Congratulations to Stephanie McLean on being appointed Secretary of State for Seniors in the new federal cabinet. If she is passionate about her work and dedicated to serving older adults in Canada, I wish her luck—she’s going to need it.
Political parties, including the federal Liberals, still haven’t seemed to grasp the threats and the opportunities our society is facing as our population ages. The relegation of the Seniors portfolio from a ministry to a secretary of state responsibility reflects that.
Admittedly, the Seniors ministry has always been a junior portfolio. It doesn’t have the dramatic newsmaking potential of Finance or External Affairs. And it’s complicated by the fact that seniors’ chief concerns usually fall under another minister: Finance for Old Age Security benefits or tax relief, for example; or Health, or Housing.
Moreover, issues like health and housing are provincial responsibilities. It seems to leave little room for meaningful initiatives from the new secretary of state.
Respect has interviewed two federal seniors ministers in the past, as well one Opposition shadow minister. They all stressed the importance of having a minister at the cabinet table to bring a seniors’ perspective to policy discussions.
As a secretary of state, McLean will have fewer opportunities to influence policy, and she won’t have a seat in the inner circle. The voice that speaks for seniors has been weakened.
Issues like affordability, accessibility, loneliness and isolation, health, transportation, and housing are not going away. As more Canadians reach retirement, there will be a greater need for policies and services that address our needs.
We know this, and we’ve known for decades that it was coming. Yet governments persist in kicking important seniors’ issues down the road.
Caring for, and about, society’s beloved grandmas and grandpas is one of those motherhood-and-apple-pie issues. Nobody could possibly be opposed to making life better for the old folks, could they?
The government seems to be counting on harvesting the warmth and goodwill that will surely flow from having McLean visit seniors for tea, cut the occasional ribbon, and announce the latest round of grant recipients.
But there’s a lot of hard decisions to be made and a lot of hard work to be done, and it needs to start now. McLean will have to find ways to be persuasive and tough with her colleagues if she is going to make a meaningful difference.
We’re rooting for her, of course. But the government has sent a clear signal that seniors (and seniors-to-be) are not a priority.