National Conference on Caregiving - Summary of Proceedings

Introduction
Messages from the Deputy Minister, Prime Minister, and Minister of State
Canadian Research Evidence
The Local, Regional, and National Caregiving Organization Experience
Brief Overview of Conference Themes
Listening to Caregivers
Key Issues and Recommended Actions and Strategies
Cross-Cutting Priorities
Keynote Address
Closing Remarks
Participants List

Introduction

This document is a summary of the proceedings of the National Conference on Caregiving that the Honourable Tony Ianno, Minister of State (Families and Caregivers), hosted on October 17-18, 2005, in Gatineau, Quebec. Sponsored by Social Development Canada (SDC), the conference was organized with support from the Canadian Caregiver Coalition. The conference built on the dialogue on caregiving that SDC has undertaken with stakeholders and individuals since January 2005, in the form of roundtables and an online consultation.

More than 215 participants from across Canada attended the conference. They included a cross-section of local, regional, and national organizations representing seniors, people with disabilities and illnesses, caregivers, family support groups, service providers, thinktanks, members of the private sector and unions, academics, and members of Aboriginal, linguistic, women's, multicultural, and ethnic groups. Participants' enthusiasm about being part of a first ever national dialogue on caregiving was evident in their willingness to draw on their professional and personal experiences to identify key elements of a caregivers' agenda.

Messages from the Deputy Minister, Prime Minister, and Minister of State

Deputy Minister Nicole Jauvin welcomed participants, encouraging them to draw on their experiences and expertise to help build public policy that better meets the needs of caregivers. Prime Minister Paul Martin greeted participants via a taped message, emphasizing that the Government of Canada recognizes the important contributions of unpaid caregivers, and would listen to their strategies to move the caregivers' agenda forward. He reaffirmed the Government's commitment to allocate $1 billion over five years to develop effective mechanisms to support family caregivers.

Minister of State Tony Ianno echoed the Prime Minister's commitment to better support caregivers, emphasizing that Canada's three million unpaid caregivers "are our unsung heroes." He indicated that he would listen closely to their recommendations, and would continue to work with his federal and provincial-territorial colleagues to deliver better supports to caregivers. Minister Ianno urged participants to use the conference to build networks and break new ground in identifying strategies to move forward on.

Canadian Research Evidence

Dr. Norah Keating provided a common starting point for the conference, which included definitions and a profile of caregivers in Canada. Noting that caregivers take their roles seriously, Dr. Keating highlighted the significant social, health, personal, and economic consequences of caregiving. Research has shown that it would take at least 250,000 full-time people equivalents to replace current levels of unpaid caregiving in Canada. She concluded by sharing observations on the six themes that were the focus of the conference: awareness and recognition, economic security, employment and workplace supports, information and navigation, respite supports and strengthening community organizations.

The Local, Regional, and National Caregiving Organization Experience

Representatives from three caregiver organizations, the Canadian Caregiver Coalition, the Alberta Caregivers Association, and Providence Healthcare, shared the perspectives of national, provincial, and municipal organizations that either advocate on behalf of caregivers or provide supports to them. They highlighted a number of challenges for caregivers and the organizations supporting them, and recommended areas for action.

• Recognition and personal support for caregivers: Caregivers need to be recognized as partners in care, through awareness-building and discussing their role with health care and service providers. For caregiving to be sustainable, caregivers need a combination of personal support networks and community-based supports.
• Planning and preparation for caregivers: Health care and service providers need to prepare caregivers for their role by informing them about issues such as the care receivers' health condition and legal and financial matters. Creating positions of caregiver advisors who are involved at the start of the caregiving journey would assist caregivers in connecting with the necessary resources.
• Partnerships: Community-based organizations need time and resources to nourish linkages and partnerships with other community organizations, and with governments, service providers, and other relevant associations. Partnerships enable organizations to provide better supports to caregivers, as well as encourage more dialogue and engagement with the policy agendas affecting caregivers.
• Supporting diverse groups of caregivers: Community-based organizations have had difficulty providing supports to certain groups of caregivers, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities; immigrants; refugees; people living on low incomes; and those living in rural or remote regions. Caregiving organizations need to engage more with community groups already serving the community to develop strategies that better meet their needs. A particular challenge that needs attention is the barriers that immigrants and refugees face in trying to access supports through the health care system.
• Stable funding: Community organizations at all levels require stable sources of funding, and not just project-based funding, if they are to continue their work supporting caregivers. Community organizations are being asked to assume greater responsibilities for providing services without a corresponding transfer of funds, and this "offloading" can be very difficult for them to manage.

