Today in Canada, the number of people 65 years old and over exceeds those 14 years old and younger. According to the National Post, “StatCan said the latest figures were driven by a trend that took root in 2011 and has continued to accelerate—the aging of the baby boomers… Baby boomers now account for 30 per cent of the senior demographic, the agency said” (McQuigge, Michelle, “Canadian seniors outnumber children for the first time in recorded history, StatsCan says,” NationalPost.com, September 29, 2015).
The ever-growing baby boomer population strains Canada’s pension support system. The eligibility age for Old Age Security (OAS) and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is 65 years, just a year younger than the average lifespan in Canada when the plan was first introduced. Since then, the average lifespan has increased by almost 20 years.
The growing number of seniors in our society—a group referred to as the “hoary headed” in the Bible—have contributed greatly to the country, and many are still gainfully employed. Sadly, though, many consider them a burden to society.
ATTITUDES ABOUT THE ELDERLY
Is there discrimination toward the elderly, often referred to as ageism? Does what some refer to as the “generation gap” reinforce this notion? In a 2014 article on the website o.canada.com, David Yates asks, “What do you think of when we talk about seniors? Do you think of someone who is rich with life experience, perhaps a grandparent, working hard in the community to share his or her expertise and wisdom with younger generations? Do you think of a poor, helpless old man or woman, isolated and unable to leave their house?” (“Aging in Canada: How well are we treating our elders?” June 13, 2014).
He goes on to illustrate how severe the problem has gotten (emphasis ours):
A 2013 report on ageism from the IFA and Revera illustrates… 63 per cent of seniors aged 66 or older said they had been treated differently because of their age, while a third of all respondents admitted to having treated someone differently because of their age. Among Gen X and Y respondents, the number was 43 and 42 per cent, respectively. Over one in five respondents, furthermore, said they believed older Canadians were a burden on society.
Yates points to Greg Shaw, the head of the International Federation on Aging, who says that such unwarranted discrimination against the elderly is widespread in Canada—something Shaw hopes to combat by bringing the young and the old together in shared activities.
Growing up in Toronto in the late 1950’s, I remember most youth showing the elderly respect. On public transportation, many demonstrated that respect by standing and offering a seat to the elderly; it was just taken for granted as the thing to do—a simple but meaningful way of honouring the “hoary head.” Regrettably, that tradition is less common now.