Jocelyne Lahaye – Seniors Advocate

Seniors Advocate Visits the Sunshine Coast

Isobel Mackenzie will visit the Sunshine Coast in February to meet with seniors, seniors organizations, advocates, local government representatives, residential care facilities and others to discuss issues affecting older British Columbians. She will be holding town halls in Sechelt on February 6th and Powell River on February 7th to hear from seniors, their loved ones …

Calling all Volunteers! Give a voice to residents of long-term care

We’re surveying every long-term care resident in B.C. and we need your help. Join our team of volunteer surveyors to interview seniors about their quality of life in long-term care. No experience necessary. Apply now online.

New Report Release – 2022 Monitoring Seniors Services

The 2022 Monitoring Seniors Services report is now available! This year’s report reinforces the need to scale up B.C. seniors’ services to meet the growing demands of the aging population. Read the report to find out how seniors’ services and supports have performed over the last year and find out where seniors’ needs are being …

Updated Long-Term Care Directory Now Includes Assisted Living

The Office of the Seniors Advocate has released its updated long-term care home directory for 2021/22 which also now also includes information on all publicly-funded assisted living facilities in British Columbia. The 2021/22 Long-Term Care and Assisted Living Directory includes basic information such as room configuration, languages spoken by staff, food preparation and also offers …

New Report – BC Seniors: Falling Further Behind

Yesterday the BC Seniors Advocate released “BC Seniors: Falling Further Behind”, a new OSA report outlining the income and affordability challenges seniors in our province are facing. The report highlights the impact of rising costs on B.C. seniors who depend on government pensions and ranks B.C. as the lowest in its financial support for seniors …

Heat Wave Preparedness and Response

Heat wave warnings are in effect across the province and rising temperatures may put vulnerable seniors at risk. With higher temperatures expected, it is recommended that seniors take some additional precautions and family, friends and neighbours are encouraged to check in on older people to ensure they are keeping cool and well hydrated. The dual …

B.C. Seniors Advocate invites British Columbians to participate in landmark survey of people in residential care

The Office of the Seniors Advocate is launching the second province-wide survey of the experiences of residents living in all 294 publicly-subsidized long-term care homes in B.C. and is calling on all interested British Columbians to join the survey team. Members of the survey team will include British Columbians from a wide variety of backgrounds …

Property Tax Deferment Program

Did you know you may be eligible to defer your property taxes? Property tax deferment is a provincial low-interest loan program that helps qualified homeowners pay their annual property taxes on their principal residence. Taxes can be deferred for any year the homeowner lives in the home and continues to qualify for the program. Who …

T5007 Tax Slips for Recipients of the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters

This year, the CRA has issued T5007 tax slips to SAFER recipients who received more than $500 from the program within the last year. Find out about how this will impact your income tax.