Brief Overview of Conference Themes

Representatives of SDC provided an overview of the consultations done to date on caregiving, which included five in-person consultations with stakeholders and an online consultation with caregivers across Canada. Key messages that consistently emerged in the consultations included the following:

• Most caregivers want to be supported in their role, not replaced;
• Caregivers have diverse situations and needs; and
• Governments need to address jurisdictional issues and partner with each other and the community to address the existing "patchwork of services."

They described the six conference themes in detail, indicating that the themes had emerged from the rich input shared during the preceding consultations. They invited participants to use the conference to explore the themes in more detail and identify or refine potential solutions to help address them.

Listening to Caregivers

Four caregivers shared their moving and diverse experiences as caregivers: Judy Cutler who had cared for her mother with cancer and her brother with schizophrenia; Yvonne Godfrey who cared for both her elderly mother and sister with Down Syndrome; Hugh Montgomery who cared for his wife Hazel who has Lou Gehrig's Disease; and Lyn Stewart who cared for her adult son with schizophrenia. What emerged from their testimonials was an agreement that the bond between caregiver and care receiver was rewarding, but it came at a price, which differed for each. Drawing on their experiences, the caregivers shared the challenges they faced, the types of supports that had been helpful to them, and the gaps that still need to be addressed.

• Each of the caregivers made profound sacrifices to provide care to their loved ones, including temporarily leaving work or retiring early, moving to be closer to the care receiver, or changing their retirement plans.
• Some of the caregivers faced financial hardship as a result of leaving their jobs and using up their savings while providing care. Returning to work after a period of caregiving was a major challenge, particularly when job-related counseling or retraining was not available to help them re-enter the labour market. Most of the caregivers said they experienced significant time and emotional stress as a result of providing care to one or more loved ones.
• For those care receivers who wanted to remain in the home, the caregivers worked hard to accommodate this desire. For others, it was positive to have a separate home to return to at the end of their caregiving day.
• A key step many faced in the caregiving journey was learning how to navigate the system. Some caregivers found this easier to do than others. Others found case managers and family resource workers to be helpful in navigating supports.
• Several of the caregivers obtained valuable and diverse forms of assistance from community organizations. This included offsetting the costs of medical devices, providing information about illnesses, and offering guidance on how caregivers could become formally involved in care decisions.
• The caregivers received differing levels and types of supports with respect to respite services and case management. In some cases, the care receivers required and obtained supports such as homecare, day programs, medical devices, or employment assistance. Some caregivers were satisfied with the level of support they and their care receiver obtained, while others found the level and type of support to be inadequate, resulting in increased stress levels.
• Depending on their care receivers' health condition, the caregivers sought more services in homecare and respite, nursing care facilities, day programs, or coverage for medical supplies. Some expressed a need for sustained core funding for programs that had helped them.
• Those caring for loved ones with a mental health condition found large gaps in the community care system, which resulted in more responsibilities for the caregiver. They sought a coordinated approach for those dealing with mental illness and their caregivers.

Key Issues and Recommended Actions and Strategies

In working groups on the second day, participants held discussions on the six themes below. Many of the themes are interlinked, so the priorities and recommendations that emerged were often relevant to more than one theme.

For each theme, participants identified challenges and priorities, created preferred futures and recommended strategies, and actions to take. Highlights from each discussion group are provided below.

1. Awareness and Recognition

Participants in this discussion group identified a number of priorities, including:

• Greater awareness of how ethnicity, cultural diversity, faith, and sexual orientation influence a person's experience as a caregiver. Services should be available in all languages and service providers should have training on how to address specific caregiving issues faced by diversity groups.
• Combating caregivers' invisibility and barriers to self-identification. Caregivers may not self-identify for a variety of reasons, including blame or stigma associated with some illnesses. Self-identification can result in less caregiver isolation and in caregivers' needs being recognized, while societal recognition and compensation for caregiving work can lead to greater comfort with self-identification.
• Increasing training and education for the care team on the role of caregivers. Health professionals and other service providers need training on how to better communicate with and involve family caregivers as part of the care team. Similarly, caregivers need training on a variety of issues, including how to request and use time with healthcare professionals and service providers, identify their needs, and access services.

