Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Social Affairs, Science and Technology
Issue 14 - Evidence - October 20, 2010
OTTAWA, Wednesday, October 20, 2010
The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, to which was referred Bill C-40, an Act to establish National Seniors Day, met this day at 4:17 p.m. to give consideration to the bill.
Senator Art Eggleton (Chair) in the chair.
[English]
The Chair: I call to order this meeting of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology.
Today, for the first part of our meeting, we will deal with Bill C-40, an act to establish National Seniors Day, which has been referred here by the Senate after second reading. It has had three readings and adoption in the House of Commons.
We are very pleased to welcome the Honourable Diane Ablonczy, P.C., M.P., Minister of State (Seniors), and she is here to tell us about the bill. Thank you very much for coming. The floor is yours.
Hon. Diane Ablonczy, P.C., M.P., Minister of State (Seniors): Thank you, Mr. Chair. Honourable senators, thank you for having me here today. As a junior minister, I do not get much chance to be over on this august side of Parliament, so it is a treat for me to be here.
As you can see, I have some prepared remarks, and I urge you to look at those, but I am not a big fan of canned remarks.
Contrary to what some of you might be hoping for, this is not about a national senators day. I cannot actually take credit for that bit of wit. That was your chair. This is about a national seniors day.
I understand that you have been studying pandemic plans. As you know, the seniors cohort is one of the particularly vulnerable cohorts should a pandemic strike. It is an indication of the fact that almost everything government does really touches the seniors cohort and the fact that our seniors population is not only growing rapidly but is forecast to almost double in the next two decades. Some of us have been around almost two decades in this place, and you know how quickly it passes.
Right now, one in seven Canadians is over the age of 65. In two decades, it will be one in four. No society in history has actually had that large a percentage of their population in the older demographic. I throw that out to you because what you do and all of what government does will be extremely important for that change.
The good news is that Canadians as a whole are living longer, healthier lives. It used to be when all of our social programs were set up, that the average age was about 72. If you were already in your 70s, which would be one of our dynamic senators, you were pushing it. Now, however, the average age is 81.
As I travel about, I meet the most amazing people. I was at a seniors centre in Winnipeg and met two ladies who were teaching computer skills; they were both in their 90s. I asked them, ``How do you get here to teach these courses?'' One pointed to the other and said, ``She drives.''
As the organization CARP says, the baby boomers are really starting to redefine what it means to be a senior. I think it is very exciting. It will mean some real changes. You might know that Moses Znaimer has coined a new phrase for the older demographic. He calls them ``zoomers,'' baby boomers with zip. That is a very creative way to put it.
As are you aware, we introduced a bill in the House of Commons to put in place in Canada a national seniors day. It is proposed to be on the same day as the International Day of Older Persons, October 1, but we typically have not, as a nation, really celebrated that day. We thought that if we had a national seniors day for Canada specifically, that it would be a good step forward and a good time to do that.
With the shifting demographics and the aging population, it will be incumbent upon us as leaders to find new and more explicit ways to build bridges between and among the generations. As you know, the older demographic votes, and when you have a quarter of the population, most of whom tend to vote, I reckon that those seniors will make up a third to even a half of the voting population because of the many people who do not bother voting. Seniors will be enormous policy influencers. Fortunately, with that power, with that kind of voting clout, they also keep in mind the well-being of their children, their grandchildren and future generations.
A national seniors day is a time, in my view, to not just celebrate seniors and acknowledge their enormous contributions to our society — past, present and future — but also help build important bridges of understanding, respect and appreciation between and among seniors.
We thought, with a national seniors day being brought forward, that some people would say that this is just a symbol, that does not really have any substantive clout. Therefore, in my comments, I have set out a number of the initiatives of the government of which I am a part — some of those having been launched by the former government — that will help seniors. These initiatives will support them and address some of the issues that have been particularly pressing for the older demographic. Part of that is more income support.
