All of us have a stake in ensuring Ontario is responsive to the needs of everyone as we age. The volunteer-led and not-for-profit Hamilton Council on Aging (HCoA) has prepared this set of questions to ask Hamilton’s Ontario election 2022 candidates on issues affecting older adults. The HCoA represents older adults from across Hamilton and strives to represent the collective voice of older adults in its quest for an age-friendly society.
- Canada is among the global leaders in the Age-friendly Communities (AFC) movement launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2007. The goal is to promote the health and well-being of all ages, especially the aging population. What will your party do to promote the age-friendly communities initiative in Ontario?
- Health care remains a major issue for older adults and for those who contribute, both informally and formally, to their care and services. What will your party do to ensure the continuation and improvement of Canada’s health care system for all Canadians, consistent with the Canada Health Act principles of universality, comprehensiveness, portability, accessibility, and public administration of insurance?
- COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on older adults living in long-term care homes across Ontario and has exposed the longstanding systemic weaknesses of the Ontario long-term care system. What will your party do to provide safe, adequate and dignified care for impacted older adults, and their informal and formal caregivers?
- Home and Community Care are critical components that can provide a high quality of life at lower costs for many older adults. What action will your party take to ensure that older adults get the care they need in their own homes, allowing them to age in place?
- The COVID 19 pandemic has highlighted the negative and measurable impacts of social isolation and loneliness on the health and well-being of older adults who have spent months apart from family and friends and are absent from their social and recreational activities. What actions will your party take to increase awareness of social and recreational opportunities and to ensure these opportunities are inclusive, affordable and accessible?
- The vast majority of older adults wish to age in place. What will your party do to increase housing options for older adults in Ontario and ensure that housing is both affordable and accessible?
- Active transportation has been identified as an important determinant of health and is one of the eight dimensions of an age-friendly community. What will your party do to ensure that transportation options are accessible, affordable and safe?