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OTTAWA, ONTARIO, June 15, 2009— The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, and the Honourable Marjory LeBreton, Leader of the Government in the Senate and Minister of State (Seniors), today announced the launch of a national awareness campaign on elder abuse, as well as a Federal Elder Abuse Initiative call for proposals. Coinciding with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, the announcement of these initiatives builds upon the Government of Canada’s work to improve the lives of seniors.
“Seniors from all walks of life are vulnerable to elder abuse, and it’s happening in communities across Canada,” said Minister Finley. “This national advertising campaign and call for proposals highlight our government’s commitment to raising awareness as a means of combating the abuse of older adults.”
According to recent Government of Canada public opinion research on elder abuse, 96 percent of Canadians think most of the abuse experienced by older adults is hidden or goes undetected. It is estimated that between four and 10 percent of seniors – about 345,000 older people – in Canada experience some kind of abuse.
“As a society that honours its seniors, we cannot and must not tolerate elder abuse,” said Minister LeBreton. “That is why our government is collaborating with provinces and territories, professional associations and non-governmental organizations to combat elder abuse and ensure that the quality of life of seniors is not diminished by abuse of any kind.”
The national advertising campaign, entitled Elder Abuse – It’s Time To Face The Reality, focuses on creating awareness of elder abuse and its many forms: physical, financial, psychological and sexual. The campaign includes television, Internet and print advertisements. The campaign will run from June 15, 2009 until early July and again later this year. For more information on the campaign, and to view the television advertisement visit www.seniors.gc.ca.
The call for proposals under the Federal Elder Abuse Initiative will be open from June 15, 2009 to July 24, 2009. The call invites professional associations to apply for funding to adapt, customize and disseminate elder abuse materials for use throughout their organizations. Through the New Horizons for Seniors Program, the call for proposals will fund up to 10 national and Quebec professional associations. The maximum funding is $200,000 per project, over 24 months. To learn more about the Federal Elder Abuse Initiative call for proposals or to apply for funding, visit www.seniors.gc.ca.
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| We have a really serious problem with elder abuse. I am not sure that people realize how bad it is. Families rarely talk about it and they should.
We have just gone through this in our family. The oldest sibling was abusing mom. There are no laws or anything to stop this. Every where we went there was road block after road block. I believe many are mentally ill or greedy for money that abuse their parent. It is very difficult to watch this happen to your parent and not be able to stop it. The legal system is very lengthy and costly and even after you get guardianship and trustee the abuse continues as there is nothing to stop it. e.g. abuser taking mom's gold jewelry and other items from her home. They certainly have laws if it happens in a long term care facility but not if it happens within the family.
The personal directive act is a joke. Even though in the act it says that the person can be charged if they are violating the act, it is not done. The police say it is a civil matter and the lawyer says that judges rarely sentences these things. There is no deterent.
It is not just awareness that you need. It is some really strong deterents so that this does not happen to the elderly. We have met lots that say, "oh yea we know it is happening in our family but we turn a blind eye." Others say, " we stopped too soon. I can understand that because it is a very hard journey to try and protect you parent in an abusive way.
You need to sit down with families and hear what they have to say what they have been through and what can be done to correct the system. There seems to be nothing at all and the abuse is just getting worse. I feel sorry for our seniors. They are like children and need a voice for them to be heard but when you do. There is nothing that can be done.
Thank you. |
| Yes seniors are being abusee daily ; I am a senior that has been around as a senior only a few years I am 70yrs old . Trying to help other senior I and my partner deliver MEALS ON WHEELS /sit with people with dementia /cancer patient etc etc . I really try to help all I can . If everyone did a bit everyday the Seniors would be much better off ; A SMILE DOES NOT COST ANY MONEY; my best to all ygallant |
| My sister, the oldest in our family, has had my parents add her name to their house and bank accounts. Since Dad is in a nursing home, Mom is extremely vulnerable and is dependent on my sister, who coerced my parents to move to the same city as them just before their health failed. This sister has had a life long history of financial, physical and emotional abuse but my parents did not believe in “tough love”, so never reported her for it. My sister can be quite charismatic at times and does errands for my parents and then slipped the land title papers in with a large stack of nursing home admission papers and had my parents sign them. In additional to this, she was bleeding my parents’ bank accounts; she would shop for her family as well as my parents’ and charge them for the entire bill. She also “borrowed” large sums of money but refused to repay it. We have a lawyer on the case to attempt to reinstate the money but is there anything we can do to charge my sister in a criminal way? This was clearly fraud – my Dad barely knew his name when he signed the papers and could have no idea of the legal ramifications of signing. My Mom was exhausted and emotionally vulnerable as well as frail herself. If anyone has a suggestion of where I could get assistance having criminal charges brought about for this financial and emotional abuse, I would be greatly appreciative. |
