Wednesday, June 28, 2006
NDP motion to protect the rights of seniors passes - Tuesday June 27, 2006
OTTAWA - The Opposition Day Motion tabled by NDP Seniors Critic Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain) was passed by a majority in the House of Commons this afternoon.
The Motion mandates the federal government to create a Seniors Charter that recognizes older Canadians as creative, active and valued members of our society, who deserve free drug and dental coverage.
"This is a great victory for seniors who've worked hard all their lives, and simply want access to the programs and services their tax dollars help sustain," said Charlton. "We're very pleased that a majority of MPs agreed that these programs are essential to seniors' full participation in Canadian society. The people who built this country deserve to retire with dignity and respect."
The NDP's motion calls on the government to rectify decades of under-funding of seniors' programs by creating a Seniors Charter that enshrines the right of every senior in Canada to:
income security, through protected pensions and indexed public income support that provides
a reasonable state of economic welfare;
secure, accessible, and affordable housing;
wellness, through health promotion and preventative care;
secure, public, accessible, universal health care including primary care, homecare, palliative and geriatric care, and free pharma and dental care;
self-development, through lifelong access to affordable recreation, education and training;
government services, through timely access to all federal government services and programs, including family re-unification.
It also calls for the creation of a Seniors Advocate who would publish and report annually to parliament on government policies and programs affecting seniors as well as:
conduct public education and awareness initiatives on the rights of seniors;
ensure that all new or revised policies and programs affecting seniors receive public input from older persons;
require that all new policies and programs affecting seniors are announced with specific timelines for implementation; and
act as an Ombudsman for seniors with respect to all government services and programs making recommendations as appropriate;
"The non-partisan passing of this motion is a giant first step toward ensuring that no Canadian senior will ever have to choose between buying their groceries or their medication again," said Charlton. "And we look forward to working with all Members and the provinces to make the features of this motion law as soon as possible.
Please find attached the NDP motion:
39th PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION
EDITED HANSARD • NUMBER 041
CONTENTS
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP) moved:
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should work with the provinces to rectify decades of underfunding of seniors programs by: (a) creating a Seniors Charter that recognizes older Canadians as creative, active and valued members of our society, and that this Charter shall enshrine the right of every senior living in Canada to the following: (i) income security, through protected pensions and indexed public income support that provides a reasonable state of economic welfare; (ii) housing, through secure accessible, and affordable housing; (iii) wellness, through health promotion and preventative care; (iv) health care, through secure, public, accessible, universal health care including primary care, dental care, homecare, palliative and geriatric care, and pharmacare; (v) self-development, through lifelong access to affordable recreation, education and training, (vi) government services, through timely access to all federal government services and programs, including family re-unification; and (b) creating a Seniors Advocate to: (i) conduct public education and awareness initiatives on the rights of seniors; (ii) ensure that all new or revised policies and programs affecting seniors receive public input from older persons; (iii) require that all new policies and programs affecting seniors are announced with specific timelines for implementation; (iv) act as an Ombudsman for seniors with respect to all government services and programs making recommendations as appropriate and that this Seniors Advocate publish and report annually to Parliament on government policies and programs affecting seniors, including the effectiveness of federal funding related to the needs of older persons.
The Motion mandates the federal government to create a Seniors Charter that recognizes older Canadians as creative, active and valued members of our society, who deserve free drug and dental coverage.
"This is a great victory for seniors who've worked hard all their lives, and simply want access to the programs and services their tax dollars help sustain," said Charlton. "We're very pleased that a majority of MPs agreed that these programs are essential to seniors' full participation in Canadian society. The people who built this country deserve to retire with dignity and respect."
The NDP's motion calls on the government to rectify decades of under-funding of seniors' programs by creating a Seniors Charter that enshrines the right of every senior in Canada to:
income security, through protected pensions and indexed public income support that provides
a reasonable state of economic welfare;
secure, accessible, and affordable housing;
wellness, through health promotion and preventative care;
secure, public, accessible, universal health care including primary care, homecare, palliative and geriatric care, and free pharma and dental care;
self-development, through lifelong access to affordable recreation, education and training;
government services, through timely access to all federal government services and programs, including family re-unification.
It also calls for the creation of a Seniors Advocate who would publish and report annually to parliament on government policies and programs affecting seniors as well as:
conduct public education and awareness initiatives on the rights of seniors;
ensure that all new or revised policies and programs affecting seniors receive public input from older persons;
require that all new policies and programs affecting seniors are announced with specific timelines for implementation; and
act as an Ombudsman for seniors with respect to all government services and programs making recommendations as appropriate;
"The non-partisan passing of this motion is a giant first step toward ensuring that no Canadian senior will ever have to choose between buying their groceries or their medication again," said Charlton. "And we look forward to working with all Members and the provinces to make the features of this motion law as soon as possible.
Please find attached the NDP motion:
39th PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION
EDITED HANSARD • NUMBER 041
CONTENTS
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP) moved:
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should work with the provinces to rectify decades of underfunding of seniors programs by: (a) creating a Seniors Charter that recognizes older Canadians as creative, active and valued members of our society, and that this Charter shall enshrine the right of every senior living in Canada to the following: (i) income security, through protected pensions and indexed public income support that provides a reasonable state of economic welfare; (ii) housing, through secure accessible, and affordable housing; (iii) wellness, through health promotion and preventative care; (iv) health care, through secure, public, accessible, universal health care including primary care, dental care, homecare, palliative and geriatric care, and pharmacare; (v) self-development, through lifelong access to affordable recreation, education and training, (vi) government services, through timely access to all federal government services and programs, including family re-unification; and (b) creating a Seniors Advocate to: (i) conduct public education and awareness initiatives on the rights of seniors; (ii) ensure that all new or revised policies and programs affecting seniors receive public input from older persons; (iii) require that all new policies and programs affecting seniors are announced with specific timelines for implementation; (iv) act as an Ombudsman for seniors with respect to all government services and programs making recommendations as appropriate and that this Seniors Advocate publish and report annually to Parliament on government policies and programs affecting seniors, including the effectiveness of federal funding related to the needs of older persons.
# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 10:28 PM 
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