Government of Canada supports seniors in Eastern Townships and Central Québec

January 24, 2008

SAINT-ALBERT, QUEBEC — The Honourable Christian Paradis, Secretary of State (Agriculture), on behalf of the Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, and the Honourable Marjory LeBreton, Leader of the Government in the Senate and Secretary of State (Seniors), today celebrated funding for five projects under the New Horizons for Seniors Program to ensure seniors in the Eastern Townships and Central Quebec have the opportunity to participate and take an active leadership role within their communities.

Speaking at Municipalité de Saint-Albert, Secretary of State Paradis announced total funding of $66,083 which will benefit five communities. This includes $17,400 for Club âge d'or Saint-Albert, for their project Journal aînés - J'ai La Bougeotte.

"The Government of Canada is proud to support seniors in strengthening our communities and building our country," said Secretary of State Paradis. "These five projects we are funding will encourage seniors in the Eastern Townships and Central Quebec to share their skills, wisdom and experience in their communities."
Total funding of $4,401,638 is being provided to support 141 communities throughout Quebec.

In the 2007 federal budget, the Government of Canada announced an additional investment of $10 million per year for two new components of New Horizons for Seniors: to raise awareness of elder abuse, and provide capital assistance for upgrades to facilities and equipment used for existing seniors' programs. Projects funded under these new components will be announced in the spring of 2008.

The federal government is also addressing the needs of Canada's seniors through the introduction of a series of important measures that include:

• establishing the National Seniors Council to advise the Government on issues of importance to older Canadians;
• enabling 1.6 million low-income seniors to benefit from increased monthly benefits available under the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) and to make a one-time application for GIS. As long as they file income tax returns every year, they will never have to reapply;
• providing more than $1 billion in tax relief to Canadian seniors and pensioners in Budget 2007;
• enabling seniors to build their retirement savings in Registered Pension Plans and Registered Retirement Savings Plans for an extra two years until age 71; and
• raising the amount that seniors can claim under the age credit on their tax returns for 2007. With less income taxed, seniors save more.
  

To ensure that the New Horizons for Seniors Program and the programs provided by the Government of Quebec complement each other, a Canada-Quebec memorandum of understanding sets out the mechanisms for collaboration.

Under this memorandum of understanding, the projects funded by the New Horizons for Seniors Program are recommended jointly by representatives of Human Resources and Social Development Canada and the Secrétariat aux aînés du Québec, following consultation with the Tables de concertation des aînés established in every region of Quebec. This process is fully consistent with the broad cross-Canada policy directions for the Program, under which people who are engaged in seniors' issues review and recommend projects for funding.

Since its beginning, the New Horizons for Seniors Program has funded over 2,600 projects across Canada of which 668 have been in Quebec, inspiring seniors to bring their leadership, energy and skills to projects that benefit their communities. For more information about the New Horizons for Seniors Program, please visit the following Web site:

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/community_partnerships/seniors/index.shtml.