Seniors remain priority

January 30 2008

Over these next few weeks, I will be traveling throughout the constituency meeting with seniors and their families.  I have decided to take this time to focus on senior’s issues because seniors are telling me that too often they are being denied the services they need.

I believe strongly that we have a responsibility as a society to protect our seniors.  We must develop a safety net that provides dignity and respect for all seniors throughout their lives.

When I ran for office in 2005 I spent much of the campaign knocking on doors and speaking directly with voters.  The issue that I heard about most often was healthcare for seniors.  Unfortunately, over the last two and a half years, very few of those concerns have been resolved by this government.

The Opposition takes seriously the concerns you have raised.  Two pieces of legislation have been put forward by Carole James, the Leader of the Opposition, to improve the lives of seniors throughout British Columbia. 

The Representative for Seniors Act would establish an independent office of the Legislature whose sole responsibility would be to protect the rights of seniors.  The Seniors Representative would have the power to investigate any claims of mistreatment of seniors and would act as an advocate for seniors’ issues.

The Community Care and Assisted Living Amendment Act would enforce standards in eldercare facilities through random annual inspections and would require public reporting on the findings of those inspections.  Negative inspection reports could no longer be hidden by facility operators or by government.

I believe that the passage of these two bills would make a real difference to seniors in our province.  You can show your support for these initiatives by emailing the Premier at premier@gov.bc.ca or by writing to PO Box 9041 Stn Prov Govt Victoria BC V8W 9E1.

I also hope that you will join me for an MLA Forum on Senior’s Issues on Thursday, January 31st at 1 PM at the Revelstoke Seniors Centre.  I want to hear your stories and your ideas.