In the 1980s, over 20 per cent of seniors were actually living in what we would call poverty. Today, it is less than 5 per cent. That went up slightly during the recession when the value of some savings went down, but it is roughly at around 5 per cent. That has been real progress. We are proud of that. Canada is very fortunate. That is actually the best record in the developed world, and we want to continue to ensure that seniors have a good standard of living.
I have set out a number of other issues. The chair reminded me that this may be broadcast at some point, so I could take the opportunity to read these initiatives that we have taken in some detail, but I will not do that. You have them in front of you.
To summarize, our government has made a number of changes that leave more money in the pockets of older Canadians. In fact, each year now, older Canadians have over $2.3 billion more in their pockets than they did just a few years ago. That has made an enormous difference. It has taken 85,000 seniors off the tax rolls altogether and given them some very valuable resources to meet their living needs.
We have put a great deal of money into affordable housing for seniors and also into adaptation of housing. As you know, as you get older, sometimes you need adaptations for wheelchairs or grab bars or just to make sure that your home is a little easier to live in and a person can be independent.
You might have seen advertisements on the elder abuse issue. This is the second phase of those ads that are tackling the issue of elder abuse and mistreatment of seniors. We are putting a good deal of emphasis on financial exploitation because that is the main area where elders tend to suffer abuse, but other types exist as well. This is a $13-million initiative; we also put a large amount of money into studies and activities that address the issue of elder abuse and financial exploitation.
Other initiatives include the Age-Friendly Communities Initiative, which ensures that transportation is accessible and buildings and streets are hazard-free. Many communities are becoming very engaged in that Age-Friendly Communities outreach. I met with a group in the city of Toronto last week, and they are doing some tremendous ground-breaking work with age-friendly communities and how that happens.
A very popular seniors program called the New Horizons for Seniors Program gives seniors groups across the country small grants to put programming into place that helps keep seniors active in the community and also establishes opportunities for them to mentor and to be engaged with other generations. That program is so popular that we actually put $10 million more into it last budget, to bring the total yearly spending on that to $40 million.
In addition, the federal-provincial-territorial meetings of seniors ministers have been very positive — the one I was at, at least. We, as leaders, need to be preparing for the future, and I can assure you that that is very much on the top of minds of seniors ministers. As you know, a big part of what seniors ministers do is work with their colleagues in the various cabinets and with municipal leaders because so many seniors areas are multi-jurisdictional.
If you concur, we would like to establish a national seniors day to be held on October 1. I am pleased to say, and I think it is telling, that when this bill came before the house, it was passed unanimously. I think you know how unusual that is in the House of Commons, particularly in a minority situation. It has also been enthusiastically received by groups with which I have spoken and likely groups with which you have spoken as well.
On the International Day of Older Persons this October 1, although we made it clear that your decision was still pending, a number of groups did celebrate seniors, and we put some of those events on the website. You might want to look at the seniors website because many people went to a great deal of work and were very enthusiastic about celebrating seniors.
I was at one organization in Calgary that actually gave all seniors a little gift. One of them was a little card that looks like a credit card, but it was a very good magnifying glass. It is for seniors to look at the labels on cans and different things in the course of their shopping and could be easily carried in their pocket or purse. I thought that was pretty brilliant.
I think we will see, once we establish national seniors day, many very interesting and innovative ways to reach out to seniors to honour them and to show our appreciation. I hope very much, honourable senators, that you will support this initiative. I think it will be very good for our country.
The Chair: Thank you very much, minister, and thanks for your commentary about the day that you propose and also about what actions your government has taken to assist seniors in our country.
I think, as you said, it is not just about celebrating our seniors but also about looking at some of the issues and some of the demographic changes that mean an older population in the future.
Have you determined some mechanism for how this commemoration each October 1 might take place? Will it be programs addressing the various issues? Will your National Seniors Council be involved in designing that, or will other organizations be involved in doing that, to give some meaning to the day in terms of dealing with seniors issues?