Recommended actions included:

• Creating a national social marketing campaign that includes a national spokesperson and testimonials from caregivers. The objectives would include: increasing public awareness of caregiving and the contributions caregivers make, mobilizing support to devote additional resources to addressing caregivers' needs, and combating the stigma of caregiving and the invisibility of caregivers. This campaign could be coordinated by a National Secretariat for Caregivers.
• Establishing an online knowledge forum that provides information on caregiving services and agencies across Canada and a compendium of best practices, and that facilitates resource development among caregivers, policy makers, and service providers. This online mechanism could be maintained by a National Secretariat for Caregivers.
• Organizing an annual summit on caregiving to monitor developments in caregiving across Canada and develop and share training and educational resources.

2. Economic Security

As participants discussed the economic security of caregivers, several priorities emerged, including:

• Federal, provincial, and territorial cooperation, with strong accountability attached to any transfer payments, to ensure that services for caregivers are available across the country.
• Significant financial compensation that recognizes the work caregivers do and the savings caregivers provide to the health care system. As one participant said, "Caregiving is a job, and it should be paid."
• Solutions must be tailored to the heterogeneous needs of different groups of caregivers, such as those caring for people with disabilities or seniors, and those for whom caregiving responsibilities create economic insecurity in the short or long term.

Participants recommended a range of actions, including:

• Introducing a direct federal compensation program for caregivers, with clear criteria that are not means-tested, but are tied to the level of caregiving responsibilities.
• Expanding the Canada Pension Plan to introduce a specific benefit for caregivers.
• Reforming existing financial supports to caregivers including revamping the Employment Insurance Compassionate Care Benefit to remove the focus on end-of-life care, extending the benefit length to the same level as maternity leave, and expanding the definition of caregiver, as well as creating a refundable caregiver tax credit.

3. Employment and Workplace Supports

Participants in the employment and workplace supports discussion group identified several priorities, with respect being an overarching principle.

• Enhancing legislation and policies to ensure that all employed caregivers, regardless of employment circumstances, have the supports needed (such as access to paid or unpaid leave and job protection) to fulfill their caregiving responsibilities without adverse effects.
• Training and related measures to facilitate entering or re-entering the workplace for caregivers who have been out of the labour market for a significant time because of caregiving responsibilities.
• Increasing awareness among employers and unions of the challenges caregivers face managing work and caregiving responsibilities, and of the benefit programs available to help them meet both responsibilities.
• Reducing the stigma and negative employment consequences for caregivers who need to take time off from work to meet their caregiving responsibilities.

Participants recommended actions for three key players:

• Employers must acknowledge how caregiving can affect employees and overall productivity, and that there are benefits to supporting employees with caregiving responsibilities. Employers should develop training to sensitize their managers to the challenges employees with caregiving responsibilities face, and the benefit programs available to support them (paid or unpaid leave, flexible work arrangements, Employee Assistance Programs), as well as create innovative benefits for caregivers.
• Unions need to be aware of caregivers' needs and advocate on their behalf, negotiating programs and benefits that will enable them to fulfill responsibilities with minimal conflict. Unions should establish a campaign to educate employers and employees on the challenges caregivers face. They could also establish demonstration projects across Canada and champion the creation of an accountability system.
• Governments should adopt legislation to ensure caregivers across the country have a minimum paid leave provision when providing care, create incentives for employers to adopt measures that support employees with caregiving responsibilities, and support accountability and reporting on employers' implementation of policies and benefits related to caregiving.

4. Information and Navigation

Participants discussing information and navigation highlighted several priorities:

• Reducing fragmentation of information so that it is easier for caregivers to obtain comprehensive information and services in a timely manner, and easier for service providers to work across silos.
• Providing sustainable funding for information and navigation services, so that gaps can be addressed and cases can be followed up.
• Information and navigation services must be developed in tandem with ensuring that services are available and appropriate.
• Clarifying legal issues concerning confidentiality, as well as liability for information or navigation services and for volunteers and community organizations that provide these services.

