News Release

1999-115
October 1, 1999

Health Minister marks International Day of Older Persons

"Canada's seniors play a vital role in our society," said the Minister. "Their efforts, past and present, contribute richly to the quality of life we all enjoy. During this past year, designated International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations, I have had the pleasure of meeting many seniors whose efforts continue to enrich the lives of our communities."

A total of 61 national and regional International Year of Older Persons (IYOP) projects have received funding totalling $4.8 million under the Population Health Fund. The following three projects were announced today:

L' Assemblée des aînées et aînés francophones du Canada, will receive $148,230 for a national project aimed at enhancing awareness among young and middle-aged adults of the factors which contribute to healthy aging. The organization is located in Pointe-de-l'Église, Nova Scotia.

The Canadian Association of the Deaf, located in Ottawa, will receive $153,700 for a project aimed at meeting the special needs and abilities of deaf seniors. The project will investigate technical aids and develop guidance for deaf seniors facing later life transitions.

Promoting active living among seniors in Aboriginal communities is the goal of a project to be undertaken by the National Indian and Inuit Community Health Representatives Organization. The organization, based in Kahnawake, Quebec, will receive $261,350.

Mr. Rock also announced several Government of Canada initiatives which support the objectives of IYOP:

• A special awards ceremony took place today at Pier 21, Canada's Immigration Museum, Halifax Nova Scotia. It honoured winners of the International Year of Older Persons' Legacy Collection Contests sponsored by the Canada Co-ordinating Committee (CCC) for IYOP. Awards were presented by the Honourable Flora MacDonald, Co-Chair of the CCC. On hand as a special guest speaker, and to assist in the presentations, was Canadian Space Agency Astronaut, Julie Payette. Ms. Payette also made her own presentation of an IYOP medallion which she took into space during her last space mission.
  
• To help celebrate the International Day of Older Persons and, appropriately, Women's History Month, Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) is launching a new book, My Grandmother's Wartime Diary. The book is a compilation of personal stories provided by the grandmothers, mothers and women friends of VAC staff who supported and served Canada's military efforts during the Second World War. The book will be available to staff and excerpts will be posted on VAC's Web site . The Department, which is headquartered in Prince Edward Island, will also participate in TrailFest '99, an event that encourages well-being by exploring that province's network of recreational trails. Members of the Island's veteran and seniors' community will be joining staff on the celebratory walk.
  
• Statistics Canada's third edition of A portrait of seniors in Canada,(89-519-XPE, $40) available today, provides a comprehensive statistical profile of the population aged 65 and over, with details on family status and living arrangements, housing, health, education, income, and work and leisure patterns. For more information on this report or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Colin Lindsay (613-951-2603; fax: 613-951-0387; lindcol@statscan.ca), Target Groups Project, Housing, Family and Social Statistics Division.

The Minister also encouraged Canadians to participate in The Global Embrace, an around-the-clock, around-the-world series of walk events scheduled for October 2nd. The Global Embrace is sponsored by the World Health Organization's Global Movement for Active Ageing project, in which every country is invited to join in time zone after time zone, to celebrate ageing. The walks will start with countries in the Pacific, followed by the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. More information about events taking place in communities throughout Canada can be found on the IYOP website.

The Population Health Fund

Health Canada has adopted a population health approach to further its continuing mandate to maintain and improve the health of Canadians. This approach recognizes that many factors, in addition to the health care system, have a strong influence on health, for example: nutrition, physical activity, or education. The approach promotes prevention, and encourages positive action on determinants that affect the health of the population as a whole, or that of specific population groups. The goal of the Population Health Fund, which has an annual budget of $14 million, is to increase community capacity for action on the determinants of health.

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Media Inquiries
Jeffrey Pender
Health Canada
(613) 957-2988

Bonnie McFeeters
Veterans Affairs Canada
(902)566-7614

Colin Lindsay
Statistics Canada
(613)951-2603

Public Inquiries
(613) 957-2991