“Infantilized” by the government during the pandemic, the elders are fighting back.
In particular, they are demanding a new financial allowance and are preparing a set of demands to “never relive” such a trying drama again.
“We felt infantilized and we suffered from isolation more than ever,” testified Lise Lapointe, of the Coalition for the Dignity of Seniors, at a press conference Monday morning at the Quebec City parliamentary press gallery.
“Condemned to our residence”
“We were told this at each press conference, we had become people condemned to our residence. It created mental problems. We couldn’t even go out to get supplies. We really felt that we had reached a more than difficult age. »
Elders are not consulted when thinking about public policies, she denounced.
They therefore want to take the initiative again, with broad consultation of the 150,000 members of the coalition’s associations. At the same time, they maintain that the time for commissions and inquiries has lasted long enough, that the solutions exist and that action must be taken.
They say they reported their “anger” and “dismay” to the minister responsible for seniors, Marguerite Blais.
“We cannot turn the page” on the 10,000 deaths that occurred in living environments for seniors during the first wave of the pandemic, insisted the spokesperson. That’s more than “10,000 families who are still in shock. […] We won’t forget that.”
Preserve purchasing power
The organizations have announced the holding of the Estates General on the living conditions of seniors on May 3, a forum to reach specific requirements concerning their top priority: home services and support.
The associations are also asking for a new allowance to preserve the purchasing power of seniors, hard hit by inflation.
“Poverty has just increased dramatically,” said Ms. Lapointe. As for the amount demanded, “we have not done the calculations, people in a better position will do these calculations”, she continued.
At the end of the Estates General, the Coalition will demand a firm commitment from the government in favor of the claims submitted.
“I can’t imagine the government and the opposition parties not being able to sit down and say, ‘enough is enough, it takes real action’. »
Remember that within 15 years, seniors aged 65 and over will represent a quarter of the Quebec population, according to data from the Coalition.
The Coalition is made up of six associations: the Quebec Association for the Defense of the Rights of Retired and Pre-retired Persons (AQDR), the Interprofessional Grouping of Retired Health Services Workers (RIIRS), the Association of Retired and Retired Education and other public services of Quebec (AREQ), the Quebec Association of Retirees from the Public and Parapublic Sectors (AQRP), the Quebec Association of Retired Directors and Directors of Educational Institutions (AQDER) and the Alliance of Associations of retirees (AAR).