Ms. Ablonczy: That is a very good question. I am glad that you mentioned the National Seniors Council because they have been very instrumental in providing advice to government — reality checked advice from the ground. They are now involved in a series of national round tables on issues of intergenerational relations and labour force participation.
To answer your specific question, really the sky is the limit in how this day could be celebrated. I mentioned that on the seniors website some of the events are listed, and how creative people are becoming. Someone suggested that we could plant a tree in honour of a senior in our life, and that links back to the environmental focus that many younger people have.
From the national level, there will be tributes to seniors. We have in place an awards process to recognize seniors who have made outstanding contributions. Sometimes these people do not receive recognition outside of special programs such as that. I think you will see, more and more, an exciting creativity and inventiveness in how people approach seniors day. There is no set pattern or rut that anyone is in.
I believe I mentioned one of the events I was at in Calgary at the Olympic Plaza. The organization had put little green bags together that said ``celebrating seniors'' on the bag. It was, again, a bag that people could use instead of plastic bags and linking it to seniors.
I believe a lot of creativity and a lot of exciting and interesting things will be happening.
The Chair: If you bring the seniors in on designing it, it certainly will be.
Senator Cordy: Minister, I appreciate you coming. It is extremely important when it is a government bill that the minister is here, and I really do appreciate you taking the time to be with us today and sharing your thoughts on the national seniors day.
I wonder if perhaps we should make an amendment and call it ``national zoomers day.'' I happened to be talking to Mr. Znaimer last night at the CARP meeting and he is keen on the terminology of ``boomers with zip.'' He told me that he would allow me to use his term whenever I wanted to if I were designing legislation related to seniors, so I am glad you mentioned it.
One of the things we really have to look at is the public perception of what a senior is. That is not only for the population at large but also for seniors themselves. We tend to look at awards ceremonies for seniors for the contributions they have made, yet we know that people who are 65 and over are continuing to make extremely strong contributions to their communities, whether it is volunteer work or paid work that they are doing.
I feel that it is important that we actually use seniors day, if we pass the legislation, to communicate with Canadians. I know you said in your opening comments that it is a symbolic gesture and that it is a symbolic day, but I would like to think that it is a little more than symbolic. It is a day when we could focus the attention of Canadians — Canadian seniors and Canadians who have not yet reached the age of 65 — on seniors to celebrate our aging population, to talk about the good things that they are doing, but also to make them aware of government programs.
I would hate to think that it is strictly symbolic. I would like to think that if we celebrate seniors day every year, the government will put some thought and energy into making it a really valuable day. Could you comment on that?
Ms. Ablonczy: Those are excellent thoughts that warm my heart because I think it is important to recognize that contributions to society are ongoing. The National Seniors Council has done an excellent study on volunteerism and healthy and active aging. The Senate also did an excellent report that had a number of recommendations, which I believe came out in 2008.
When we say that the day is symbolic, it simply points to the fact that it is not triggering any particular government programs or spending. It is similar to Remembrance Day. That does not mean that it will not have a deep meaning, a purpose and a role in society to remember, honour and look forward to what seniors are contributing and will continue to contribute.
You are right that seniors themselves want to redefine what it means to grow older. They are doing that in various ways. That is why recognition ceremonies, as you said, should also be looking ahead. I totally agree with that; that is a very good point.
Senator Cordy: Of course, my generation has to remember that Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger are senior citizens.
Senator Callbeck: As Senator Cordy said, I think it is important that when a minister has a bill, that they come before the Senate committee and answer questions. I appreciate that you took the time to do that.
I commend you on this bill; it is a good piece of legislation. You say that it is symbolic, that you are not planning on that date to bring forth senior-related activities. What about other countries? Is it symbolic there, too, or do they tend to bring in seniors-related initiatives?
