Tamil Seniors push Queens Park for a coordinated approach on elder care

September 28, 2015

Over 25 members of the Tamil Canadian community representing various seniors organizations and programs participated in a round-table with Provincial elected officials. Hon. Mario Sergio, Minister Responsible for Seniors Affairs and Hon. Deepika Damerla, Associate Minister of Health and Long Term Care, and Indira Naidoo-Harris, MPP for Halton participated in the discussions. The afternoon meeting at Queens Park Legislative Building included leaders of various Tamil seniors organizations across the Greater Toronto Area as well as agency staff who support seniors through variety of programs and services.

The community round-table was led by Canadian Tamil Congress in an effort to address the growing challenges faced by Tamil seniors. Issues discussed at the meeting include, increased coordination and collaboration with other levels of government on matters related to seniors, better training and education around cultural competency for staff who serve in provincially funded programs such as the caregiver support program, and improved funding to help build capacity for community organizations who work closely with the grassroots.

“This is the first step towards many more dialogues to come” said Piragal Thiru who chaired the meeting. “With support, knowledge and local expertise of those who were at the table, we can continue to do more and develop meaningful and collective approaches to how we care for our elders”

As next steps, the Canadian Tamil Congress is inviting participants to form a Tamil Seniors Advisory Group. The objective of this group would be to continue advocating for the needs of Tamil seniors through ongoing discussions with the Government, help build capacity within existing organizations that serve seniors in the community, act as a liaison between the community and the government, and help guide the approach to addressing the collective needs of Tamil seniors.

For more information on this initiative, please contact Canadian Tamil Congress at 416-240-0078 or email info@canadiantamilcongress.ca