Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue of poverty is very complicated, as we all know. Like a jigsaw puzzle being put on the table, you must first look at the problem by seeing the big picture, then you tackle piece by piece.
I view the challenge of poverty much in the same way. First you start by looking at the corners and the sides, or some even tackle the middle. Yes, poverty is something we can tackle. If we look at the big picture, we see problems and we must pick away at them piece by piece, whether it’s putting our energies into housing, jobs, affordability, or even other types of necessities, such as affordability of food and their expenses.
There are many organizations out there that take seniors’ poverty very seriously and they put their finger on it. The Canadian Centre for Poverty Alternatives will tell you that the lack of affordable housing is detrimental to many seniors because they can’t afford to pay for their accommodations or their food or their drugs or their transportation or other types of necessities because something always falls off the table and their money never goes far enough.
Research continues to tell us that seniors need supportive living. Many other sources, all through the government, point to the fact that two-thirds of our seniors are not getting enough income in their old-age years through their OAS or CPP to help them meet the bottom line. In fact, seniors are more vulnerable than ever. Poverty among our seniors I wish was a rare occurrence, one we never spoke of, but the reality is, it is the reality.
I could go on with CMHC stats or other types of government stats, but the bottom line is our senior population is growing. In the Yellowknife area alone, if you’re a senior between 65 and 74, in 11 years there’s going to be an almost 400 percent increase in the growth of seniors. If you’re in the age category of over 75 in the Yellowknife area, there is over a 400 percent growth in the next 11 years.
I often hear from seniors about the challenges of affordability, how they live in poverty, how they want to continue to live independently, but this just becomes so impossible. I often, again, hear from seniors that they thought these would be their golden years, but they’re more often described as the lead years, because they’re carrying around the lead weight of affordability and poverty, one that they never asked for but they struggle with day to day.
In short, this may be a puzzle, but I think if we all work together, I don’t think any of these poverty issues are insurmountable. We must pick away at these problems piece by piece. Affordability, housing, food, we can do more. I certainly believe it’s not an impossible task.