Ms. Ablonczy: Different countries have different approaches. However, generally speaking, similar to Remembrance Day, it is really a time of national focus on a particular meaningful event or part of society. As far as I know — and to be honest, I have not made an exhaustive study — it is really a time when we specifically and explicitly reach out and acknowledge, honour and celebrate a particular cohort of our society. That is generally the way it works in most countries.
Our provinces and territories have seniors weeks or even months. Many of them are in the fall, many of them are in the spring, and there are a number of activities.
I want to express appreciation to my provincial and territorial colleagues. I wrote to all of them and acknowledged the seniors weeks or months that are already in place in their provinces and territories, but they indicated they were still willing to help with the national celebration should this bill pass. It is a time we can all come together and acknowledge an important cohort, both for what they have meant to us and what they continue to mean to us.
Senator Callbeck: You mentioned that you are working with your provincial and territorial ministers. In your presentation, you said that you were working with them on key projects, and this would be one. Can you tell us about some of the others?
Ms. Ablonczy: That is a good question. The main focus of my first interactions with my provincial colleagues was to help all of us to be on the same page about the fact that our population is aging, how rapidly it is aging and some of the anticipated impacts.
We had, for example, presenting to us at the federal-provincial-territorial meeting, Dr. Brian Crowley from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute for Public Policy, who has done extensive studies. He was formerly with the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, AIMS. His studies have been on the impact of the aging population and just what it means.
This is not exactly on topic, but I know you will be interested in this in light of some of your other studies. For example, he says that for decades Canada has had net new entrants into the workforce of about a quarter of a million each and every year for as long as we can remember. That level of new entrants into the workforce actually started to decrease in 2008. By 2016, according to his studies — and as far as I know, he is well respected and accepted — net new entrants into the Canadian workforce will be zero. You can see where we have this precipitous drop-off. That has huge implications for policy-makers both on the federal level and the provincial and territorial level. We are starting to look at those issues.
On the local level, we are looking at transportation so that seniors have access to social events and to medical appointments. Many practical implications are multi-jurisdictional as well. We are looking at that. We are looking at labour force participation because as people live longer, many of them find they actually are not ready for the rocking chair. We want to ensure that for people who want to be engaged on an ongoing basis in paid and unpaid work — because, as Senator Cordy said, volunteer and unpaid work is equally as important — we ensure that we remove barriers and facilitate that participation.
We are looking at other issues, but those are the top ones so far.
Senator Callbeck: On the seniors study that was done by the Senate, which is a terrific study with many recommendations, are there any particular recommendations that the government is considering implementing now?
Ms. Ablonczy: We are moving ahead on some of those. I think there was mention of something about a bomb. Does anyone remember the title? I know the officials know it. Anyway, the senators who participated in that study recognized that there will be an enormous change.
The government is moving ahead on some of those recommendations. I do not have the specifics off the top of my head, but I would be happy to get them to you. However, I did read the report and the recommendations; they were excellent. We are taking them into consideration on an ongoing basis in policy formation.
Senator Callbeck: It would be interesting if you could get that information to us.
Ms. Ablonczy: I can certainly do that.
The Chair: Provide it to the committee's clerk, and we will all have a look at it.
Ms. Ablonczy: I am happy to do that.
Senator Martin: Thank you, Minister Ablonczy, for being here. I think there will be absolute support for this initiative. I cannot speak for everyone, but I am sure that will be the case just from looking at the expressions around the table and from what I have heard already from my two colleagues about the importance of this day.
I want to underscore what you mentioned in your presentation as well as in your answers about the role of the National Seniors Council. The important work that came out of that is the elder abuse campaign that was launched nationally.
A concrete example of the effect that a campaign such as that has had in my region is that I was speaking with a young man who has seen the advisements of elder abuse that came out of that study. We were having a conversation about elders, and he said, ``That reminded me that I need to be more patient with grandma or with mom.'' It is a message that got through to Canadians of different generations, and it is something that is important for our society. The importance of these intergenerational relationships is paramount.
