Question Period Note: STRENGTHENING CANADA'S APPROACH TO ELDER ABUSE

What are the next steps for the government to protect Canada's seniors from elder abuse?

We recognize that elder abuse is a serious issue affecting many older people in Canada, and even more so in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has contributed to further isolating seniors.

The Public Health Agency of Canada is investing up to $10 million per year from 2022-23 to 2024-25, and up to $6.5 million in 2025-26, to support projects to deliver and test interventions that promote safe relationships and prevent intimate partner violence, child maltreatment and elder abuse.

I am committed to continue to work to strengthen Canada’s approach to elder abuse by finalizing the national definition of elder abuse, investing in better data collection and establishing new offences and penalties in the Criminal code related to elder abuse. I am working with my colleague, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, to advance this work.

Once created, the definition will help raise awareness and inform Government programs and policies aimed at reducing the prevalence of elder abuse in Canada. In addition, the Government will share this definition widely, including with provinces and territories.

The abuse of older adults remains an often hidden but serious social problem that affects the lives of thousands of seniors in Canada. Elder abuse includes physical abuse, psychological abuse, financial abuse and sexual abuse.

The National Seniors Council has supported the Government in its efforts to address elder abuse. To advise Ministers on measures to address financial crimes and harms against seniors, the Council hosted an expert round table and town hall in March 2019. The
Council concluded their work on this topic with the release of a ‘what we heard report’ summarizing the discussions, which was published on the Government of Canada
website in August 2019. In July 2021, the Council supported the Minister of Seniors by
co-moderating a series of regional roundtables soliciting input from stakeholders for the development of a federal policy definition of senior abuse.

Since it was created in 2007, the pan-Canadian contributions stream of the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) has supported 149 collaborative projects aiming to increase the social inclusion of seniors, representing an investment of more than $102 million. By increasing seniors’ social inclusion, all pan-Canadian projects help reduce the risk of elder abuse. In addition, the NHSP’s community-based funding stream continues to expand elder abuse awareness through its annual funding of one-year community-based projects for an amount of up to $25,000.

The former Minister of Seniors December 2021 mandate letter commitments included a commitment to “continue to work with the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada to strengthen Canada’s approach to elder abuse by finalizing the national definition of elder abuse, investing in better data collection and establishing new offences and penalties in the Criminal code related to elder abuse.”

In June and July 2021, the Government held consultations with various experts to seek feedback on the development of a proposed federal policy definition on senior abuse. Although the term “elder abuse” was referenced in the Mandate Letters, given the distinct cultural meaning of the term “elder” for Indigenous communities in Canada, the term “senior abuse” was chosen to consult on a definition.

In October 2022, the Government published a report on Enhancement of Canadian Data on the Abuse of Older Persons: An Exploratory Study. This public opinion research was conducted by subject matter expert Professor Marie Beaulieu, Research Chair on Mistreatment of Older Adults at the Université de Sherbrooke. This report highlights the challenges of senior abuse reporting and data collection across the country and identifies pragmatic approaches to address them.

The Department of Justice is also working with Edmonton Police Service, specifically their dedicated senior abuse unit (the Domestic Offenders Crime Section), to examine the extent, nature and outcome of senior abuse cases coming to their attention. The Department of Justice will analyze the data collected on these cases and interview key stakeholders to show how the unit is working.

As part of its priorities for 2022-2025, the Federal, Provincial and Territorial (FPT) Forum of Ministers Responsible for Seniors is analyzing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on abuse, with the objective of informing FPT programming and policies. The report Preventing and Responding to the Mistreatment of Older Adults: Gaps and Challenges Exposed During the Pandemic is expected to be published for dissemination in fall 2023.

Through its family violence prevention investment, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is investing up to $10 million per year from 2022-23 to 2024-25 and up to $6.5 million in 2025-26. The overall aim of this investment is to increase the evidence base and uptake of health promotion programs and interventions that are effective in preventing family violence, including child maltreatment, intimate partner violence and elder abuse, and address its health impacts.

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