advocacyspotlight
Pensions hit the perfect storm
It’s RRSP time, again! Check the Web. Scour the newspapers. Hustle to your friendly (?) financial institution and plunk down your cash. That is, if you have any. Only 25 per cent of Canadians have RRSPs. The reason more do not is simple: They don’t have the money. Or, they don’t think ahead, being young or insouciant, or both. This … Read more
CARP Communications Poll Report
KEY FINDINGS February 22, 2013: Members are familiar and comfortable with online functions, and consider increased online activity among utilities and providers as a positive development, creating faster, more efficient service. They do recognize, however, that those without online access are increasingly being disadvantaged by the move online. It must be emphasized, however, that our poll sample is all … Read more
Counterpoint, Opinion: Legalizing assisted suicide wrong and dangerous
MONTREAL — At the entry to Paris’s oldest hospital, the Hôtel Dieu, are these words: “To cure occasionally, to relieve often, to comfort always.” Medical historians ascribe this aphorism to Hippocrates, who also gave us our medical oath, an important principle of which is to not kill. And yet a culture of death, frequently disguised as the concept of “dying with … Read more
Now was the best time to act on CPP-Enhancement – Political landscape may change by June
CPP Enhancement is still on the table. That’s the good news. CARP members will be disappointed that the Finance ministers did not agree on increasing the CPP but can take some comfort that they will discuss it further in June. However, likely provincial elections this Spring could shift the political landscape by the time they meet again. This was a … Read more
Open letter to Finance ministers
December 5, 2012 Dear Ministers of Finance CARP members are calling on you to move forward on your 2010 promise to improve retirement security for all Canadians. In June 2010, the federal provincial and territorial finance ministers acknowledged that Canada’s pension system needed reform and that government had a role to play by proposing a pooled pension arrangement together with … Read more
CARP Financial Poll Report
Key Findings October 19, 2012: While CARP members themselves are generally comfortable, many have experienced extreme poverty in the past or know someone who has, and they see value in steps which the government can take to prevent this. Two thirds of members live as a couple, say they are financially comfortable and are relatively unworried about the future. Living … Read more
Press Release: Ontario’s New Tax Credit Keeps Seniors Safer, Reduces Pressures on Hospital and Long-Term Care
On October 2nd 2012, Ontario’s Healthy Homes Tax Renovation Credit legislation just passed 3rd Reading and will now go for Royal Assent. CARP had supported the passage of this legislation. The Government of Ontario published the following press release on its website: The passage of the Healthy Homes Renovation Tax Credit Act will allow Ontario’s seniors to renovate their homes so … Read more
Stephen Harper appoints five new senators, bolstering Tory majority
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed five new senators, bolstering the Tory majority in the upper chamber. He is sending Diane Bellemare, Tobias C. Enverga Jr., Thanh Hai Ngo, Thomas Johnson McInnis and Paul E. McIntyre to the Senate. This article was published by The National Post on September 7th, 2012. To see this article and other related … Read more
Grandmothers to Grandmothers: A Canadian Phenomenon
Playmates, caregivers, confidants to their grandchildren and overall go-to help for their children – these are typical roles that many Canadian grandmothers enjoy. Now imagine the daily life of thousands of African grandmothers who are now parenting their grandchildren, orphaned by the AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. At a stage of life when many of us experience a reprieve from … Read more
Overburdened phone system a recipe for frustration among pensioners
Originally published in the Globe and Mail on November 17th, 2011. To go to the Globe and Mail website please, click here Retired Canadians who need help applying for pension benefits are forced to navigate convoluted government telephone systems and wait on hold for long periods of time just to get through to under-resourced call centres that are often not authorized to … Read more
