What Seniors Are Saying…

We receive quite a few comments, emails and contacts from people (seniors and others – family members, friends, neighbours) from all over Canada. You can see public comments following each article throughout the Tin Cup website.

Do you have a story to tell? Please CONTACT US with your story. Your situation matters!

Here are just a few selections of their comments, struggles and stories:

GIS and retirement.

Once upon a time, grandpa and grandma lived on a small farm. They could keep a few chickens, have a big garden, and maybe even keep a cow or goat for milk. The next generation lived in town, did not mend their clothes or darn their socks, and brought the grandchildren out on holidays for a real meal of good old fashioned farm fare and cooking that Grandma and Grandpa sweated to get on the table.

That was Do It Yourself GIS: it kept you from starving to death, even if it wasn’t retirement with any dignity beyond as much hard work as your body would take.

This was not, for obvious reasons, pleasing to our political masters, and they decided that all these retirees needed to be Consumers with a capital C, as the next generation was, having forgotten the smell of manure in Grandpa’s barnyard, because just as sure as the Lord made little green apples, nobody who was rich was going to spend to keep the economy ticking over. They encouraged all and sundry to go out and get poorly paid jobs and spend every dime they made, with the implicit if not explicit promise that when their time came, they would not be put out on the street to die like someone from a novel by Charles Dickens or Victor Hugo.

All this money indeed kept the economy going, and any effort at winning votes from then on was in the form of tax write-offs… which don’t help much if you aren’t making enough to pay taxes… and the next phase of juicing the economy involves bringing in masses of immigrants who it is hoped will need to buy houses at some point, because that is the bedrock on which our economy is now resting… and the bedrock has turned out to be nothing but sand.

We are now at the time of reckoning.

Very low interest rates have priced houses out of the market for most of us.

Small farms are no longer thus: they have been bought by wealthier people who build huge houses and delude themselves into thinking that they are enjoying the benefits of living in a rural setting but grow nothing beyond a bunch of foreign flowering plants and shrubs and a lawn. (They are more likely to have adult toys – plural – in the yard than a vegetable garden. You could still get one of those small farms at an affordable price in the early ‘90s in rural BC… but not any more.)

The surging population has placed rents beyond most of us as well, and rental property owners want a return on the inflated value of their homes and apartments – in many cases, whatever the market will bear.

We are in the hands of Ebenezer Scrooge, and there is no money for heat.

When you talk to politicians about how you can no longer afford to feed yourself, they point to food banks, the newly introduced dental plan, and the possibility of low cost housing in 5 years, as mitigating factors… but if we have to wait 5 years, many of us will die in the streets, and when you can’t afford food, who needs teeth?

“Please, Sir. I want some more!”

I dare them to say “Whaaat!? More?” – RS

My sister in UK gets a rent free little house, all repairs free, free hearing aids every 2 years, all medical expenses paid, free emergency alarm bracelet etc. etc. the list goes on, oh yes cash payment from govt.to help with the heating bill. Canada is a rich country, if UK can do this for their seniors why can`t our govt. do the same?

I am at my end for any help with the assistance… The bottom line is I would have to divorce my husband and move into an apartment that I can’t afford and sell everything I own first… then they can help me.
I would basically have to be living on the street. They said I would have to even sell the car I was given as that would be an asset.
I won’t be able to get dental through the government because my husband has a minimum dental service through a private insurance he pays for. That doesn’t do anything more than cover me for partial cleanings twice a year.
A person of my circumstance has fallen through the cracks and can’t get up unless the government closes those loopholes they have created. My income is just over 900 a month so I would be able to apply if I was divorced and that just isn’t right….

I am seeking a new home in the Lower Mainland and am registered with BC Housing and Safer
but to no luck – can’t seem to find anything and I don’t want to end up on the street…

I am 77 and have been writing MANY letters to the Premier of BC, the various Housing Ministers the last 4 years, the Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser, the Seniors Advocate, my MLA and others about the criminal negligence the BC Gov is responsible for in not updating the SAFER benefit. Only ONCE is 10 years has this vital benefit been improved by a mere $38 in the rent ceiling for Vancouver. I have so much to say about this and have copies of letters written pointing out the outrageous neglect by BC Gov in addressing seniors and our plight.
Every year the SAFER benefit goes DOWN and my rent GOES UP and no one is doing anything about it. To me this benefit is the most important matter that MUST BE improved as I am always one month away from becoming homeless! And no one in the BC Government is doing anything about it.
I will do whatever you like me to do to improve this situation.
Thank you for creating this vehicle for seniors to be heard.

