Coalition for Seniors and Nursing Home Residents' Rights

Permanently freeze property tax assessments for all home owners over the age of 65.

• Provide tax breaks for home renovations that make houses

senior-friendly.

• Reinstate the $5.5 million home heating subsidy program

• Expand the mandate of the provincial Ombudsman to include

nursing homes, special care homes and home care services as part

of a new Seniors’ Charter of Rights.

• Establish a 1-800-SENIORS, toll-free hotline for people over the age

of 65 looking for government information and services.

• Work with law enforcement agencies to develop new programs to

prevent financial crimes and other abuses against seniors, and take a

tough stand against those convicted of these types of crimes.

Protecting Pensions

• Establish a Finance Minister’s Pension Protection Task Force that will:

• Review current pension laws to make sure New Brunswick has

the toughest rules in Canada to protect workers and members of

private pension plans.

• Work with New Brunswick public employees and pensioners to

fix the multi-million dollar public pension deficit

Establish special wellness clinics for seniors, with the support of

gerontologists, pharmacists and other allied health professionals,

that will be aimed at providing healthy living advice for those over

60 years of age.

• Improve wellness programs aimed specifically at our

senior population.

• Fund and support research opportunities in the field of senior care

services, especially those that build upon best practices and lead to

better services.

• Commit to regular increases in wages and benefits for senior care

workers every year for the next four years, as well as increases in

funding for home care agencies, special care homes, and nursing

homes to help them meet rising costs.

• Provide workers with access to ongoing training and development

opportunities.

• Conduct a comprehensive human resources review to determine

the level of care required to do the job in today’s changing senior

care setting.

• Include a review of the value of work performed by home care

workers (mostly women) which sometimes amounts to less than

minimum wage.

• Work towards meeting the goal of 3.5 hours of care per patient in

nursing home settings over the next four years.