Question Period Note: Seniors and healthy aging

N/A

• The Health Portfolio works with a wide range of partners on health promotion, disease prevention and research to support healthy aging as a public health priority. While chronic diseases remain the leading cause of death among seniors, older adults are also among those most at risk of getting COVID-19 and developing severe complications. Efforts are underway to support older adults to remain healthy and active in their homes and communities.
• The Government of Canada is committed to keeping seniors healthy, safe and socially connected, and helping them maintain their independence and remain in their homes as long as possible.
• This past October, Minister Khera and I announced that the National Seniors Council will serve as the expert panel to examine measures, including a potential aging at home benefit, to support Canadians who wish to age in their own homes.
• The government is providing $6 billion in federal funding over 10 years directly to provinces and territories to support better home and community care, including palliative care.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented consequences for older Canadians with the majority of COVID-19 deaths occurring among adults aged 65 years and older.
• To support Canadians during the pandemic, our Safe Restart Agreement with provincial and territorial governments included $740 million to support at-risk populations, including increasing infection prevention and control measures to protect people living in long-term care, and those receiving home care and palliative care.
• In addition, the Government of Canada, through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), has invested over $450 million over the past five years to support research in the area of seniors’ health, including projects to support older Canadians through the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Through the Public Health Agency of Canada’s $75 million investment in the Healthy Seniors Pilot Project in New Brunswick, we are testing innovative solutions to support healthy aging.

Acknowledging the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030), in December 2021, the Prime Minister mandated the Minister of Health to promote seniors’ physical and mental health to enable older adults to live longer at home. The Minister of Health was also asked to negotiate agreements with provinces and territories to support efforts to improve the quality and availability of long-term care homes and beds.

COVID-19 Initiatives
Older adults, especially those with underlying medical conditions, and those residing in long-term care, have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has released guidance, information and awareness resources to support older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, including: Infection Prevention and Control for COVID-19: Interim Guidance for Long Term Care Homes; and awareness resources for vulnerable populations, including a website with information specific to seniors and COVID-19.

Budget 2021 provided funding of $100 million over three years to support the mental health of populations disproportionately affected by COVID-19, including older adults.

Aging at Home
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the desire of Canadian seniors to stay in their own homes and communities as long as possible. Through Budget 2021, the Government of Canada committed $90 million over three years to the new Age Well at Home initiative. Age Well at Home will provide funding opportunities to seniors-serving organizations to support regional and national projects that help expand services that have demonstrated results in helping seniors stay in their homes longer.

In addition, Budget 2022 announced the Government’s intention to establish an expert panel which was announced on October 6, 2022, by Ministers Duclos and Khera. The National Seniors Council will serve as an expert panel to examine measures, including a potential aging at home benefit, to support Canadians who wish to age in their own homes. The National Seniors Council, established in 2007, is mandated to advise the Government of Canada, through the Minister of Health and Minister of Seniors, on matters related to the well-being and quality of life of seniors.

Health Portfolio Initiatives
PHAC monitors and reports on the health of older Canadians, and promotes their health and wellbeing. Key areas of work include:
• promoting age-friendly communities, where older adults and community leaders work to create supportive physical and social environments;
• promoting fall prevention approaches by increasing public awareness, and improving the availability of data to inform public health decision-making; and
• raising awareness of seniors’ mental health, including substance use, and working with partners to develop resources for seniors, families and health professionals.

Healthy aging initiatives can prevent illness and injury, reduce the impact of existing health conditions, help people recover from ill health and frailty, increase independence, and improve quality of life.

In June 2019, A Dementia Strategy for Canada: Together We Aspire was released. Budget 2019 announced $50 million over 5 years for initiatives to support key elements of the strategy’s implementation. This is in addition to ongoing annual funding of $4 million for the Dementia Community Investment to support community-based intervention research projects that optimize the health and wellbeing of people living with dementia and family/friend caregivers, while increasing knowledge about dementia and related risk and protective factors. In addition, Budget 2022 announced $30 million over 3 years for the Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation to help accelerate innovations in brain health and aging.

In Budget 2018, the Government of Canada announced $75 million to support the Healthy Seniors Pilot Project in New Brunswick, which is testing innovative solutions that support healthy aging. Results of these projects are being shared with jurisdictions across Canada.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) invested more than $450 million to support research on aging between 2015-16 and 2019-20, including research related to mobility, dementia, falls prevention, late life issues and palliative care, age-friendly communities, and technological innovations. Since 2009, CIHR has supported the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), a national, long-term study to help better understand the determinants of healthy aging. In 2020, the CLSA launched a COVID-19 research project on the experiences of older adults to generate evidence to inform the government-wide response. In addition, in collaboration with PHAC, CIHR provided an additional $1.2 million grant to the CLSA to support the collection of COVID-specific data to assess urgent issues and long-term impacts of the pandemic on older Canadians. As well, CIHR, alongside national and provincial partners, including Healthcare Excellence Canada, invested $3.4 million to support the implementation and evaluation of promising practices and policy interventions to improve pandemic preparedness within long-term care homes. Most recently, Budget 2022 announced $20 million over 5 years for CIHR to augment efforts to learn more about dementia and brain health, improve treatment and outcomes for persons living with dementia, and evaluate and address mental health consequences for caregivers and different models of care.

International Initiatives
In December 2020, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2021-2030 to be the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing. Globally, the impact of COVID-19 on older adults has underscored the importance of healthy aging.

• Seniors are one of the fastest growing age groups in Canada.
• $6 billion in federal funding over 10 years – starting in 2017 – is being provided directly to provinces and territories to support better home and community care, including palliative care.
• The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) invested $75 million in New Brunswick’s Healthy Seniors Pilot Project (2018-2025).
• Budget 2022 announced:
o The intention to establish an expert panel and, on October 6, 2022, Ministers Duclos and Khera announced that the National Seniors Council will serve as the expert panel to examine measures, including a potential aging at home benefit, to support Canadians who wish to age in their own homes.
o $30 million over 3 years for the Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation to help accelerate innovations in brain health and aging.
o $20 million over 5 years for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to augment efforts to learn more about dementia and brain health, improve treatment and outcomes for persons living with dementia, and evaluate and address mental health consequences for caregivers as well as different models of care.