CARP Unveils New Advocacy Platform In Preparation For 2019 Federal Election

Andrew Wright | October 9th, 2018
CARP Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer, Wanda Morris helps unveil CARP's advocacy program.

CARP Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer, Wanda Morris addresses the audience at the launch for CARP's launch of their national policy platform. Photo: CARP staff

In anticipation of the 2019 federal election, CARP (Canadian Association of Retired Persons) has unveiled its national policy platform titled, “The faces of Canada’s Seniors: Making Canada the best place to age.”

The platform, which will inform a year-long national advocacy campaign, was launched on Tuesday at the Zoomeplex, home of CARP’s Toronto office, where the media, CARP members, stakeholders and local residents were invited to attend.

The new platform focuses on five areas of concern identified  in the acronym FACES: financial security; abuse prevention; caregiving and housing supports; exceptional healthcare; and social inclusion.

CARP Chief Public Policy Officer, Laura Tamblyn Watts introduced the campaign as a call to all levels of government “to create a national seniors strategy.”

“We would like to make sure that our services and the very necessities that we have as Canadians is focused to make sure that it is age inclusive and appropriate for our aging demographic,” Watts said. “We want to make sure that [the national strategy] embraces the full human potential of all older Canadians.”

Within the five areas of focus, the platform identifies 19 areas for action, including tax policy and pension protection, abuse prevention and preventative health care.

CARP Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer, Wanda Morris, who spoke at the platform launch, said that the campaign’s focus was largely informed by a poll of over 300, 000 CARP members that highlighted some of the most common concerns for older Canadians.

However, she says the campaign also gives a voice to those unable to speak for themselves. 

“We wanted to speak not just to our CARP members, but to those who struggle, for those who don’t have a voice,” Morris said. “So our platform includes recommendations to help those who are low income, who are homeless, or who suffer from elder abuse or social isolation.”

Click here to download a detailed pamphlet on CARP’s Faces of Canada’s Seniors campaign.