Human Resources committee  Every province has some form of low-income subsidy program. The challenge is that the cut-off levels of low income and the demand are not synchronized. In other words, there's way more demand than there is supply of money to help seniors on a low income make home adaptions. A

Human Resources committee  I'm not sure I'm the best person to answer that question. My focus is on the home and encouraging programs that allow people to age in place while they're healthy.

Human Resources committee  I advocate a home rehabilitation tax credit program, just like the energy renovation program. It's revenue neutral for the Canadian government, by giving back the HST rebate on renovations that allow people to live longer in their homes safely. It would encourage people to do thi

Human Resources committee  It's highest in Atlantic Canada and it gets lower as you move west, because the age curve diminishes as you move west. In other words, the provinces are younger as you move further west, so we have more older people in Atlantic Canada who are on low income. As a result they're in

Human Resources committee  The challenge right now is that a whole range of very expensive technologies is emerging, such as motion sensors and alarm systems, but we're lacking evidence that these are cost-effective, and that they truly help people to age in place.

Human Resources committee  We have some small projects. One at the University of Toronto is very interesting, but CMHC should seize this opportunity to show and prove measures that these approaches actually help, because it is extremely costly to equip a home with all this type of technology. We need to pr

Human Resources committee  The building code is a complex issue, as you've alluded to, but in reality, the provinces adopt the Canadian national building code. They do modify it in a couple of instances, but they adopt the standards almost carte blanche across the way. I'm getting back to your example. Yo

Human Resources committee  —is only 32 inches wide. According to the building code, section 91.5, a 32-inch width...if it was a wheelchair that lady was in, it wouldn't fit through the front door, which needs to be 39 inches for an electric wheelchair, in case no one's told you how wide. Anyway, the build

Human Resources committee  Absolutely. We need to have accessible homes.

Human Resources committee  The most important action I've seen, from all my research, is that we need to encourage lifetime home building. I'd love to see it incorporated into the Canadian building codes. I know how difficult that is as a challenge, but we need to build homes for the future that people can

Human Resources committee  Yes.

Human Resources committee  Some builders are trying to respond. There is a stigma about aging, and there is a perception that a lifetime home looks like some place that you would retire to, with grab bars and other things. I have a very good friend who heads HomesRenewed, the American program on aging in p

Human Resources committee  It has to be, for visitability—we can call it “visitability”—for lifetime home standards, and for accessibility. They are all the same ball of wax. Of course, any public building should incorporate those standards.

Human Resources committee  When I say 93% of Canadians.... As they approach older age, they don't think about aging in place. They believe they are going to be healthy enough and well enough, so they don't make any preparations. They don't think about it until the emergency—the broken hip or the accident.

Human Resources committee  They don't plan to ever leave their home. They have no plan. They deny it.