Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for "all parties" to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
With inflation at a nearly 40-year high, Canadians are feeling the financial strain. In a six-part series this summer, The Canadian Press is speaking to people at different stages of life to see where they’re being hit the hardest. This final story in the series details how rising inflation is affecting older adults.
———
Azim Jeraj cancelled his gym membership earlier this year.
The 69-year-old resident of Sherwood Park, Alta. says he could no longer justify the monthly fees in the face of the rising cost of groceries, utilities and prescription medications.
"I joined a seniors' cycling group instead. I go cycling with them twice a week, and that doesn't cost any money," Jeraj said. "You find things like that to do. You constantly look for things that don't cost a lot of money."
Like every other age demographic right now, Canadian seniors are being forced to make tough choices, cutting out frills and nice-to-haves in the face of near 40-year-high inflation rates.
But older adults also face a unique, less-talked-about challenge — the increased social isolation that experts say often occurs as a result of high inflation.
According to Statistics Canada, 27.9 per cent of Canadian seniors in 2017-18 lived alone, compared to 14 per cent of the general population.
Doctors know that maintaining relationships and staying socially active play an important role in mental and physical health for this age group. Social isolation in seniors has been linked to increased emotional distress and prevalence of depression, increased number of falls and use of health and support services, and even premature death.
But getting about costs money, even if it's just to meet friends for coffee, to drive to a faith service, or to take the bus to a fitness class.
"People don’t think of social isolation as being tied to inflationary costs. What we immediately think of is people won’t be able to buy food, afford housing, take their medications," said Laura Tamblyn Watts, CEO of CanAge, a national seniors’ advocacy organization. “But you have to be connected in some way, and connection costs."
Many Canadian seniors live on fixed pensions or depend on government benefits such as the Canada Pension Plan, which — with its once-a-year adjustment each January for inflation — hasn't caught up with recent dizzying increases in the cost of living.
Older adults are also worried about their investment portfolios, as inflation weighs on the stock market. And for those who have been banking on the equity in their home to support their retirement, rising interest rates and their affect on the housing market are a real concern.
"A lot of the seniors we’re seeing are in this crunch – their investments or pension hasn’t gone up, their government benefits may eventually go up but right now they’re waiting in limbo, and prices for everything have gone up,” said Larry Mathieson, chief executive of the Kerby Centre, a non-profit that offers programs and services to seniors in Calgary and Medicine Hat. "It's a huge issue."
For Dorothy Bagan, who lives alone in the house she owns in Calgary, the crunch is already being felt. She's cancelled her cellphone and cut back on cable TV, and keeps to a carefully curated list when grocery shopping.
She also doesn't own a car and though she's an avid public transit user and community volunteer, her social life has narrowed.
“My circle of friends has diminished, for the obvious reason. I’m 74," Bagan said. "And the two close friends that I have, well, only one of the two still drives so seeing each other has been a challenge."
In fact, Bagan said she's recently made the decision to go back to work on a part-time basis — not because of the money, though that's an added perk, but because she needs to get out of the house.
“I love engaging and interacting with people ... I love being out and about and a part of things," she said. "I’m still useful; just because I’m a senior doesn’t mean I have nothing to contribute.”
Social isolation is part of "the down-flow effect of inflation," Tamblyn Watts said. If seniors can't afford internet, they can't connect with their families via Zoom or FaceTime. If they can't afford hearing aids or eyeglasses, they have less ability to interact with the world. And if younger generations are busy picking up extra hours at work to keep up with their own rising cost of living, they're less likely to be able to check in on their mom and dad or squeeze in time to visit a grandparent in a nursing home.
“There’s going to be more people living alone at home, unsupported, and lonely," Tamblyn Watts said.
For his part, Jeraj said he feels fortunate. He is married, he still drives, and he and his wife have made a conscious effort to stay active and connected through low-cost activities like going for long walks and entertaining friends at home.
He knows, however, that many of his peers aren't so lucky.
“I have relatives who live alone, and cost for them is a big issue. Even mobility, because they can’t drive because of their age and health," Jeraj said.
"Social isolation is a really big thing. It’s affecting them mentally quite a bit.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2022.
Canada called for "all parties" to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
On Friday, the pop star released her 11th album and at 2 a.m. Eastern, she released "The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology," featuring 15 additional songs.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.