The voice for mature Canadians
by Marc Huminilowycz
As more and more seniors flock to Southern Georgian Bay to enjoy all the good things our region has to offer, one organization continues to advocate for better healthcare, financial security and freedom from ageism on their behalf.
CARP is Canada’s largest advocacy association for older Canadians, with approximately 320,000 members. As a non-profit, non-partisan association, CARP is committed to working with all parties in government to advocate for its members and all mature Canadians, says the association’s president, Moses Znaimer. “Aging is good news,” says Znaimer. “We’re living 25 years longer than our parents. Now, for the first time ever, seniors outnumber children in Canada.”
He says the needs of older Canadians bring up a range of issues, particularly around physical and financial security, and governments need to prepare for the societal issues affecting this growing demographic.
“How governments deal with seniors is a significant matter,” says Znaimer. “They need to hear from Canadians on policies and legislation that sooner or later affect us all. CARP ensures that the voices of older Canadians are heard in parliament and that vital political promises are made and kept.”
Over the past years, according to its website, CARP and its members have successfully advocated for increasing the Canada Pension Plan; restoring Old Age Security eligibility to 65; securing $3 billion in federal government Homecare Funding; adding an extra $1,000 per year for Canada’s poorest seniors; and reducing seniors’ drug co-pays in Ontario and Nova Scotia.
CARP’s top five priorities for 2018 were improving pensioner protection; RRIF reform; combating elder abuse in long-term care homes; access to housing; and promoting fitness. The association also launched its National Policy Platform, “The FACES of Canada’s Seniors.” Leading up to the 2019 federal election, the initiative is focused on making Canada the best place to age, with five areas of action: financial security; abuse prevention; caregiving and housing supports; exceptional healthcare; and social inclusion.
CARP members participate in polls and petitions, share stories and opinions on urgent issues, and receive numerous benefits and discounts relating to insurance, group benefits, healthcare, entertainment, travel, recreation, products and services.
And today’s CARP has a national platform for getting the word out about positive aging: in addition to his role as president of the association, Znaimer is also the founder of ZoomerMedia, the majority shareholder in On The Bay Magazine. Through its alignment with ZoomerMedia, CARP now reaches seven million Canadians per week via TV, radio, magazine, website and live events such as the Zoomer Show in Toronto.
Zoomer Magazine (available on newsstands and to CARP members) boasts a circulation of 200,000 with an estimated two million readers per issue, while the “Zoomer Week in Review” on Zoomer Radio (AM740) and “The Zoomer Report” on AM740 and The New Classical FM radio stations 96.3, 102.9 and 103.1 include features and interviews on topics of interest to the baby boom generation, reaching more than 1.3 million listeners every week.
“The key is generating awareness and education,” explains Znaimer. “You need to have the cause promulgated by someone. That’s where CARP and ZoomerMedia come in. Ours is a unique model in the world: a non-profit advocacy association supported financially and editorially by a for-profit media company. We do it all, on every platform, giving CARP, its members and all Canadian seniors big national representation, along with a local voice through media such as On The Bay, telling the CARP story and profiling the important issues.”
As a result of its affiliation with ZoomerMedia, CARP has built a large and influential national membership. And it’s not only pension-age Canadians who make up its numbers.
“When I became president of CARP, the first thing we did was remove the bylaw restricting our membership to Canadians 50-plus,” says Znaimer. “Today, CARP is open to every Canadian of any age. Forty-year-olds have 65-year-old parents. Thirty-year-olds have 80-year-old parents. We stand for solidarity among the generations. Recently, we signed up our youngest member, Maeve Lennox, who is six weeks old. It’s never too early to think about your future.”
Znaimer is no stranger to Southern Georgian Bay. With close friends, acquaintances and business interests here, he regularly visits the region, speaking to locals about how they identify themselves and what issues are important to them. “This area needs certain facilities, attitudes and laws that matter to the dynamic group of people who live here – mature, vibrant, educated and cultured people who always give back to their community,” he says.
With its large population of retirees and seniors, CARP Georgian Bay is the largest of the organization’s 26 chapters, with approximately 10,000 members – a number largely bolstered by its early advocacy efforts regarding income splitting for seniors.
“People come here from all over,” says Linda Flemington, who served as chair of CARP Georgian Bay for six years until stepping down recently (the chapter is currently in the process of recruiting a new chair). “Our senior population is made up of the wealthy on one end and the marginalized on the other – people who need attainable housing and a different level of care.”
The primary activities of the chapter are forums (two to three per year) and information sessions advocating for issues that affect seniors.
“Over the past year, we held our third annual Heath Care Symposium in collaboration with the Collingwood Hospital, attended by Grey Bruce Family Health Team panelists, where people participated in formulating the strategic plan of the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN),” says Flemington.
Other chapter initiatives included a CARP collaboration with Community Connection 211 to offer organized social activities for seniors such as a computer club, information cafés and speaker events; creating a “passport” program for members to avoid having to apply for a volunteer pre-check with every volunteer organization; and working with the local MP to minimize the cost of leased land in Wasaga Beach, which had increased 20 per cent over the past five years.
“We’re an active and influential chapter,” notes Flemington. “To recruit new members, we regularly make presentations to the region’s Probus clubs and retirement communities such as Chartwell and Balmoral. Our Facebook page currently has 456 followers, and our regular e-newsletter to members has a very high ‘open’ rate.”
The population of retired and semi-retired people in Southern Georgian Bay continues to grow every year, so it’s appropriate that we have the largest CARP chapter in Canada to advocate for changes to enhance the lives of mature citizens here and across the country. ❧
To find out more about CARP or to become a member, visit carp.ca
