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.

• Through Budget 2021, the Government included $50 million over five years to design and deliver interventions that promote safe relationships and prevent family violence, including 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.

• In summer 2021, the Government held nation-wide consultations to seek feedback on a federal policy definition of senior abuse.

• The Government is also undertaking an exploratory study on addressing national senior abuse data gaps, as well as a case study of the Edmonton Police Service’s dedicated senior abuse team.

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.
From 2007 to 2015, the New Horizons for Seniors Program pan-Canadian funding focused on increasing the awareness of elder abuse and invested in over 75 projects, which developed, replicated, adapted, and disseminated tools, resources and promising practices across the country.
The New Horizons for Seniors Program's community-based funding stream continues to increase elder abuse awareness through its annual funding of one-year community-based projects for an amount of up to $25,000. From 2004–2022, the Government of Canada awarded more than $54 million in funding to organizations across Canada for more than
1,650 projects with a focus on elder abuse awareness.
The 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.
The Department of Justice has provided Marie Beaulieu (Professor, School of Social Work University of Sherbrooke and Quebec Research Chair on the Mistreatment of Older Adults) with funding to undertake a research project entitled Addressing National Data Gaps on Senior Abuse: An exploratory study. The purpose of the project is to further understand the challenges around reporting senior abuse across the country, and to identify possible
ways of addressing national data gaps. The focus is around self-reporting senior abuse in long-term care homes, other residential facilities for seniors, and other areas where there are current limitations.
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.
Budget 2021 included $50 million over five years, starting in 2021–2022, for the Public Health Agency of Canada to design and deliver interventions that promote safe relationships and prevent family violence, including intimate partner violence, child maltreatment, and elder abuse.

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