Top jobs for new seniors advocate

Opinion

On Nov. 1 the NDP government will fulfil its election campaign promise with the scheduled opening of the Seniors Advocate Office.

Seniors groups have been calling upon successive provincial governments to establish an office that would be a voice for older adults in our province regarding issues of program and policy reform. The Seniors Advocate Act provides the office with a mandate to not only address individual matters, but to focus on systemic and root causes as well.

A number of seniors groups and community organizations are working together to shape the initial agenda of the seniors advocate by identifying four systemic issues and actions that the office should address.

The Manitoba Seniors Advocate should make it a priority to conduct a comparative study of government funding of non-profit and for-profit long-term care facilities, similar to the review done by the British Columbia Seniors Advocate, in order to better understand the impact of the costs and services of for-profit and non-profit long-term care facilities in our province.

In 2018 and again in 2023, the British Columbia Seniors Advocate did a comparative review of for-profit and non-profit long-term care facilities. Some of the key findings included: non-profit facilities spend 25 per cent more per resident on direct care as compared to for-profit facilities; non-profit facilities delivered 93,000 hours more care than they were funded to deliver in 2023, up from 80,000 hours in 2018; for-profit facilities delivered 500,000 hours less care than they were funded to deliver in 2023, up from 207,000 hours in 2018, and; there was a 113 per cent increase in profit involving provincially contracted long-term care facilities over the five-year period — 80 per cent of total profit was concentrated in 20 per cent of the facilities, of which 82 per cent were for-profit facilities.

Between 2018 and 2023, the B.C. provincial government funding for contracted long-term care facilities grew from $1.4 billion to $1.9 billion per year, an increase of 35 per cent. Greater accountability and transparency for public investment in long-term care facilities is about better providing services to seniors as well as improving government efficiency in the use of taxpayers’ dollars.

Secondly, the Manitoba Seniors Advocate should make it a priority to conduct a review of the supply and cost of independent living, assisted living and supportive housing for seniors in our province. Presently, the provincial government identifies that the private sector should be providing assisted living for older adults. Assisted living (including rent, meals, cleaning and laundry services) provided by the private sector costs between $3,000 to $6,000 per month. The entire income for an individual senior receiving Old Age Security (OAS) and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) pensions is less than $2,000 per month. Private sector assisted living is clearly beyond the means of low/fixed/moderate income seniors. A continuum of rent-geared-to-income non-profit housing for older adults, including independent living, assisted living and supportive housing, needs to be established to prevent the premature entry of low/fixed/moderate-income seniors into long-term care homes.

The proposed review of supply and cost of independent living, assisted living and supportive housing should include identifying gaps and barriers in services, especially as related to equity deserving groups; required system policy changes, and required funding, especially the role of the federal and provincial governments.

Thirdly, the Manitoba Seniors Advocate should make it a priority to conduct a review of the provincial home-care system to strengthen capacity and resources to support older adults to age in place. The harmful experiences of individuals with the home-care system is highlighted by the media on a regular basis.

The proposed aging-in-place and home-care system review should include identifying gaps and barriers in services, especially as related to equity-deserving groups; required systemic policy changes, and required public funding.

Finally, the new Manitoba Seniors Advocate should make it a priority to establish an advisory council that is representative of older adults throughout the province, including representatives from equity groups, to provide direction for the development, implementation, ongoing priorities and review of the impact of Seniors Advocate Office.

Seniors groups look forward to working with the new seniors advocate to better address the aspirations and needs of older adults in Manitoba. Adopting these proposed priorities would be a good start to demonstrate that the seniors advocate is authentically working in partnership with the community.

Lucille Bruce is co-chair of the Manitoba Seniors Equity Action Coalition, Marnie Strath is chair of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons — Manitoba Chapter, and Paul Moist is president of the Manitoba Federation of Union Retirees.