Participants recommended strategies and actions in four key areas:

• Jurisdictional issues and roles between different levels of government should be resolved so that there is a coherent system of supports for caregivers regardless of the care receivers' illness or place of residence. Work should be undertaken with provinces and territories to map information from various sources, and the information should be reorganized by type of service rather than by the jurisdiction that funds it.
• Awareness and accessibility: Increased navigation services will facilitate caregivers' access to information and services. Any information or navigation service must be made available in ways that are linguistically and culturally appropriate. To reach caregivers of various ages and circumstances, multiple means of communication must be used, including telephone, Internet, print, and in person.
• Sustainable funding and system improvement: Information and navigation services must receive sustainable funding to maintain accurate information and to follow up on cases. System improvement mechanisms, such as regular updating of information and reporting, should be put in place through a federal-provincial/territorial process.
• Legal recognition of caregivers' contributions: Caregivers' contributions should be legally recognized, by establishing a legislated patient/caregiver bill of rights and through legislated supports for caregivers (such as leave benefits). Other legal issues such as privacy and confidentiality (particularly regarding mental health information) and liability insurance (for service providers and volunteers) must be addressed.

5. Respite Supports

Participants discussing respite supports identified four priorities:

• Flexibility: To meet their needs throughout their caregiving journey, caregivers need greater choice in determining where, when, and how respite is offered, as well as to whom and by whom.
• Cost: Adequate funding is needed to create and maintain a system of universally available and affordable respite.
• Access: Access needs to be enhanced, by broadening eligibility criteria and addressing service gaps in rural and remote communities.
• Quality: Standards are needed to govern respite service providers to ensure quality services, well-trained workers, and consistency in respite workers.

Participants recommended the following key strategies and actions:

• Creating a dedicated respite fund with funds allocated solely for delivering respite services through provincial or territorial governments and community-based organizations. The fund would indicate agreed-upon avenues for respite services and clear accountability mechanisms.
• Creating a comprehensive federal policy on respite support with an accountability framework to govern provincial/territorial or community-based delivery. This policy would be developed in collaboration with stakeholders and caregivers, and would operate on principles of caregiver choice, accessibility, quality, and continuity of care. It would also take geographic and cultural factors into consideration.

6. Strengthening Community Organizations

Participants discussing community organizations addressed a broad range of priorities, including:

• Establishing a unified caregiver voice at the national level to dialogue with governments on issues of concern.
• Adopting a holistic approach to assessing and providing care in order to provide more seamless services throughout the caregiving journey.
• Addressing the challenges of obtaining liability insurance for small organizations, which include the cost and complexity of the process.

They identified a number of recommended actions, including:

• Developing culturally relevant caregiving programs: Caregivers and care receivers should receive support and services that reflect their cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Within a caregiving strategy, this should include creating an Aboriginal-specific stream that addresses the unique needs of Aboriginal peoples, and ensuring that services are culturally sensitive to the needs of ethnic communities and accessible to linguistic minority groups.
• Providing core federal-provincial/territorial funding for community-based organizations that support caregivers: Multi-year funding mechanisms should be established to help community-based organizations build their capacity to create and sustain caregiver support services, such as education and training programs, navigation systems, and counseling. Community-based organizations receiving these funds must demonstrate accountability and have clear evaluation mechanisms.
• Creating a National Secretariat for Caregivers: A National Secretariat for Caregivers would facilitate the development of a national framework through which to work with community organizations. Its activities would include creating regional caregiver advisors to liaise with community organizations, developing accountability and best practice protocols for community organizations, supporting data collection at the local level, coordinating public awareness campaigns, and promoting knowledge transfer.

Cross-Cutting Priorities

• Caregiver visibility and voice: Participants repeatedly indicated that caregivers can be "invisible." This issue goes beyond the need for public awareness and extends into the need for more concrete recognition and supports in a variety of arenas, including financially, in the workplace and in communities, in policy dialogues, and with health care professionals.
• Recognition of ethnicity, culture, and gender: Participants emphasized that caregivers' needs and appropriate solutions vary depending on their ethnicity, culture, and gender. Many participants mentioned, in particular, the specific needs of Aboriginal caregivers, who often do not have access to services in remote communities. They also discussed the unique challenges new immigrants and refugees face, such as eligibility and financial barriers to accessing supports for either care receivers or caregivers. Participants also raised the need for gender analysis given that women, as the majority of caregivers, often experience considerable challenges managing caregiving with work and other responsibilities.
• Recognition of the differences among caregivers: There are differences among caregivers in terms of their needs and the supports they are eligible for. This stems partly from the condition or illness of the care receiver, and the services the care receiver is eligible for. Participants emphasized the need for greater attention to those caring for persons with mental health conditions, as they have relatively few services available to them and they face unique legal issues concerning their involvement in the care system. Participants strongly indicated that services and solutions must reflect the diverse needs of caregivers.
• Funding: The need for sustainable, ongoing funding for community organizations and services was frequently raised in many discussion groups. Caregivers save the health care system money by providing unpaid services, but they also need services and economic supports to ensure that they themselves do not become care receivers as a result of stress and overwork.
• Partnership and coordination: Jurisdictional issues, silos, and insufficient coordination and communication across service providers need to be resolved. Participants emphasized that governments, health care professionals, service providers, community groups, and caregivers must develop stronger partnerships and networks to facilitate information exchange, promote awareness of the services available, and develop a more coherent pan-Canadian caregiver support system.
• Coordination with supports for care receivers: While the agenda is focused on caregivers, it is important to acknowledge that initiatives to support care receivers influence the degree of caregiving required, and that initiatives for both populations are mutually supportive.