A campaign such as the elder abuse campaign, which was very successful, would be a great ongoing initiative if there was a budget as well as a focus from the National Seniors Council on the next campaign that may perhaps be launched. That is one area where I see our federal government being effective; namely, to have a clear message to shift people's values and understanding to support the seniors in our society. I wanted to let you know the impact that that campaign has had on the ground.
In terms of the New Horizons for Seniors Program, having a day that is symbolic but also an anchor or launching pad for a campaign for that year could be expressed and realized in a number of ways throughout the entire year, but starting with that day would be helpful. Many great projects came out of the applications that were successful for the New Horizons for Seniors Program, in that seniors are taking the initiative to be teachers themselves and to empower one another. The projects funded through the program include great programs and practices that could be shared across the country. One senior group in Toronto looked at a model and decided that they might try something as well. The potential is there for information exchange.
I see a national day as being a starting point for a year-long campaign, a theme or whatever may occur. These are just some ideas that have come to mind listening to you, as well as knowing the effect of some of the initiatives that have already taken place. Thank you for your work. Do you have any comments on that?
Ms. Ablonczy: I appreciate those insights. I personally think it is important not just to raise the consciousness of the Canadian population about the fact that some seniors — fortunately, it is not a large group, but if you are in that group it is large for you — suffer mistreatment, neglect, abuse and exploitation, but also to move from making that known to some concrete measures that will actually combat it. I put it to you that at some point there must be some consequences for some of this abuse that are targeted specifically to minimizing and reducing the incidents.
Sadly, much of this happens within the family setting. It needs some specific attention. We cannot let this get out of hand in our society. I do not think it is, but part of the elder abuse awareness campaign is so that we do shed light on this and ensure that society is aware that this is a serious issue.
Senator Eaton: Thank you, minister. This is both an interesting and a complex subject.
I noticed in the quick facts that most of the provinces and territories have their own seniors weeks and days. We tend to silo many things in this country from province to province. Will the National Seniors Council or your office try to share or become a resource centre so there becomes a focus in each of those provinces or will it only be in Ottawa? How will it happen? Obviously, it will be a national day. Will we have fireworks on Parliament Hill? How will we educate people that this is seniors day so that volunteer groups, libraries, et cetera think about what they can do to celebrate seniors in their communities?
Ms. Ablonczy: That is a good question. I mentioned earlier that I was pleased that my provincial and territorial colleagues were willing to support the celebration of seniors. However, we cannot call it ``National Seniors Day'' until you say yes. For example, my colleague in Newfoundland wrote to me saying that he had sent letters of congratulations to seniors groups in the province and had done some initiatives around the October 1 date already; others have written to me as well. I took a cake to all of the seniors centres in my riding — cake is always very popular. These initiatives are happening across the country. The provincial leaders have been supporting them as well.
Senator Eaton: Does that mean that Alberta, which has a seniors week June 7 to 13, will continue having a seniors week, and we will have a national day on top of that, or does it mean that they will gradually get behind you so that it becomes an important event in the national calendar or psyche?
Ms. Ablonczy: That would be up to them. You could say that if there are two different celebrations of seniors that is even better. We can celebrate and honour seniors in numerous ways at different times of the year, but they are supporting the idea of the October 1 date. It is also the International Day of Older Persons. I am pleased to see that. As they have their own day, week or month, they do not need to do so, but they are more than willing to support it.
The department put a good poster and postcard on the website. It shows a senior couple riding a motorcycle. My husband pointed to it and suggested that I might want to get with the program because he is always trying to get me on a motorcycle. These pictures were downloaded and displayed in various places across the country. More activity will occur around the October 1 time as well.
Senator Eaton: It could be a very unifying project.
Ms. Ablonczy: That is true. National days have that effect. That is one of the things we had hoped would happen.
Senator Braley: Thank you for visiting the committee. It is very much appreciated. I have a comment about ego and the warm and fuzzy feelings.
