The Only Response I Received

The Alzheimer's Society had a series of questions to ask federal candidates. I sent the questions to the four candidates running in my riding and here are the only questions I received.  The Liberal candidate acknowledged receiving the questions but to date hasn't answered them and Gerald Keddy, the conservative candidate responded saying they do not respond to surveys.'Thank you to Mr Earle's team for responding. Below are the questions and the answers I received.  

Question 1

Canada lags behind our international partners in the development of a national brain

strategy to address the growing dementia crisis. Australia, S. Korea, UK and other

Countries in Europe already have plans in place; we need leadership at the national

level. If your party forms the next government would you commit to meeting the

needs of the 500,000 Canadians with dementia with a national brain strategy within

the first 90 days of the next parliament?

Answer

The New Democratic Party of Canada strongly believes in supporting those who

have built Canada and are now in their later years. A key element is this is caring

for Canadians suffering from dementia. To effectively provide this care it will be

vital to have a comprehensive strategy. A New Democratic government would

commit to working with stakeholders like the Alzheimer Society of Canada to

develop a national brain strategy early in our mandate.

Question 2

In 2008, Canadian families and friends spent approximately 231 million

hours providing care for people with dementia. This number is expected to

more than triple by 2038, reaching 756 million hours. The financial and

social burden on informal caregivers will be unsustainable. If your party

forms the next government would you commit to a comprehensive and

universal package of support programs for family caregivers during the

next session of parliament?

Answer

The New Democratic Party of Canada lays out a strategy for supporting

caregivers in our platform. We commit to:

• providing a more flexible and generous Employment Insurance Compassionate Care Benefit to permit family members to take up to six months leave from work to tend to relatives near the end of their lives, up from the current six weeks;
• introducing a new Caregiver Benefit, modelled after the Child Tax Benefit, to assist low and middle-income families in tackling the costs of everyday needs while caring for elderly or dependant family members. Eligible family members will include children, spouses, parents and other family members, and will be able to receive up to $1,500 per year;
• introducing an Inter-generational Home Forgivable Loan Program, modeled on a Manitoba Government initiative, to help up to 200,000 families a year retrofit their homes to create self-contained secondary residences for senior family members. Families will be eligible for a forgivable loan to cover 50 per cent of the costs of a renovation up to a maximum of $35,000;
• establishing a new designated federal home care transfer to guarantee a basic level of home care services to all Canadians wherever they live, and
• implementing a new designated federal long-term care transfer to provide community-based, high quality round-the-clock care.

Question 3

Budget 2011 contained important measures for dementia research,

caregiver support, and improved health care delivery. Despite promising

recent leads, the causes of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

remain unknown and there are no effective treatments. Canadian

researchers rank among the best in the world, but they need more funding

to follow the many clues that will lead us to the breakthroughs we will need

to conquer this disease.

If your party forms the next government would you support these

investments and commit to the $100 Million contained in the Budget for

brain disease research as a first step towards a comprehensive permanent

federal research program?

Answer

Yes, we will commit ourselves to following through on the budget measures for

dementia research and improved health care delivery and to the expenditure of

$100 million for brain disease research.. As pointed out above, our proposals for

care-giving go well beyond those in Budget 2011.The New Democratic Party of

Canada strongly supports the need for increased medical research in Canada

particularly when it comes to care for the elderly.

Thank you for your interest in the policies of the New Democratic Party of

Canada. Please do not hesitate to contact me again with more questions.

Sincerely,

Gordon Earle

NDP Candidate in South Shore-St.Margaret’s