Newmarket, Aurora senior citizens air concerns at meeting

Yorkregion.com
May 27, 2016
By Lisa Queen

With York Region’s seniors population expected to increase by almost 150 per cent during the next two decades, older residents are facing a number of concerns, groups representing older residents told Ontario Seniors Minister Mario Sergio in Aurora Wednesday.

Affordable housing, food security, access to health care, lack of transportation and the need for more recreational opportunities are “top of mind issues” for the region’s growing number of seniors, Maureen Huismans, retired chairperson of the board of the Newmarket Seniors’ Centre and a past chairperson of the Newmarket Food Pantry, and Jim Abram, president of the Aurora Seniors’ Association, said.

They were two of about a dozen representatives who participated in the event at the Aurora Seniors’ Centre.

“A major concern is food and housing and food is more important than housing. If people do not get sufficient, decent food to eat and they don’t have good housing at a reasonable price, they can’t contribute to community or active engagement in the community,” Huismans said.

“When I first joined the food panty, we had 220 families in Newmarket coming for help and only 3 per cent of that membership was seniors. We now have more than 600 families and 11 per cent are seniors. This is because food and utilities have increased tremendously over the past year alone, which I believe has caused a great increase in the number of seniors looking for help with food supply.”

Huismans praised Sergio for taking the concerns of York seniors back to Queen’s Park.

Abram agreed.

“The significance of the event is to have Sergio come to our riding. It shows how hands-on he can be in dealing with the issues of seniors,” he said following the meeting, which was hosted by Newmarket-Aurora MPP Chris Ballard.

“It was intended to be geared (to address issues) that had influence beyond York Region, but of particular concern for our members here. Things like affordable housing, things like the issues of the Aurora and Newmarket food pantries and the increased usage by seniors.”

Seniors are also worried about how the new Ontario pension plan will work, lack of sufficient home care support and transportation hardships, Abram said.

According to York Region officials, the growth rate of the seniors population will almost quadruple the growth rate of the overall population by 2031.

The region had fewer than 125,700 residents over the age of 65 in 2011, which will climb to 311,250 by 2021, according to a report released last year called Towards a Seniors Strategy for York Region.

York seniors are living longer than the provincial and national averages. A York resident can expect to live to 84.1 years, compared to 81.5 years for the average Ontario resident and 81.1 years for the average Canadian.