National conclusions echo B.C. caution issued last year by our auditor-general
By Barbara Yaffe, Vancouver Sun
Forget the perennial debate about a national daycare scheme for Canada. We'd better focus on elder care.
That's a warning from the Ottawa-based Institute of Marriage and Family, a lobby group launched in 2006 to promote family-friendly public policy.
In a just-released report, titled Care-Full? The Democratic Crunch and Senior Care in Canada, researcher Derek Miedema uses Statistics Canada data to spotlight a nightmare scenario that's either around the corner or, for many of us, already here.
As primary caregiver to an 85-year old father -- my mother died last month at the same age -- I've come to know the ins and outs of both securing and personally providing care for seniors.
In my own case, the crunch came three years ago when my parents began needing nursing-home care. Some 22 per cent of seniors requiring care currently reside in nursing homes; the rest are at home.
But getting my parents into a facility they'd accept was hell. The provincial social worker's approach to designating two beds in Vancouver was mind-numbingly bureaucratic, and complicated by waiting lists and a bed shortage.
Alarmingly, B.C.'s auditor-general reported last October, B.C. "is not adequately fulfilling its stewardship role in helping to ensure that the home and community care system has the capacity to meet the needs of the population."
And, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, B.C. has the second-worst access to residential care in the country, after New Brunswick.
Policies relating to elder care had better become a central preoccupation for Canada's politicians, argues the Ottawa institute's report.
It points to the fact the birth rate is dropping and people are living longer. In 1970, the fertility rate in this country was 2.1 children -- replacement level. By 2006, it had dipped to 1.5.
A lower birth rate means fewer children to take care of greying parents. Grandparents are projected within the next six years to outnumber grandchildren.
In the 1920s, seniors made up five per cent of Canada's population. In 1981, they comprised 9.6 per cent. In 2005, the percentage reached 13.1.
Future trends could be problematic. Between 2005 and 2056 the average Canadian's lifespan is expected to increase by seven years.
The situation may be exacerbated by immigration, since so many bring extended families to Canada.
"Within 50 years," predicts the report, "workers could face astronomical tax rates in order to maintain even the current level of social services for seniors."
Here's why. Average per-person annual health spending in Canada is $1,832. For those aged 65 to 69, it's $5,369. For those 85 to 89 it's $21,202.
Says the report: "The numbers don't lie: looking to the future, the most pressing need for Canadians will be elder care, not child care.
"Now is not the time to spend billions of dollars on a national daycare strategy. That debate is only a distraction from the real challenge of ensuring quality elder care."
Of course, institutes on marriage and family generally promote the notion of women having children and staying home to look after them. So daycare wouldn't be a cause they'd advance at the best of times.
But even with that caveat, it's hard to argue with Miedema's findings. With health-care budgets consuming 40 per cent and more of provincial spending, it's difficult to see where the cash will come from to care for the next generation of elderly.
