Local seniors given opportunity to voice concerns

COLIN PAYNE
Star Reporter

February 13 2008

Last Monday, Columbia River – Revelstoke MLA Norm Macdonald held a seniors’ forum at the Golden Seniors’ Centre to discuss issues facing seniors in Golden and across the province.

Macdonald says the forum was held in an effort to ensure all seniors have a chance to voice their concerns, and that the important issues facing them are brought to the attention of government.

“In the last election, seniors issues were prominent throughout the riding,” Macdonald says. “Since then, it’s one of the main issues we deal with.”

He says one of the main goals was to make sure people know how to contact his office about their issues, and for them to know they’ll be addressed.

“We wanted to make sure people know how to get in touch with us,” Macdonald explains. “We get a lot of contact, so we think people understand what we can do.  But we want to make sure we’re not missing anyone, and you’re hearing absolutely everything that’s out there.

“What’s come clear with the meetings is that a lot more has come forward.  So it’s always important to get people talking about things the government needs to do better.”

Macdonald notes about 35 people, most of whom were seniors, came out to the forum.

He says issues that came up included:

-A proposed NDP legislation to introduce a seniors’ representative that would have the ability to investigate complaints by seniors and bring issues to the provincial legislature.

-Another proposed legislation that would see assisted living facilities in the province regularly inspected without notification to ensure they’re meeting high standards, with the results made public.

-The difficulties created for seniors by the new pay-before-you-pump legislation recently put in place by the province.

-The implications of increasing property value and taxation in Golden for seniors.

-And the application for the Whitetooth Legacy Fund by the Golden and District Health Services Co-operative (GDHSC) which would use the $1.2 million to aid in the construction of an affordably-priced seniors’ housing co-op in the community.

“It was very useful in understanding what issues seniors have to deal with,” Macdonald says.

He notes they also laid out the process they have in place at their office for handling issues brought to them by constituents.

“We talked about the fact that we’re confidential, we can move things effectively, and we can help people through the process,” Macdonald explains.

“They shouldn’t feel they’re powerless when they find themselves dealing with the government or a government agency.”

Paul Hambruch, president of the Golden Seniors Society, attended the forum.  He says the issues brought up are important to seniors in Golden.

He notes that seniors were supportive of the GDHSC application for the Whitetooth Legacy Fund and their proposed seniors’ housing village.

Hambruch also pointed out that the new pay-before-you-pump and staffing regulations for gas station create difficulty not only for seniors, but also for all people with disabilities.

He explains that people with mobility problems may have difficulty getting in and out of gas stations to pay for their gas, and paying before pumping may also mean multiple trips.

“They need full service at the gas pumps,” Hambruch says.  “If there’s nobody there to come out and do it anymore, what are they going to do?  If they need their car gassed up, they need a friend to come and do it because they can’t do it themselves.

“For some people it’s more than an inconvenience.  It’s not a possibility.  They can’t do it.

Hambruch also says he would support the proposed legislation to bring in surprise inspections for assisted living facilities.

He compares it to an experience he had working in a mine in Brisco many years ago.

“Every now and then we had a mining inspector come around to inspect what we were doing,” he says.  “There were lots of tings going on at that mine that were illegal.  But the mining inspector announced he was coming in a week.  And guess what?  Everything was done to the letter of the law until he was gone, then we went back to the old ways.

“It’s the same thing with anything else.  People, for one reason or another, start cutting corners.  And someone needs to pull them up on it.”

Overall, Hambruch says the seniors’ forum was a valuable experience.

“I think everybody appreciated it,” Hambruch says.  “That’s what people are looking for, accountability.  I think for politicians to come and honestly talk about how things work, and what the problems might be.

He adds it would be nice to have something like that once a year.

“There were quite a few questions, and I heard quite a few good comments afterwards,” Hambruch notes.  “It really was a good thing.”

If you have an issue you’d like to speak to Norm Macdonald about, you can reach him at his local office by telephone at 344 – 4816, or toll-free at 1-866-870 4188.  You can also stop by the office, located at 802 Park Drive across from the town hall.

For more information about Norm Macdonald, visit his website, www.normmacdonald.ca.