Keynote Address

Sherri Torjman, Vice President of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, delivered the keynote address, Policy Lessons for the Caregiving Agenda. Describing caregiving as being at the "heart of a healthy country," she outlined three avenues through which a federal caregiving agenda might move forward: federal-provincial/territorial, federal-only, or federal involvement with communities. She drew on lessons learned from her work on the disability agenda and highlighted the challenges and advantages of each stream, including how to work with the commonalities between the caregiving, disability, and seniors' agendas, while respecting the distinctions between them. She concluded with the observation that the caregiver agenda is a not merely a set of disparate measures, but an essential thread that relates to a range of other agendas, including productivity.

Closing Remarks

Manitoba's Minister of Family Services and Housing, Christine Melnick, congratulated Minister Ianno and conference delegates for coming together to obtain a truly national perspective on caregiving. She noted, "If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to care for a village." She acknowledged that caregiving was an important but complex issue, and pledged to ensure that it remains a top priority at the upcoming federal-provincial/territorial meeting of Ministers responsible for Social Services.

Minister Ianno reiterated Minister Melnick's assertion that the challenges of caregiving were best addressed by both levels of government working together. He reiterated the Government's commitment of $1 billion over five years and assured participants that he is a committed advocate for better supports for caregivers. He urged delegates to continue the dialogue "so that we can build that village together"—one that meets the needs of care receivers and caregivers.

Representing Deputy Minister Nicole Jauvin, Deborah Tunis, Director General of Social Policy, gave the conference's closing remarks. She thanked the Canadian Caregiving Coalition for their support in organizing the event and thanked participants for their active engagement, including the caregivers who were willing to share their personal experiences. She assured participants that government representatives would look closely at the recommendations they had made.

Participants List

Al Pierog, Edmonton General Continuing Care Centre

Alice West, Women Elders in Action

Allan Northcott, Max Bell Foundation

Amanda Falotico, Providence Centre

Amanda Macrae, Age and Opportunity Inc.

Angela Xavier, St. Christopher House

Anita Dadson, FamilyNet & Lionsview Seniors Planning Society

Ann Dorion, Canadian Pensioners Concerned Inc.

Anna MacQuarrie, Canadian Association for Community Living

Anne Martin-Matthews, University of British Columbia

Annick Gervais, Le Phare — enfants et familles

Audrey Henderson, Family Caregiver Centre

Audrey Lawrence, Congress of Aboriginal Peoples

Barbara Jaworski, FGI World

Barbara MacLean, Family Caregiver Network Society

Barbara Stanton, Canadian Caregiver Coalition

Barry Schmidl, Prince Edward Island Council of the Disabled

Beatrice Campbell, Northwest Territory Seniors Society

Bev Duncan, Saskatchewan Voice of People with Disabilities Inc.

Bev Weeks, Harvey Outreach for Seniors

Beverlee McIntosh, Canadian Caregiver Coalition

Beverley Smith, Kids First Parent Association of Canada

Bill Gleberzon, Canadian Relations Association for the Fifty-Plus

Blair Boudreau, Regroupement des aînés et aînées de la Nouvelle-Écosse

Bonnie Pape, Canadian Mental Health Association

Bonnie Schroeder, Victorian Order of Nurses Canada

Brenda Kruger, Assembly of First Nations

Carol Amaratunga, University of Ottawa

Carol Welch, Community Links

Carole Cohen, Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Services Centre

Catherine Cornutt, Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education

Catherine Quinn, Alliance for the Mentally Ill Inc.

