BC Care Providers Association (BCCPA) has been closely monitoring the promises of major provincial political parties to assess their commitment to key issues, including whether they have adopted some of our policy recommendations from our All Hands-on-Deck election strategy to their election platforms. In the last week, several political parties have unveiled their election platforms, addressing critical aspects of seniors’ care.
Below are the seniors’ care highlights of each party’s platforms.
BC Green Party
The Greens aim to prioritize policies that promote the well-being, security, and support of seniors. The party has announced the following promises:
- Provide greater financial support to low-income seniors who rent, ensuring affordability and housing security;
- Ensure seniors have access to comprehensive care, both in-home and in care homes;
- Improve transparency and accountability in publicly funded care homes to ensure that funds are spent directly on senior care;
- Implement strategies to support the unique needs of seniors living in rural areas; and
- A strong focus on Alzheimer’s and dementia-related policies including a clear dementia care pathway, supporting family practitioners for more early screening, developing a dementia support strategy and funding the Alzheimer’s Society to reduce stigmata and support early detection.
The full platform can be viewed here.
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The BC NDP
In his party’s election platform, Premier David Eby highlights that seniors are concerned about the accessibility of healthcare when they need it. The platform outlines promises that expands on their government’s developments to:
- Continuing to improve quality, supported care for seniors by building 5,400 new and replacement beds at 32 long-term care homes across B.C.;
- Making sure all seniors in long-term care receive the same high-quality care by providing common wages, benefits and working conditions for staff across both public and private long-term care homes;
- Expanding the Better at Home program so more seniors get the support they need to remain in their homes as they age – while easing demand on long-term care homes;
- Expanding the Hospital at Home program so seniors with long term health conditions that require more intensive medical support don’t have to stay in hospital, freeing up beds and improving quality of life;
- Helping more seniors make rent and reduce costs by qualifying more people for SAFER (Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters) and increasing the support available for individual renters; and
- Committing $324 million over three years to boost programs that help seniors thrive in their homes and communities, instead of moving into care. This funding will hire more nurses, physiotherapists, health care assistants and home support workers.
The full platform can be viewed here.
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The Conservative Party of BC
The platform focuses on issues in the current system such as healthcare wait times, home care support, and affordability:
- Enhancing home care Services and support through boosting tax credits for family caregivers, increasing funding for home support services, and expanding access to home care as the preferred alternative to long-term care;
- Improving long-term care homes by delivering 5000 long-term care homes and commissioning an expert review on improving long-term care;
- Healthcare access and support by providing financial assistance for crucial devices, doubling the number Seniors’ Community Park, covering the costs of essential vaccines such as the shingles and high-dose flu shots, and eliminating daily hospice charges;
- Affordable housing and home adaptions by strengthening financial supports by modernizing the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER) program and doubling the home renovation tax credit;
- Transportation for seniors through an expansion of HandyDART services and strictly enforcing service quality standards for HandyDART; and
- Safety and protection of seniors through updating prosecution guidelines, increasing resources, and protecting them from digital fraud and scams
Read the full platform here.