About 40 years ago, when my grandfather was aged 65, he said that he was looking to die in his early seventies. The mortality table has shifted dramatically now, and we have employees at my company who are aged 70 and are still at work; in fact, I have one who is aged 80. They do not look at themselves as seniors. The one who is aged 80 is starting to do so a little now. How do you deal with this sensitivity? We moved the Registered Retirement Savings Plan, RRSP, out to age 70. Maybe it should be extended to age 75, et cetera. We must be sensitive. There is a big ego involved here. I am aged 69, and I feel healthy. I do not even consider myself to be a senior. If I became sick, then I guess I might to some extent. However, that is a real problem. When you define ``senior,'' there is an attachment to that word. To some extent, that might not be useful. All the statistics that you provided are ages 65 to 74 as to the number or percentage doing something. I do not have an answer for this; I am just sensitive to the fact that most of us would not like to consider ourselves to be ``seniors'' at this stage. That is some place down the road.
Ms. Ablonczy: I am with you. Every year, I am more with you.
Senator Braley: I do not know if I expressed it correctly, but I tried. Be sensitive. I understand the value of the day, the value of the focus and the big picture of a tent, but we have people who are aged 68. Even the province is talking about the fact that mandatory retirement no longer exists. Things have been changing, and we are living longer. Those mortality rates are probably heading now toward the late eighties rather than the mid-eighties. It is a sensitive issue. We all like to feel good about ourselves and do not like to be categorized, if I can put it in a simple term.
The Chair: I hope your 80-year-old employees do not include your football players. Minister, do you want to respond?
Ms. Ablonczy: Yes, I do. Senator Cordy mentioned ``zoomers.''
Senator Cordy: Thank you.
Ms. Ablonczy: That word is appealing. We do not feel the way we felt about seniors when we were younger. We are different; there are no two ways about that. I think the age and the nomenclature is taken from the fact that government programs kick in around the 60 to 65 age group.
Senator Braley: However, that was another time with other mortality tables. Maybe they should be adjusted.
Ms. Ablonczy: That probably will not change. There certainly would be an outcry if it did.
I really believe that it will be zoomers themselves who will start to challenge, as you are already challenging, the old attitudes and nomenclature. Conferences are taking place. Officials in Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, HRSDC, are organizing a conference on attitudes of aging or the perception of aging.
I was visiting one seniors centre in Ontario and mentioned something about silver power. This woman who was showing me around snapped at me and said, ``That is ageist.'' It turns out that she is aged 80. This will be something that we do see shifting, and I think that is healthy. Sometimes, it is your attitude toward yourself that defines who you are and what you do.
Senator Ogilvie: Thank you, minister, for being here. I will not ask you a specific question, but I want to follow up on Senator Braley's line of thinking here and comment on something that you have raised several times, namely, Zoomer Magazine, and so on. I think it is the most superficial thing that I have seen in a long time. I do not think that it treats the issues in the way that the group of us who are in that category live our lives. I, along with some others, believe that this is a new group of people that will have a large impact on society. The issues are much more than superficial, glossy and silly. I am dropping my subscription to that organization as a result.
Ms. Ablonczy: Since it is a commercial enterprise, I guess people will vote on whether they think it is worthwhile or not with their pocketbooks.
Senator Ogilvie: That is exactly what I mean.
Ms. Ablonczy: Having said that, it is an important indication that there is beginning to be more out-of-the-box thinking about getting older and about the cohort that is getting older. That is a good thing. Out-of-the-box thinking is always a good thing, in my opinion.
Senator Seidman: I wish to talk about concrete issues as opposed to the superficial ones. Our government has done some very concrete things. Many seniors, whatever we call them, or us, are on fixed incomes. We all ask about concrete things that we can do, that we have done and, hopefully, that we continue to do as a government. However, perhaps we could highlight some of the financial benefits that we have put forward that help seniors, for example, pension income splitting, which has been a huge benefit and is very popular.
