Seniors

IN NEWS – Federal Retirees – Advocacy Spotlight: Nanaimo and area branch participates in health-care roundtable

In January, Nanaimo and area branch past-president Bob Willis and advocacy liaison Marg Smith attended a seniors' health-care roundtable in Qualicum Beach hosted by MP Gord Johns and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.

Willis and Smith were two of just 10 community leaders invited to attend the roundtable, thanks to the branch's ongoing advocacy work.

The roundtable discussion focused on issues in the health-care system, such as the shortage of physicians and other health-care practitioners in Oceanside, the barriers internationally trained physicians face in qualifying to practice medicine in the province, as well as the hurdles that Canada-trained physicians encounter to practice medicine in other provinces. 

IN THE NEWS – Alberni Valley News - Courtenay-Alberni MP urges Canada to negotiate end to UK pensioners cost-of-living index freeze

Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns is asking Canada to negotiate an end to the cost-of-living index freeze by the UK government for recipients of the British State Pension who live in Canada.

“Here in Courtenay-Alberni we have many retirees receiving the British State Pension and this directly affects their quality of life. Pensioners are losing tens of thousands of dollars over the course of their retirement,” said Johns, in a news release. “With the current inflation crisis, many seniors are having trouble making ends meet which is why it is critical this gets addressed without further delay.”

Support for seniors finally on the way

OTTAWA – People on Vancouver Island are finding it harder to afford groceries and rent as the cost of living rises. Vulnerable seniors have been particularly hard-hit since the LIberal government cut them off the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) they relied on forcing some to live out of their cars and do without vital supplies like medication. Earlier this week, the Liberal government finally agreed to provide a one-time payment in April with emergency funds available to those in dire financial circumstances as early as March. For almost six months, the NDP has been calling on the government to fix their mistake and have called the government's announcement a long overdue step to correct the harm that was done to seniors. 

“It’s unthinkable that the Liberal government would put seniors in a such a difficult situation and take so long to fix their own mistake. Because of their actions, seniors in my riding were left without any way of paying for their groceries, rent and medication which took a major toll on their mental health,” said MP Gord Johns (Courtenay-Alberni). “New Democrats refused to back down while seniors suffered and thankfully the Liberals listened.”