THE CARP 5
The Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) Unveils 2024 Advocacy Priorities: The CARP 5—The Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) announces its 2024 advocacy priorities, focusing on5 key areas that are critical to the well-being and dignity of aging Canadians. The priorities, known as “The CARP 5,” emphasize the importance of Home & Community Care, Financial Security, Long-Term Care, Preventive Medicine, Access to Vaccines & Wait Times, and Seniors’ Fitness.
- Home & Community Care: Ensuring Choices for Aging Canadians CARP believes that aging Canadians, who have spent a lifetime contributing to their communities and the economy, deserve better care and the freedom to choose how and where they age. Investment in home and community care services is essential not only to provide these choices but also to address the long-term care crisis by reserving facilities for those with the greatest need.
- Financial Security & Affordable Housing: Empowering Seniors with Control Financial security is a cornerstone of CARP’s advocacy. Three out of four CARP members support ending mandatory RRIF withdrawals, arguing that seniors should not be forced to convert RRSPs to RRIFs at age 71 and make mandatory withdrawals. CARP is also pushing for accessible, safe housing designed to prevent slips and falls, calling for universal design to be mandatory in all new multi-unit residential buildings across Canada.
- Long-Term Care: Advocating for National Standards and Accountability CARP is calling on the federal government to set and enforce national principles under the Canada Health Act to ensure quality care in long-term care facilities. National standards must be accompanied by proper implementation, monitoring, and continued federal funding and commitment to safeguard the well-being of Canada’s seniors.
- Improve Preventive Medicine: Accessible Vaccines & Reduced Wait Times Preventive medicine is a key focus for CARP in 2024. As part of the federal government’s pharmacare promise, CARP advocates for additional funding to provide seniors with access to the latest expert-recommended adult vaccines, including Covid-19, Influenza, Pneumococcal Disease, RSV, and Shingles. CARP is also urging significant investment in healthcare, particularly in the recruitment and training of doctors and nurses, with a focus on geriatric specialists.
- Seniors’ Fitness & Healthy Lifestyle: Promoting Wellness CARP emphasizes the importance of healthy choices related to fitness, nutrition, sleep, and overall well-being. By encouraging innovative ways to maintain fitness, CARP aims to not only improve the quality of life for seniors but also reduce the strain on Canada’s healthcare system. As seniors (or as members approaching senior years), our focus increasingly turn to the environmental legacy that our generation will leave to our grandchildren and those that follow.
The Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) is a national, non-partisan, non-profit organization that advocates for financial security and improved health care for Canadians as we age. With 225,000 members and 25 chapters across Canada, CARP plays an active role in the creation of policy and legislation that impacts older Canadians. CARP advocates on behalf of older Canadians with all levels of government and collaborates with other organizations on health, ageism, housing, and financial issues.