Cathy Routledge, Hospice Yukon Society

Celeste Andersen, Labrador Inuit Health Commission

Cheryl O'Connor, Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Science Centre

Colleen Malone, Mount Saint Vincent University

Connie Delahanty, Ontario Society (Coalition) of Senior Citizens' Organizations

Constance McKnight, National Network for Mental Health

Corine Nitsiza, Northwest Territory Council for Persons with Disabilities

DanaVocisano, J. W. McConnell Family Foundation

David Hay, Canadian Policy Research Networks

Debbie Schroeder, Four Directions Community Health Centre and Grandmother's Community Action Partnership

Debby Vigoda, Ontario Gerontology Association / Older Persons' Mental Health & Addictions Network

Della Erickson, Blood Ties Four Directions Centre

Denis Lamelin, Canadian Union of Postal Workers

Denise Desautels, Canadian Healthcare Association

Diana Alvarado, Canadian Diabetes Association

Diana McIntyre, Alberta Caregivers Association

Diane Brault, Association féminine d'éducation et d'action sociale (AFEAO)

Diane Gendron, Baluchon Alzheimer

Donald Fenn, Caregiver Omnimedia Inc. / Family Caregiver Magazine

Donna Farmer, Caregivers' Advocacy Committee

Donna Hewlett, The Council on Aging, Windsor-Essex County

Donna Lero, University of Guelph

Donna Loft, Chiefs of Ontario

Donna Thomson, Lifetime Networks Ottawa

Doreen Smith, Rupertsland Caregiver Services

Edgar Arsenault, La Coopérative le chez nous ltée.

Eileen Malone, New Brunswick Women's Liberal Association

Elaine Brooks, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Senior Citizens Council

Eleanor Zacharias, Evergreen Society

Ellen Hicks, Canadian Paraplegic Association

Erin Holland, Seniors Resource Centre of Newfoundland and Labrador

Ertrice Eddy, Manitoba Council on Multicultural Health Inc.

Esther Roberts, Canadian Caregiver Coalition

Faye Porter, Victorian Order of Nurses Canada

Felicita Villasin, INTERCEDE for the Rights of Domestic Workers, Caregivers and Newcomers

Filomena Nalewajek, Canuck Place Children's Hospice

Francine Waters, Alliance for the Mentality Ill

Gail Bruhm, Care Management for Seniors

Gail Gallagher, Assembly of First Nations

Gail Holdner, Canadian Union of Postal Workers

Gaylene Hardwick, Women's Network PEI

George Dyck, Canadian Centre on Disability Studies

Gillian Crossin, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care

Gillian Joseph, University of Guelph

Ginette Mayrand, Société Parkinson du Québec

Giri Puligandla, Alberta Caregivers Association

Gladys Eggenberger, Yellowknife Seniors' Society

Harry Beatty, Bakerlaw

Heather Osmond, Primary Health Care Project

Ila Lafieur, Visions Centre of Innovation

Jack Styan, Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network

Jacquie Eales, University of Alberta

Jamie Kass, Canadian Union of Postal Workers

Jane Clark, Tapestry House

Jane McCarthy, The ALS Society of Canada

Janet Ko, Family and Friends Against Disordered Eating

Janice Keefe, Mount Saint Vincent University

Jean Simpson, Ontario Women’s Health Council

Jeanne Brooker, Carleton-Victoria Community Vocational Board Inc.

Jean-Victor Wittenberg, Canadian Alliance for Children's Healthcare

Jennifer Howard, Women's Health Clinic

Jennifer Dickson, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada

Jeyasingh David, Providence Healthcare

Jim Gurnett, Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers

Joanne Durst, Extendicare

JoanneTaylor, British Columbia Coalition of People with Disabilities

John Maxted, The College of Family Physicians of Canada

Jo-Lynn Fenton, Autism Society of Canada

Judi Johnny, Canadian National Institute for the Blind / Canadian Paraplegic Association Yukon

Judith MacBride-King, Conference Board of Canada

Judith McGill, Families for a Secure Future

Judith Limkilde, Seneca College — King Campus

Judy Cutler, Canada's Association for the Fifty-Plus

June Wylie, British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society

K. P. S. Aujlay, Canadian Council on Multicultural Health

Karen Boyer, Caregivers' Support Network — Muskoka and Parry Sound

Karen Duncan, University of Manitoba

Karen Henderson, Caregiver Network Inc. / How to Care

Karine Genest, Fédération de l'Age D'Or du Québec / Mouvement des aînés du Québec

