On our recent trip to the Maritimes, CARP held meetings with the Deputy Minister of Seniors, Simon d’Entremont and the Deputy Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. Peter W. Vaughan in Nova Scotia as well as the Mayor of Halifax, Michael Savage.These meetings provided a critical opportunity for these officials to hear about the concerns of CARP members in Nova Scotia and share our views on critical issues.There was alignment on two key issues. CARP welcomes the approach of the Ministry of Seniors, which focuses on policy issues rather than running programs. Seniors’ Ministry officials provide input to other departments so that all ministries are made aware of how their mandates impact seniors.

We were delighted with d’Entrement’s viewpoint that the ‘silver tsunami’ is not a problem but rather an opportunity. The Seniors’ Ministry is seeking to create new initiatives such as the volunteer ‘time bank’ – a concept that has successfully launched in Japan where volunteers bank their time and ‘cash in’ on these hours in their senior years. Mr. Vaughan, the Deputy Minister of Health and Wellness spoke about the cost-effectiveness of medications and how the government wishes to build evidence that show poly-pharmacy can be more detrimental than helpful to seniors. We are invigorated by our mutual synergies and look forward to following the continued success of the work of our Chapters out east.