ENDORSEMENTS
The National Institute on Ageing (NIA) is excited to announce the release of our updated National Seniors Strategy (NSS), following our public consultations. We invite you to endorse this evidence-informed, non-partisan, policy blueprint focused on advancing the well-being of older adults in Canada. If any single issue can highlight the urgent need for a coordinated National Seniors Strategy, it is Canada’s experience with COVID-19. Over 80% of all COVID-19 deaths in Canada occurred amongst older Canadians in nursing and retirement home settings, compared to an OECD average of 42%, and despite Canada having a total COVID-19 mortality rate comparatively lower than other OECD countries.
The issues facing older Canadians are deep rooted and were here long before COVID-19 with the NIA calling for a National Seniors Strategy since 2013 to address many of the problem areas that have been exacerbated by this pandemic. The NSS builds on the previous strategy released in 2015, and the collaborative expert work of many. It identifies 14 key policy challenges that Canada needs to confront in order to deliver cost-effective, high quality care, financial security, and social well-being to older adults. These policy challenges fall under four pillars:
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Independent, productive & engaged citizens
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Healthy active lives
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Care closer to home
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Support for caregivers
The strategy examines the sustainability and ability of health care systems, social services, and the retirement income to meet the needs of Canadians as they age. It also makes evidence-informed policy recommendations for each key challenge and identifies potential enablers to improve the system of care for older Canadians.
Since 2013, the National Seniors Strategy (NSS) team, led by Dr. Samir Sinha, has explored the landscape of care for older adults to determine how Canadians can be best supported to age with greater quality of life, better health outcomes, and dignity. It has made evidence-informed recommendations made based on analyses of Canada’s systems of support for older people, through expert research and stakeholder consultations. The NSS serves as the foundation for the work and priorities of the NIA, a think tank established at Ryerson University in 2016.
Meeting the growing and evolving needs of Canada’s ageing population will require concerted coordination and effort between municipal, provincial and territorial governments. The NIA believes Canada’s federal government can enable meaningful changes required to meet the growing needs of the ageing population through the creation of a National Seniors Strategy.
You can read download the full document here: 2020 National Seniors Strategy.