21. September 17-20: Visit to St. John’s by CARP National President Moses Znaimer and Vice-President Susan Eng: CARP National Vice-President Advocacy Susan Eng arrived in St. John’s on Thursday, September 17. On Friday, September 18, I had arranged for her to meet with Finance Minister Jerome Kennedy at 9 AM, St. John’s Mayor Dennis O’Keefe at 10:30 PM, Suzanne Brake, Director of the Division of Seniors and Aging at 2 PM and Kelly Heisz, Executive Director of the Seniors resource Centre at 3:30 PM. This made for a busy day during which there was lots of rain. A nice lunch at the Delta Hotel made up for the weather. Her report can be found at http://www.carp.ca/advocacy/adv-article-display.cfm?documentID=4158
On Saturday, September 19, the weather was much better and enabled us to take Susan to Signal Hill, Middle Cove, and Bell Island. She clearly enjoyed our tour and the local scenery, especially in Conception Bay.
Moses Znaimer, National President of CARP arrived on Saturday, September 19 for what became known as “Seniors Weekend in St. John’s”.
The Public Meeting held on Sunday, September 20 attracted over 200 interested people. After a 25 minute video presentation, in which Moses Znaimer presented his “New Vision of Aging in Canada”, the audience was invited to participate in a question and answer session. Perhaps local interest in aging issues was demonstrated by the range of questions and the general support for CARP in its efforts to promote age friendly communities all across this great country.
Media interest in this event was very high with all local television, radio and print media represented. There is no doubt that the CARP message was delivered to many new listeners which hopefully will help in our March to a million. For some of the media coverage go to: http://www.carp.ca/StJohnsAvalon/index.cfm?documentid=4136&type=full&cityid=183
The Memorial University Pensioners Association was a co-sponsor of this meeting and provided refreshments. I have provided our sincere thanks to MUNPA for this support and to Dr. Sharon Buehler for local arrangements at the Health Sciences Centre.
The Chapter also hosted a dinner party for Mr. Znaimer and his visiting party including Vice-President Susan Eng, Leanne Wright, Media Liaison and Bill Mantas, Videographer. Board members Margaret Adey, Gerald Anstey, Lorraine Best, and Don Byrne also attended making for a very pleasant evening.
Finally, an email from Susan Eng: Thanks again for everything you arranged for us all in St John’s – I think it was a great event and very productive visits with the politicians and bureaucrats. Susan Eng , Vice-President, Advocacy CARP. www.carp.ca
The latest issue of Zoomer magazine contains favorable reports on this visit with photographs of Mayor O’Keefe and members of the Chapter Board.
22. On October 1, International Older Persons Day, CARP urged Canadians to take stock of the opportunities and challenges of an aging population. “There are approximately 4.6 million Canadians over the age of 65 or about 13% of the population. By 2031, this proportion will almost double to 25% and for the first time in our history, there will be more people over age 65 than children under age 17” according to Susan Eng, CARP VP of Advocacy.
