Investing in Seniors

The NDP government takes pride in tailoring its legislation and services to the needs of seniors.

Financial Security

• Tax savings on pensions, by allowing spouses to split their income for tax purposes as of 2007



• Special tax relief for seniors in the form of more generous tax credits - a 57% increase in the value of the basic tax credit, a 43% increase in the value of the age tax credit, a 35% increase in the value of the pension income tax credit, and a 28% increase in the maximum education property tax credit for seniors



• A comprehensive modernization of pension legislation, allowing seniors to unlock 50% of their pension funds or to phase-in their retirement



• A new, fully refundable caregiver tax credit of up to $1,020 that is intended to help seniors remain independent as long as possible

Independent Living for Seniors

• An Aging in Place Strategy that gives seniors more choices in the kind of care they receive while continuing to live in the community. We’ve already added new supports for 2,760 seniors in group living situations and 358 more supportive housing spaces.



• 66% more funding for our home care program - the best in Canada



• Geriatric assessment teams to help seniors obtain home care and other services more quickly



• New funding for the Support Services for Seniors Program which assists seniors with transportation, yard work, grocery shopping, and safety checks



• A SafetyAid program that provides low-income seniors with free basic safety and fall-prevention devices such as peepholes, deadbolts and grab bars, as well as forgivable loans for minor home security improvements



• New handi-transit vehicles for 65 municipalities across the province



• We are expanding our home care program that will ensure 2,000 more people can live independently in their own homes



• A three-year housing strategy that includes the conversion of a portion of provincially owned housing into supportive housing units for seniors who need more care, new housing options for seniors in northern and rural Manitoba, and funding for repairs to low-income housing

Health Services Geared to Seniors’ Needs

• The addition of almost 2,000 new drugs to Pharmacare, including new palliative drugs and a new drug for Alzheimer patients



• A state-of-the-art centre for prostate cancer staffed by six specialists which can provide prostate therapy for patients in just two quick visits



• An update to the breast cancer screening protocol that ensures women over the medically-identified target age of 50 to 69 can continue to easily access screenings without a doctor’s referral



• A reduction in the wait times for hip and knee surgeries from 44 to 15 weeks



• A voluntary plan allowing families with drug costs amounting to a quarter or more of their income to pay their deductible in even monthly installments over the course of the year



• Palliative care patients in the community now receive medical, surgical and pharmaceutical supplies and equipment

Personal Care Homes

• Eight new personal care homes, and another under construction in Neepawa



• Renovations in existing personal care homes to replace rooms with three or four beds with more private rooms with only one or two beds



• New, clear standards for all personal care homes



• Improvements to the quality of care in personal care homes by hiring 250 more nurses, 100 personal health-care aides and 50 allied health-care professionals by 2011

Figures current as of October, 2008

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