TORONTO, ON: September 25, 2008: CARP issued a questionnaire to all the major parties asking them to address the election priorities of the 14.5 million Canadians 45plus, namely,

1. a Universal Family Caregiver Benefit – a refundable caregiver tax credit to support the estimated 5 million Canadians caring for loved ones at home

2. a Universal Pension Plan for the 1 in 3 Canadians without retirement savings and substantial increases to the Old Age Security [OAS]. Canada Pension Plan [CPP] and Guaranteed Income Supplements [GIS] for low and fixed income seniors

3. Elimination of Mandatory Retirement for 840,000 Canadians working in federally regulated industries

4. a strategy to Keep Older Workers including training, anti-ageism in the workplace and phased retirement

5. Better Health Care through wait times guarantees, national health standards and pharmacare.

You will find a copy of the questionnaire below and it is posted at: Election 2008 CARPAction

“These are not just our ideas – they come from many of our more than 350,000 members and 20 chapters and representatives across the country. The political parties need to address the issues that matter to their most active voters”, said Susan Eng, Vice President, Advocacy of CARP.

Canadians 45 and over are the largest and most politically engaged demographic – 70% of them vote regularly and in 2004, they cast 9 million votes, or 64% of all votes cast in that election.

The questionnaire has been sent to the headquarters of the five major political parties requesting replies by October 1st – the United Nations International Day of Older Persons [for more information: www.un.org. All replies should be sent to [email protected]

Replies will be posted on the www.carp.ca website as they arrive as well as reported in Special election editions of the CARP ActionOnline newsletter which has 50,000 opt-in subscribers.

CARP will be encouraging its 20 chapters and representatives as well as its members nationwide to challenge their local candidates on their response to these priorities. An all candidates meeting will be hosted by the Windsor chapter on October 8th – details will be posted at www.carp.ca/community.cfm

These priorities have already been articulated in the launch issue of ZOOMER magazine which reached 200,000 households across the country.

CARP is a national, non-partisan, non-profit organization committed to advocating for a New Vision of Aging for Canada which means social change that will bring financial security, equitable access to health care and freedom from discrimination; ensuring that the marketplace serves the needs and expectations of our generation and providing value-added benefits, products and services to members; and building a sense of community and shared values among our members in support of CARP’s mission.

For further information, please contact: Michelle Taylor, Communications Coordinator for Susan Eng Vice President Advocacy CARP, A New Vision of Aging for Canada 416.363.7023 x. 236

CARP’s Questionnaire for Party Leaders

CARP is a national, non-partisan, non-profit organization committed to advocating for a New Vision of Aging for Canada which means social change that will bring financial security, equitable access to health care and freedom from discrimination; ensuring that the marketplace serves the needs and expectations of our generation and providing value-added benefits, products and services to members; and building a sense of community and shared values among our members in support of CARP’s mission.