Sask. residents looking after aging or sick family need financial help and home support: report

SEIU-West members of LutherCare Communities group home rallied outside their employer’s head office on Feb. 14, 2024. (Chad Hills/CTV News)

The majority of caregivers surveyed in Saskatchewan reported experiencing financial hardship in 2023, surpassing the national average, according to newly-released data.

On Wednesday, the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence (CCCE) released a report showing 51 per cent of caregivers in Saskatchewan and Manitoba faced financial strain last year.

Caregivers are people who support others with disabilities or medical conditions without pay, usual family members or friends, while care providers are people who are trained and paid to provide care to those who need it.

According to Caring in Canada, caregivers in Quebec experienced the lowest rates of financial hardship and reported paying the least amount of money out-of-pocket for caregiving expenses.

Quebec is also one of only a handful of provinces with a refundable caregiver tax credit, CCCE writes.

Only 16 per cent of caregivers in Saskatchewan are taking advantage of caregiver benefits, the report says.

The data from 3,000 caregivers and care providers across Canada reveals a growing need for care in the country, CCCE writes.

The report shows that nearly one in five caregivers are over the age of 65 and they’re least likely to access any services or supports to help their responsibilities.

“Caring in Canada confirms an urgent need for policy solutions that can make life easier for caregivers, care providers, and people receiving care. These include implementing direct compensation for caregivers, easier access to supports like home care, respite, and mental health care, workplace policies to support caregivers juggling work and care, and reforms in the care provider sector," CCCE executive director Liv Mendelsohn said in a news release.

The data shows that caregivers provide an average of 5.1 hours of care a day, adding up to over 30 hours of unpaid care, or almost the equivalent of a full-time job.

For those who are paid to provide care, CCCE says that a shortage of staff is linked to poor working conditions.

According to their data, 80 per cent of paid care providers like personal support workers have considered changing careers, citing low compensation, inadequate staffing, discrimination and lack of safety at work.

Last week, workers at group homes run by LutherCare Communities in Saskatoon initiated job action, citing concerns over low wages, statutory holiday pay and a resistance from the employer to offer two days off in a row.

Members of the local Service Employees International Union West (SEIU-West) initially withdrew transportation services. On Wednesday, SEIU-West president Barbara Cape said workers would also withdraw housekeeping and food services.

“We issued a new strike notice last Friday effective 6 p.m. tonight. It’s additional job actions that are being withdrawn by the employees. So in addition to the previous strike notice that set out all transportation and escort services that were provided for residents would be withdrawn except for those that were medically necessary,” she said.

Cape said negotiators from both sides have been trying to set a new date to return to the bargaining table.

“The next step would be a discussion with the bargaining committee and the strike committee to determine if we escalate our job actions and what would be the next series of job duties that we would withdraw service from,” she said.