4.  How supportive, enabling and safe are seniors' living conditions?

Areas identified for action

The 2001 Report Card indicated that priority action should be taken on two fronts: increasing the stock of affordable rental housing to alleviate core housing needs, and reducing the rate of economic crime victimization.

New or updated information

• PhoneBusters statistics on telemarketing fraud show that Canadians over age 60 accounted for almost 90% of those who reported being defrauded in 2001 compared with about 77% in 1999.²³

• The average after-tax income of unattached senior women rose to $19,299 in 2000, from $18,960 in 1999 (see Chart 4).¹⁹

• At the same time unattached senior men were reporting an average after-tax income of $22,025 in 2000, down from $22,725 in 1999.²⁰

Observations

• PhoneBusters data represent only the number of calls reporting phone fraud to this organization, and probably underestimates the actual prevalence of telemarketing fraud. The higher rates among older Canadians may indicate either that seniors are the prime targets for this crime, or that they are more aware of PhoneBusters and willing to report having been the targets of fraud artists.

• Information on core housing needs derived from the 2001 Census is not yet available.²⁴

Emerging areas of promise and concern

• Since 2001, the federal government has committed about $1 billion to help stimulate the creation of more affordable housing and has signed agreements with all provinces and territories to implement the first phase ($680 million) of the program.  Besides increasing affordable housing for low-income Canadians generally, this initiative has also led to senior-specific housing in some jurisdictions. NACA will be monitoring effects of this program on the proportion of seniors in a situation of core housing need.

• More seniors, especially older seniors, are living alone. While many seniors prefer this independence, living alone can be associated with more loneliness, unmet daily needs and increased personal safety risks. For seniors experiencing considerable difficulty managing alone as they become frail or disabled, there is a growing need for high quality alternative supportive housing options. Selection of a retirement home can be chancy as a lack of a consistent process to ensure quality standards in services - either through regulation or accreditation - means there are some great homes and some awful ones.

• In partnership with other stakeholders, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation plays a significant role in identifying, promoting and facilitating a greater range of housing choices for seniors. Yet, NACA concluded in the 2002 Position Paper on Supportive Housing that more federal funding is necessary to stimulate new developments to meet rising needs.

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