I just saw your interview on Global.
I wanted to suggest you also consider reminding people how many senior are relying on extra support from their adult children.
I am one of those children. My Mom (who is passed away now) would have been homeless no doubt about it if I was not able to pay for her prescriptions, Pharma-care, groceries, etc. She only qualified for the basic pension and there is no way a person could survive on that amount per month. But I know that so so many seniors don’t have that luxury. Maybe they don’t have children that can afford to help them, or maybe they don’t have that type of relationship with them if they did. Who knows.
The point being- why are people being forced into a situation where they need to be dependent on their children? And this is happening while the government happily doles out $50 million to ArriveCan and $1Billion to SDTC contract debacles and who knows how many other mistakes.
Thank you for your work

I have regular monthly appointments in Cranbrook BC with a Retinal Specialist participating in the Program who provide this sight saving essential service.
To get to my appointments I need to arrange for someone to drive me to Cranbrook because I do not have the sight required to drive, ( 4hr. Round trip ). As I require shots in both eyes, if the program is canceled I would have to travel to Kelowna ( 12hr. Round trip and 2 nights accommodation)
I don’t have the financial ability to pay the upfront costs of travel, administration, management fees, and drugs. This would mean that I will not be able to receive sight saving treatment and will have to adjust to total blindness in the short term future.
If the clinic in Cranbrook closes this will surly be My out come. The BC. GOV. Please reverse your decision to reduce the compensation to the Retinal Specialist.
and nice to see SOMEBODY CARES

Just came across this organization due to an interview on Global T.V. Although I am very fortunate in having a company pension the constant costs increases levied on us is making it more difficult to meet what I would call the “nice things” in life which are really necessities such as:
– hearing aids (wife’s cost over $5,000)
-wife has dry eye which costs us hundreds of dollars in treatment costs.
– Just coming up for my driving license renewal and the Provincial Governement insists that due to my age I need a Doctors certificate attesting to my physical competence – and this will cost me $200. As a senior I have to take this test but I cannot get the cost covered by MSP, this is age discrimatory.
– property taxes constantly increasing yet we do not get any additional service most recent is the impact of the North Vancouver water treatment plant fiasco – this is going to cost me an additional minimum of $70 annually
Governments must take responsiblity of their spending not just keep taking more and more from us, the tax payers!
I wish you the best in your cause I could not agree more that all levels of government budgeting is out of control and must be challenged!

I would like to help in any way that I can. I am 77 and have been writing MANY letters to the Premier of BC, the various Housing Ministers the last 4 years, the Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser, the Seniors Advocate, my MLA and others about the criminal negligence the BC Gov is responsible for in not updating the SAFER benefit. Only ONCE is 10 years has this vital benefit been improved by a mere $38 in the rent ceiling for Vancouver. I have so much to say about this and have copies of letters written pointing out the outrageous neglect by BC Gov in addressing seniors and our plight.
Every year the SAFER benefit goes DOWN and my rent GOES UP and no one is doing anything about it. To me this benefit is the most important matter that MUST BE improved as I am always one month away from becoming homeless! And no one in the BC Government is doing anything about it.
I will do whatever you like me to do to improve this situation.
Thank you for creating this vehicle for seniors to be heard.
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I am a senior with a low income. I am also mobility disabled.
I was thinking how could I get involved and force the Government to pay attention to the problems of a lot of seniors.
One day I went to Shopper’s drug store. I was standing in the line-up for the teller when I say a senior struggling to pay for her few items. She had sugar cereal package, a small jug of milk, and a small jug of orange juice. She did not have the money to pay so I paid for it. That is very sad. I found out that a lot of seniors are eating as cheap as possible with cereal or frozen process food.
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