Mr. Speaker, it is a great pleasure to stand in the House tonight and represent my great riding of Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, which you know very well. It is the outskirts of Halifax and Dartmouth and is a very important part of our HRM community.
It gives me great pleasure to speak to the issue of seniors. This topic is extremely important to Canadians. I want to thank my colleague from Nickel Belt for his motion, which is a major step toward, maybe very soon, a national strategy for seniors. It is important to have the discussion, look at all the pieces, and see how we can frame this so we can be successful as quickly as possible. We need to keep in mind the demographic shift in Canada. It is a big issue. We need to talk about it, look at it, study it, analyze it and bring solutions to the table.
Since 2011, we have seen a 20% increase in seniors 65 and older. I should explain that I am talking mostly about the age of 65 and over. In certain parts of the country or in the states 55 is consider being a senior. However, I am focusing more on age 65 and older, and also those who will soon be in that age category.
Atlantic Canada has the highest level of seniors per capita in the country. Whatever the challenge is, it is amplified that much more in Atlantic Canada. Let me add that Nova Scotia has the second-largest number of seniors, a 0.1% differential from New Brunswick. Therefore, the number of seniors aged 65 and over is extremely high in Nova Scotia.
However, it is extremely important to note that my riding of Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook has the highest number of seniors in the province of Nova Scotia. We have had an increase of 33.9% in the number of seniors since 2011. That is an enormous increase and is an example of the challenges we will get.
On the other side of the coin, it is important to keep in mind that seniors live longer, which is good news for all of us. We have seen an increase of 20% in seniors living past 85 years old. We have also seen, believe it or not, a 40% increase in seniors living over 100 years old. This is since 2011. These are big numbers and that is why we need to look not at the challenges in front of us, but, as my colleague from Nickel Belt has said, we need to look at this as opportunities available to us.
Again, I want to thank my colleague for that initiative. I believe these discussions can lead to something extremely positive toward a national policy.
Let us talk about seniors. I remember when 55 was the age of retirement. However, seniors now are working much longer, which is extremely positive. They are very successful because they have a lot of experience and skill.
For example, we have noticed that seniors, either before retirement or when they retire, are thinking about starting a business. Those who have started businesses and have had a business for five years or more, that being the point when the difference between success and not so successful is determined, are 70% successful in their business. Younger people are only around 30% successful.
We need to get seniors more involved. We need to talk about how we can do that. Our government has a role to play in promoting the engagement of seniors, of speaking with stakeholders about engaging seniors, which is extremely important. We need to continue to do that.
Some seniors decide to retire. That is a great opportunity as well. After working a number of years, that is an option seniors have and it is extremely beneficial. However, we must keep in mind that those seniors who retire are not staying home. They are active. They are volunteering in communities. They are volunteering in different organizations. They are contributing to the community. They are key community members, supporting it and working hard. However, those individuals have barriers. These are the types of conversations we need to have.
We need to have a discussion on how we can help them. One of the barriers would be the cost to do activities, such as volunteering. Transportation is another barrier. It would help seniors to know what opportunities are available them to help with those barriers. We need to promote and communicate those opportunities much better so seniors can get more involved. We need to tap into those resources. Those individuals have the skills, the knowledge, and the willingness to contribute to their communities. That is value added, and we need to take advantage of that.
I would also like to say that, according to a 2014 report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, although seniors represent only 15% of the population, they account for 45% of health care costs. That certainly puts a lot of pressure on the system.
That is why we need to find ways to help these people in order to limit health care needs and chronic illnesses. How can we do that? We can obviously keep promoting existing strategies. We need to encourage people to lead a healthy lifestyle and be active. That will certainly help. We also need to ensure that we have the means to support seniors in doing just that. That is essential. We obviously also need to take advantage of what seniors have to offer.
Rising poverty among seniors is a big issue. Many of my colleagues have spoken about that today. We must ensure that we continue to speak about this and try to find a solution. For example, in Nova Scotia, 33% of single seniors over 65 are low-income seniors. We need to continue to support them.
The correlation between seniors and income and good health is essential. If their income is better and they are able to stay more active, then their health will be improved and they will be able to continue to contribute. That is an important factor as well.
Let me list some of the key things we have done.
Increasing the GIS, the guaranteed income supplement, has helped to lift 900,000 seniors out of poverty, which is extremely important. Restoring the OAS, the old age supplement, to 65 from 67 represents $17,000. Putting together a national housing strategy and the health accord help support seniors, as well as extending compassionate care from six weeks to 26 weeks.
It is extremely important to know that since we were elected, our government has put many strategies in place to support seniors. This conversation is essential to allow us to look at the big picture and possibly, in the near future, have a strong national seniors' strategy for all Canadian.