Speech from the Throne (Schulte)

As Minister of Seniors, I wanted to share some updates on important work underway nationally to help seniors.

Speech from the Throne

The Government committed to action on critical issues for seniors in the Speech from the Throne, including:

Increasing Old Age Security once a senior turns 75, and boosting the Canada Pension Plan survivor benefit.
Taking additional action to help people stay in their homes longer.
Working with the provinces and territories to set new, national standards for long-term care.
Creating a new Canadian Disability Benefit modelled after the GIS and a better process to determine eligibility for disability programs and benefits.
Accelerating steps to achieve a national, universal pharmacare program.
Ensuring everyone—including in rural and remote areas—has access to a family doctor or primary care team.

New Horizons for Seniors Program

To help seniors with the social isolation and uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the Government of Canada recently launched over 1,000 additional community-based projects through the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP).

We need good ideas for the next round! The 2020–21 NHSP Call for Proposals for community-based projects is open until October 20, 2020. This year, organizations can apply for funding for projects that offer COVID-19 support activities for seniors. Organizations are also still welcome to submit proposals for more traditional NHSP projects. For details on how to apply, visit https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/new-horizons-seniors.html.

National Seniors Day

October 1 is National Seniors Day, a day where we recognize and show our appreciation to the older adults in our lives. We mark this day by celebrating them and the tremendous contributions and sacrifices they have made, and continue to make, for their families and communities. I invite you to visit the National Seniors Day webpage and our Seniors in Canada Facebook page to watch and share my National Seniors Day messages.

Take some time to celebrate the older adults in your life by showing them how much they mean to you. And please do it safely: Make a call, start a video chat, send a text or share our e-postcard on social media.

I’d love to see how you’re celebrating National Seniors Day! Share your photos on the Seniors in Canada Facebook page or join the conversation on the ESDC Twitter page using #NationalSeniorsDay.

Happy National Seniors Day!

Minister Deb Schulte