional tools to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada is a major player in this field. They are working on the creation of a code of conduct to guide banks in the delivery of services to Canada's seniors, and they also provide significant amounts of public information that's made available through financial advisers and senior stakeholders, and made available more generally publicly.

We are also working to ensure, through the new horizons for seniors program, that awareness of financial and other types of elder abuse is increased. Between 2007 and 2015, they did lots of projects on that front.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Thank you.