Feb. 22, 2012 - Issue #853: Folkways
Vuepoint
Beyond panic
A national panic has been created by Prime Minister Stephen Harper about his mysterious Old Age Security reforms. Harper’s surprise announcement a few weeks ago set off a flurry of panicked discussions about possible cuts to OAS, increasing the age of qualification and speculation on the idea that Canada will not have the tax-paying population to support seniors. While his reluctance to illustrate the details of his old age security plans is concerning it's perhaps more concerning that this conversation is happening on the eve of a demographic shift in many areas unprepared for growth in the needs of seniors.
A demographic shift is happening. The number of Canadian seniors will double in the next 25 years. It’s a growth that requires more consideration than surprise announcements and talk of crisis.
Here in Edmonton, it's expected that the population of seniors—which currently make up 12 percent of the city's population—will double in the next decade and seniors aged 80 plus will increase by 266 percent in 30 years.
Accommodations for an older population, while important, go beyond the financial considerations of income and include everything from barrier-free access buildings and streets to the myriad of health services and housing considerations for seniors who wish to remain independent as well as those who no longer can. A strategy enacted by the city last year aims to address these concerns. They’re considerations that need to be reflected in provincial and federal conversations—conversations that shouldn’t be spurred by unnecessary panic.
According to many economists, the public funds exist to ensure proper services. The recent federal concern that the tax-paying population will not exist to support an aging population is considered unfounded by parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page. The Globe and Mail reports that Page stated in a new report that the cost of OAS service alone will be payable as a percentage of GDP in the future, and that cause for crisis is unfounded.
Canada’s aging population is growing rapidly. By 2051, one in four Canadians will be 65 years or older according to Human Resources Department of Canada. But the panic induced by the phrasing of Harper and Human Resources Minister Diane Finley does little to assist an evaluation of what resources will be needed to accommodate this growing population, not simply financially, but in all sectors of need.
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