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Ontario Seniors' Seminars

Ontario Seniors’ Seminars were developed to provide seniors with valuable information on healthy aging and healthy lifestyles in communities across the province.

Falls Prevention Seminar

The Ontario Seniors’ Secretariat is pleased to introduce a new addition to its “Ontario Seniors’ Seminars” series. The “Falls Prevention Seminar” is part of our ongoing commitment to help inform seniors about healthy aging.

The Falls Prevention Seminar is a one hour program designed to inform seniors on how to prevent falls and maintain their independence. Available in English and French, seniors will be given practical information and the tools to help prevent falls and the serious injuries they can cause. The seminar will also look at health issues that put seniors at risk of falling in their home and community.

Developed in partnership with Community Care Kawartha Lakes, the Falls Prevention Seminar and Resource Kit will be available to seniors across the province. 

Local Public Health Units, Osteoporosis Canada’s Ontario Chapters, the Older Adult Centres’ Association of Ontario, and other organizations will work with staff and volunteers to deliver the Falls Prevention Seminar to seniors. 

For more information on how to host a seminar, or to become a Falls Prevention Volunteer  Presenter, please contact: 

Paul Foster
Public Education Advisor
Public Education and Awareness Unit
Ontario Seniors’ Secretariat
Tel: 416-326-7053 Fax: 416-326-7078
Email: paul.foster@ontario.ca or by calling
toll-free the Seniors’ INFOline at 1-888-910-1999.

Print or Download  

• Winter Safety Tips ( PDF)
• What To Do If You Have A Fall ( PDF)

Safe Medication Use
The Ontario Seniors' Secretariat is partnering with the Ontario Pharmacists' Association to deliver safe medication use seminars for seniors across Ontario. The seminars involve a presentation by a community pharmacist and a question-and-answer period emphasizing the steps seniors' should be taking for safe use of medications.

For more information on Safe Medication Use seminars and a schedule of upcoming dates, visit the Ontario Pharmacists’ Association Web site or call 416-441-0788, ext. 4266.

Protect Your Money - Schemes, Scams and Flimflams
Offered by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), these presentations are geared towards seniors, their families, caregivers and provide preventative messages about investment fraud.  Presentations are 30 minutes in length and are delivered by OSC staff volunteers.  During the presentation, attendees learn about common investment frauds as well as the OSC's enforcement role. Included is a discussion of red flag phases and review of an Investment Fraud checklist. Attendees take away a package of investor education material.

The Ontario Securities Commission is the provincial regulator of the securities industry.  Its mandate is to provide protection to investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices.  For more information on Protect Your Money and a schedule of upcoming dates, visit the Ontario Securities Commission website or call 416-593-8216.

The ABCs of Fraud®
The ABCS of Fraud® program is a national consumer fraud education, awareness and prevention program. Seniors are particularly vulnerable to frauds and scams. The program uses the skills and talents of volunteer speakers, most over the age of 55, to deliver presentations to groups who want to improve their fraud fighting knowledge. The presentations are fun, interactive and include skits and role playing. We cover topics such as Consumer Fraud, Identity Theft, Internet Scams and Investment Frauds. In the province of Ontario we have volunteers available in the Toronto and Ottawa areas. We can also deliver in French, Cantonese and Mandarin. For more information call 416-961-6888 x225 or go to www.volunteertoronto.on.ca under programs.

Advance Care Planning
What would happen if you became incapable of making decisions about your personal care or health treatment? What is a substitute decision-maker and who should be your substitute decision-maker? What would you want that person to know and do? Seniors are invited to learn how advance care planning can give them a greater say in their future choices about health and personal care by attending a public education session.

These sessions are being delivered by specially trained local staff to seniors, persons affected by dementia and substitute decision-makers and health care providers. For information on upcoming public education and training sessions click here or contact your local Alzheimer chapter, or contact the Alzheimer Society of Ontario at 416-967-5900.

A Guide to Advance Care Planning, released in March 2002, explains the process of advanced care planning and provides answers to frequently asked questions to help persons ensure that their personal care and medical choices are followed should they become incapable of making their own decisions. The Guide is available from the Ontario Seniors’ Secretariat or from local Alzheimer Society of Ontario chapters.

Drive Wise
Free Driver Education Seminar Helps Seniors Keep their Keys

Drive Wise is an O.P.P.-delivered driver education seminar that offers attendees a shopping basket of tips, suggestions and strategies, which help prevent the most likely causes of accidents and mishaps faced by older Canadians on the road. Drive Wise also provides important advice on what to do if you are involved in a collision or have a disabled vehicle.

Drive Wise is sponsored by CARP, Canada’s Association for the Fifty-Plus and Road Watch Canada.

The seminar is presented by an on-duty O.P.P. officer and lasts about 45 minutes. A valuable question period follows. There is no cost to either attend or host a Drive Wise presentation. To find out about the next Drive Wise seminar in your area, please visit www.drivewise.ca or call 1-888-532-8888.

If your group is interested in hosting a Drive Wise seminar, please e-mail drivewise@50plus.com or call 1-888-532-8888.

Seniors Safety Issues

Veterans and Youth
The Memory Project is a bi-lingual education programme sponsored by the Ontario Government, which brings veterans and youth together in person and over the Internet. Each year, veterans across Ontario attend Memory Project workshops to learn how best to share their personal experiences of WWII, the Korean War, or modern peacekeeping missions and international operations with young Canadians.

For information on volunteering with the Memory Project and attending a Speakers' Preparation Workshop, please call 1-866-701-1867 or email memory@dominion.ca.