A group of seniors had their voices heard by MLA Adrian Dix about some of the biggest hurdles the senior age bracket is currently coping with in northern B.C. and specifically in Prince George.
In general the comments around the table were in sync with each other.
Concerns around long-term care, access to health care and finances were some of the items discussed.
"I think we are in particularly difficult times. For my generation - I'm 47 - the programs we put together as a society were largely formed by [the older] generation including public health care," said Dix. "But the baby boomers haven't done as well and the seniors now haven't done as well as they should have."
Dix went on to say the idea of grouping a generation that is now living longer than ever together under one umbrella is no longer reasonable.
"Life expectancy is higher, therefore the 65 year olds and 100 year olds are being put
together and that is wrong," said Dix.
Sharon Hurb, president of the Prince George Seniors Council, voiced her opinion on the issues surrounding Canadian Pension Plans
and joint incomes.
"Seniors are having to live common law with each other because of the issues with pensions and for a lot of seniors, living common law is against their upbringing," said Hurd.
Another big issue on the table was the inconsistencies and problems with long-term care in the province.
The seniors were united in saying that despite the idea of being able to live alone for as long as possible, there were negative repercussions the provincial government didn't consider.
"The government wants people to live at home for longer, but then the care facilities and respite care disappear," said Hurd.
Therefore, when seniors are in need of long-term care, they face long waiting lists or
sub-par living conditions.
"Also, people tend to forget that having seniors live at home means their care usually ends up on the families shoulders. Where is the respite or support for them?" asked Hurd.
"We are killing off the caregiver positions in this province," said Hurd.
"People are getting married, having their kids and living their lives together but because of the problems with access to long-term care, a lot of the time those couples are then being separated and are living in different places. That's despicable," said Hurd.
"As a result of that, a lot of couples live in absolutely appalling conditions because they don't want to be separated," said Beryl
Botham, a member of of PGCOS.
Bob D'Auray, the past president of PGCOS, points out that for many seniors the only time they have a good, nutritious meal is when they have food delivered from organizations like Meals on Wheels.
Access to information was also a topic
presented to Dix.
Allan Wilson, chief librarian at the Prince George Public Library said the library has noticed a 16 per cent increase in people asking for help navigating government run websites.
"Information isn't made palatable. The sites are made to be barriers," said Wilson.
At the end of the informal meeting, Dix left with a notebook full of notes and some suggestions. The main one was for the seniors to invite the ombudsperson, Kim Carter, to Prince George to further the discussion.
Carter just completed a massive, two part report on seniors' care.
"I know we could be doing better with a lot of things and I think that some things that could be improved would cost the
government less in the long run," said Dix.
