Aging Population: Issues Ahead

In Canada, our population is aging. As of 2006, seniors made up 13.7% of the population, by 2031 it is projected that 23-25% of the population will be senior citizens (Statistics Canada, 2007c).  These stats are the result of the largest baby boom in the world (Marshall and Marshall, 2003). The upcoming aging population leads to great anxiety for both social and political institutes. There's a lot of planning that has to be done to meet the aging populations needs, and it will require a great deal of funds.

I came across this concern in my Family Issues class when my professor said, "If any of you here today still don't know what you want to do, there will be a lot of jobs opportunities  to do with the aging population". From this I wondered, just how bad is it? I began to research this topic and found out there is many issues surrounding it. In an article from The National Post, called " Aging population could lead to Greek-style debt crisis in Canada",  it claims that health care needs for the aging population will lead to Canada being in great debt.  This is due to the fact that older people will be leaving the work force and also will require help pertaining to health, leading to increase in public finances.  The government is looking at ways to help this upcoming financial situation out, although they may be unwanted by the general public. For instance, increase in taxes like GST, spending restraints and reductions, changes in government policy to increase immigration for labour force purposes, and boosting the fertility rate (Abma, 2011).

As of 2006, 4635 people were 100 years or older. Experts say this number could triple to more than 14,000 by 2031(Statistics Canada, 2007c). With the increase of life span, comes more older people living with long term conditions needing more help pertaining to health (Marshall and Marshall, 2003).  The burden of health care relies on the efforts of many, a big weight clearly falls on General Practitioners, but also secondary care, social care, and unpaid family providers (Wale, 2001).  One of the most looked over of these are the unpaid family members, most of them being the daughters or female relatives of these older people. With more women being in the work force,  most of them will not be able to provide needed care without changing their work patterns. This leading to the fact that employers may be have to scramble to replace both the retiring workers and those who care for their older relatives (Ward and Belanger, 2006).

Although many of these issues are burdensome,  the increase of life span  has incredible benefits as well. Our population is living longer meaning more generations are alive now than ever before in history. Children in this time, are more likely to know their grandparents and great grandparents than ever before(Ward and Belanger, 2006).  Our society still needs to consider how we are going to provide health and social care to support the increased number of older people in the near future (Wale, 2011). This issue is fast approaching, and government policies need to be changed accordingly.

Jenn S

References:

Abma, D. (2011, November 4). Aging population could lead to Greek-style debt crisis in Canada. National Post.

Marshall, V. W., & Marshall, J. G. (2003). Ageing and work in Canada: Firm Policies. The Geneva papers on risk and insurance; Issues and Practices, 28, 625-639. doi: 10.1111/1468-0440.00250


 Statistics Canada. (2007c). Portrait of Canadian population in 2006, by age and sex, 2006 Census (Catalogue No. 97-551-XIE). Ottawa: Statistics Canada.

Wale, A. (2011). The Aging Population. InnovAit, 4(6), 339-346. doi: 10.1093

Ward, M., Belanger, M. (2006). The Family Dynamic: A Canadian Perspective. Toronto, Ontario: Nelson Education Ltd.