Ms. Ablonczy: I have quite a laundry list of things that we have done. They are contained in the remarks before you. However, one of the most welcome was pension income splitting because it made literally hundreds of dollars of interest to many couples right away.
Sometimes, there are two pressures on retirement income. First, people are living longer and healthier lives. Programs that were designed to support you financially and to ensure that you had enough financial resources were not looking at a longer time frame. Pension income splitting really helps that. Second, many times, the cost of living goes up much faster than anything you can do to manage your investments. I hear about this a frequently from middle- and low-income Canadians in the older demographic. Their insurance will skyrocket; the price of fuel, as you know, can sometimes take a big spike. People see the calls on their finances increase quite significantly in a number of areas. If they have a medical problem, the cost of pharmaceuticals can be a new and significant impact.
We want to ensure that people who have worked hard, have saved and have done all the prudent things that our society felt was important to prepare for older years continue to be supported in the way that they need to be supported.
Senator Cordy: Thank you, again. I was a member of the Special Senate Committee on Aging, so I appreciate the comments that you made about the work that we have done. It was a study that was near and dear to each of us who were on the committee.
You talked about Canada's Economic Action Plan and the building of housing for low-income seniors. Was this cost shared 50-50 with the provinces, or was it shared in thirds with the municipalities? I am not sure if you have this information with you, but could you send us a list of where these housing units have been built?
Ms. Ablonczy: I think it was cost-shared, but I will find that out for you.
About $500 million was put into low-income housing for seniors specifically. These houses are being built across the country. With these funds, we have taken the direction of the provinces and territories as to where they want that money spent. They do some consultations in their own area and then deploy the funds where they feel they will have the biggest bang for the buck.
Senator Cordy: Would you be able to send the committee that list?
Ms. Ablonczy: Absolutely, yes.
Senator Cordy: Thank you. We are all from different regions, and we always want to know what was built in our province or region.
Ms. Ablonczy: Some of it is just being built as well.
Senator Cordy: Does it have to be built before the end of March?
Ms. Ablonczy: I do not believe so.
Senator Cordy: Will it be extended?
Ms. Ablonczy: I do not know if it will be extended, but it is a program that has been allocated. Some of the projects are under way and some are still being announced.
My ever-efficient staff pointed me to the government response to the 2009 report that Senator Cordy mentioned called Canada's Aging Population: Seizing the Opportunity. The other report that I mentioned was called The Demographic Time Bomb: Mitigating the Effects of Demographic Change in Canada, and that was the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce. Those are the two reports. I have here a summary of our response to the 2009 report on Canada's Aging Population: Seizing the Opportunity, and I would be happy to table that with the committee. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.
The Chair: Thank you, minister, and thank you, colleagues. As the minister says, it is not ``National Seniors Day'' until we say yes. You are welcome to stay, minister, because this will be done before you get out the door anyway.
Let me ask the standard questions. First, is it agreed that the committee proceed to clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-40, An Act to Establish a National Seniors Day?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Shall the title stand postponed?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Shall the preamble stand postponed?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Shall clause 1 stand postponed?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Shall clause 2 carry?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Shall clause 3 carry?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Back to clause 1. Shall clause 1 carry?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Shall the preamble carry?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Shall the title carry?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: No one wants to change it to ``National Senators Day?'' That is carried.
Shall the bill carry?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Does the committee want to consider appending observations to the report?
Hon. Senators: No.
The Chair: Is it agreed that I report this bill to the Senate with no amendments and no observations?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Chair: Thank you. It is done.
Ms. Ablonczy: Thank you.
The Chair: We now have a ``National Seniors Day,'' minister.
Ms. Ablonczy: Thank you. It is a good day for Canada.
The Chair: Colleagues, we will stand recessed for a few minutes, and then we will proceed with the in camera portion of our committee.
(The committee continued in camera.)