Manitoba sets date to establish long-promised seniors' advocate office

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 28, 2025 2:47 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

The long-promised Manitoba program to found an autarkic seniors' advocate, who would examine wellness care, societal services and other programs that impact older generations, is yet acceptable to go ahead.

But not for respective much months.

The government will proclaim authorities connected Nov. 1 that volition open the doorway for the advocator to beryllium appointed, said Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara on Friday.

An advocate's bureau was a campaign promise by some the NDP and the Manitoba Liberals in the lead-up to the 2023 election. After forming government, the NDP made it a cardinal committedness successful the mandate missive for Asagwara.

Once appointed, the advocator volition acceptable up an autarkic bureau of the legislature to analyse idiosyncratic complaints, arsenic good arsenic systemic issues faced by seniors and elders, akin to the provincial advocator for children and youth.

The seniors' advocator volition besides beryllium required to marque reports and recommendations to the legislature successful a nationalist manner.

The recommendations could beryllium connected a wide scope of authorities services, including wellness care, lodging and authorities programs and supports, Asagwara said successful a quality merchandise from the province.

Laura Tamblyn Watts, CEO of the Canadian seniors' advocacy organization CanAge, called the announcement "a immense triumph for Manitoba seniors," adding CanAge is "very encouraged that this authorities is starting to enactment the pieces successful spot to code the needs of its aging population.

In other provinces wherever determination are already seniors' advocates, "real alteration has started to happen," she said successful an email to CBC News.

Connie Newman, enforcement manager of Manitoba Association of Senior Communities, called the advocator presumption "a bully thing," but not the be-all and end-all.

"The much ears that are connected older big issues [the better]. It should assistance america all," she said.

But Newman is disquieted the constitution of the bureau volition marque the nationalist and authorities consciousness similar everything is being taken attraction of, erstwhile "there's a batch of issues retired there," and the caller bureau won't lick them all.

"That's my biggest fear," she said, adding she is acrophobic the bureau won't beryllium funded capable for the magnitude of enactment it volition apt face.

Those aged 65-plus "dominate the landscape" successful presumption of colonisation numbers, she said.

While the advocator tin woody with argumentation issues, it can't lick others faced by seniors, specified arsenic the isolation and increasing intelligence wellness issues many face — or, much simply, wide courtesy toward seniors arsenic they larn to unrecorded successful a nine that seems to beryllium forgetting them, said Newman.

"We, arsenic the nationalist person to beryllium nicer. There's things radical tin do, similar helping an older idiosyncratic transverse the road," she said.