VICTORIA – Esquimalt-Metchosin MLA Mitzi Dean welcomed an almost $15,000 grant from the province that will support seniors in living active, socially engaged and independent lives by making Metchosin more age-friendly.

“This grant will be used to increase communication and awareness of emergency preparedness and assistance for Metchosin’s 2,000 seniors,” said Dean. “Helping to ensure seniors’ needs are met during an emergency situation is one of the ways our government is working to make life better for seniors.”

The local investment is part of the approximately $587,000 in age-friendly grants being provided to B.C. communities in 2018. MLA Dean said the number of communities that have received grants has almost doubled since 2017 and she is glad that people in Metchosin will benefit from projects focused on accessibility, physical activity and aging well.

The age-friendly communities grant program is a partnership between the Province and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities and in September 2017, local governments were invited to apply. MLA Dean said these age-friendly grants will work to accommodate the changing needs of older residents in Metchosin while also contributing to the creation of sustainable, healthy communities for all British Columbians.

Today’s announcement builds on other significant investments the new government is making to support seniors:

• investing $548 million over three years to improve care for seniors: adding more specialized primary care services, helping seniors stay in their homes longer with home and community care, and improving the quality of care in residential care homes;
• increasing support from the Shelter Aid for Elderly Residents (SAFER) rental assistance program by an average of $930 per year;
• eliminating MSP Premiums and expanding Fair PharmaCare coverage, including eliminating deductibles for families with net annual incomes under $30,000;
• restoring the 100% seniors discount, that the BC Liberal government cut, on ferry fares from Monday to Thursday;
• and launching a new surgical strategy to reduce wait times for hip and knee surgeries by increasing the number of surgeries performed in 2018-19 by 34%.

Learn More:

More information about age-friendly BC can be found by visiting: http://www.gov.bc.ca/agefriendly