The Ontario Election And Seniors: an NDP Party Response

With the Ontario provincial election coming up, we asked the four political parties (Green, Liberal, NDP and PC) to respond to several questions of concern to seniors and their families.

QUESTIONS:

1. How do you plan to promote positive aging in Ontario and how will you make Ontario a more age-friendly province?


2. What specific things will you do to make health care more accessible and affordable to seniors?


3. What will you do to increase seniors' economic well-being including: employment access, adequate pensions, increased affordability of prescription drugs and care, and affordable housing?


4. How will you create supportive infrastructure for seniors in Ontario? Will you establish a cabinet committee on aging and provide financial incentives so that service hubs for seniors can be developed where required?

As each party leader sends their answers, we will share them with you. The fourth response we received was from the NDP.



NDP PARTY OF ONTARIO, Andrea Horwath:

1.  How do you plan to promote positive aging in Ontario and how will you make Ontario a more age-friendly province?

Ontario’s New Democrats will undertake numerous initiatives to ensure positive aging in Ontario. Greater access to healthcare, home care and long-term care will provide options for the most appropriate supports. Strengthened pensions – outlined below – will give peace of mind.

 

Removing HST from home heating, hydro and gas

Removing the HST from home heating, hydro and gas will make life more affordable, as will our program of rebates, grants and loans for energy efficient home retrofits that will further reduce utility bills.

Our plan will ensure that Ontario’s seniors have access to the services and affordable daily essentials necessary to maintain their quality of life.

 

2.  What specific things will you do to make health care more accessible and affordable to seniors?

Eliminate long-term care waiting list

We will eliminate the waiting list for long-term care for seniors with complex medical needs, and fund an additional one million hours of home care. We will create 50 new round-the-clock family health clinics, so that people can see a doctor or nurse practitioner on a regular basis. By forgiving the student loan debt of new doctors who practice in underserviced areas, we will tackle doctor shortages and ease the pressure on our emergency rooms.

 

3.  What will you do to increase seniors' economic well-being including: employment access, adequate pensions, increased affordability of prescription drugs and care, and affordable housing?

Strengthen Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund

Our seniors deserve to retire in dignity, and without worry. But many Ontarians are concerned about whether the money they need to retire will be there when they need it. We will help take the worry out of retirement by strengthening the Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund and developing an Ontario Retirement Plan to provide a defined benefit pension to people who want one. We will also work with the federal New Democrat team to push for the expansion of Canada Pension Plan benefits.

Combat rising healthcare fees

We will also work to combat rising healthcare fees by ending the most outrageous fees, such as those for ambulance services. No one facing a medical emergency should have to worry about whether or not they can afford to call an ambulance. We will make drug costs a priority in upcoming negotiations around a new national health accord.

Affordable housing plan

Our affordable housing plan contains a $1.1 billion commitment to create 50,000 new affordable housing units over the next 10 years. In addition, our new housing benefit will be available to low-income seniors with dependent children under the age of 18.

4.  How will you create supportive infrastructure for seniors in Ontario? Will you establish a cabinet committee on aging and provide financial incentives so that service hubs for seniors can be developed where required?

Non-medical home-making care

We are committed to supporting Ontario’s seniors and helping them to remain at home as long as possible. We will provide 7.5 million hours of non-medical home-making care – laundry, groceries, shovelling and more— to help seniors with daily tasks that may become more of a burden as they age.

We will consult with all stakeholders to discuss how to best serve Ontario’s seniors through policy, programs and services.