Kathleen Spatt, Regina Work-Life Balance Network

Kerrie Strathy, University of Regina

Larry Chambers, Elizabeth Bruyère Research Institute

Laurie Ringaert, Canadian Centre on Disability Studies

Lily Ledrew, Central Regional Integrated Health Authority

Lily Tremblay, Association Lavalloise des personnes aidantes

Linda Kenny, Canadian Paraplegic Association Ontario

Linda Lysne, Canadian Caregiver Coalition

Linda Nugent, University of New Brunswick

Linda Thibodeau, Ontario Métis Aboriginal Association

Lise St-Onge, Les EssentiElles (Groupe de femmes)

Lori Hunter, Manitoba Society of Seniors

Lorna Hillman, Canadian Caregiver Coalition

Lucy Barylak, Centre de Santé et de services sociaux Cavendish

Marcia Kirkwood, Centenary Queen Square Care Centres Inc.

Margaret Birrell, British Columbia Coalition of People with Disabilities

Margaret Horn, Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada

Marge Dempsey, Alzheimer Society of the Niagara Region

Margot Brunner-Campbell, Alberta Committee of Citizens with Disabilities

Maria Rugg, Hospital for Sick Children — Palliative Care Program

Mario Tardif, Regroupement des aidant(e)s naturel(le)s de Montréal

Marjorie Silverman, Centre de Santé et de services sociaux Cavendish

Michael Bach, Canadian Association for Community Living

Michelle Bergin, Schizophrenia Society of Canada

Michèle Guay, La Fédération des aînés et des retraités francophones de l'Ontario

Michelle Kristinson, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada

Milenka Munoz, Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal

Nancy Hyland, Canadian Mental Health Association

Neasa Martin, Mood Disorders Society of Canada

Nichole Downer, Canadian AIDS Society

Norah Keating, University of Alberta

Odette Lepage, Réseau-femmes Colombie-Britannique

Palmier Stevenson-Young, Canadian Caregiver Coalition

Pammla Petrucka, University of Saskatchewan

Pat Armstrong, York University

Pat Burnip, British Columbia Coalition of Women's Centres

Paul Vieira, Hay River Community Health Board

Paulette Sonier-Rioux, Réseau National Action Éducation Femme

Perry Omeasoo, Vancouver Native Health Society

Pierre Drouin, Association canadienne des enseignants retraités Congrès des organismes nationaux d’aînés

Rajbir Singh, Holistic Health Canada Inc.

Raymond Applebaum, Peel Senior Link

Ricardo Contreras, Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal

Robert Harry, British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society

Roberta Morgan, Yukon Council on Aging

Roger Doiron, Association acadienne et francophone des aînés du Nouveau-Brunswick

Rosemary Lester, Seniors Resource Centre of Newfoundland and Labrador Inc.

Rudy Lawrence, Council of Senior Citizens' Organization of British Columbia

Ruth Peters, United Senior Citizens of Ontario Inc.

Ryan McCarthy, Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association

Sandra Cook, Cancer Care Nova Scotia

Sandra Hirst, Canadian Association on Gerontology

Sandra Parris, Conference Board of Canada

Sandy Stemp, Reena Foundation

Scott Simmie, Toronto Star

Selvi Varathappan, Immigrant Women's Association of Manitoba Inc.

Shari Brotman, McGill University

Sharon Reashore, Caregivers Association Nova Scotia

Sheila McDonagh, Canadian Down Syndrome Society

Sherri Torjman, Caledon Institute of Social Policy

Sherry Baiton, South Saskatchewan Independent Living Centres

Susan Donaldson, Canadian Home Care Association

Susan Fulford-Hearn, Victorian Order of Nurses Canada

Susan Roper, The Empowerment Connection

Sylvia Baago, Young Carers Initiative Niagara

Terry Schenkel, Developmental Disabilities Association

Thelma McGillivray, Older Women's Network

Thomas Ward, Victorian Order of Nurses Canada

Timothy Diamond, Ryerson University

Tracey Busby, Community Living Manitoba / Manitoba Caregiver Network

Virginia Lloyd, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

Willie Lirette, Fédération des aînés et aînées francophones du Canada

Zuhy Sayeed, Canadian Coalition for Family Supportive Policy

A number of private citizens who are caregivers or care receivers were also in attendance.