If I’d known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself

The best way to keep the right to full participation is to never lose it in the first place. So when we advocate for a bit of financial support for family caregivers, we also ask for workplace protection laws to make sure that taking time off to look after loved ones doesn’t cost you your job.

And when the politicians start talking over and around us, we need to remind them of our virtual lock on the ballot box – side note –> we just have to be a bit less politically loyal and a bit more definitive about what we want. That’s why we are organizing a Toronto Mayor’s Debate to focus the candidates’ attention on what they will do to make the city a model Age Friendly City. We’ve seen the slogan bruited about – now we need to see the kind of mindfulness that makes the slogan a reality.

Our voting power is slowly making its way into the public discourse. Minister for Seniors Diane Ablonczy is quoted as confirming that the federal Conservatives are contemplating key policy changes for seniors, including eliminating the mandatory retirement age, at a time when the demographic is of growing importance to the party’s future [see media articles]. Her statement that there needs to be a shift in attitude about how older workers are viewed is a welcome one and the party’s choice to tap into its base specifically recognizes that, as pollster Allan Gregg says: “Seniors arguably are the most important constituency for the Conservative party.”

These and other advocacy issues will have to compete with the overarching economic challenges world- wide and the shift in attitudes among our federal politicians could not have come at a better time.

Those of you who love to hate Toronto will have had your fill of Schaudenfreude as you watched the G20 ruckus on TV. What you might have missed is that the world leaders agreed on a deficit reducing imperative that will take direct aim at what they call non “growth-friendly” spending and included in this category are transfers or “entitlements” expenditures – i.e. state pensions, health care etc. The European headlines are already spreading – increasing the age threshold for state pensions seems to be almost a given.

Importantly, the nomenclature is “growth-friendly” spending. So you see – we cannot afford to be defined as ancillaries to the core business of the nation. Indeed, nor can the nation.

The key is for all sectors of the economy and society to live longer and age gracefully together. After all, it appears that we will be around a lot longer so let’s make it a good time – not just a long time.

Keywords: seniors, ageism, longevity