A new report shows 32 per cent of seniors in Newfoundland and Labrador can’t afford basic necessities, including food, rent and medical supplies.
Susan Walsh, the province’s seniors advocate, says her report is based on 17 in-person and online sessions with seniors across the province, and an online survey completed by nearly 1,100 people.
She says her team met many people struggling with “very low income,” even after the Newfoundland and Labrador government raised its seniors benefit tax credit by 10 per cent.
Her report says seniors reported being homeless for the first time in their lives because they were evicted suddenly without reason and couldn’t afford rent at a new location.
It also says seniors are “very likely” to be forced into long-term care facilities because they can’t afford the cost of home care.
Walsh’s recommendations include that the seniors benefit be indexed to the cost of living and that the government cover home-care costs for seniors living below certain income thresholds.