Government of Canada Launches Call for Proposals for Capital Projects that Support Seniors

September 15, 2009

Once again the New Horizons for Seniors program is offering funding to local non-profit community organizations to make the lives of seniors’ within the community better.  This round of funding falls under the Capital Assistance Component of the program and will focus on renovation of facilities or replacement of equipment used to deliver seniors’ programs and activities.

The Government of Canada has committed to helping seniors enjoy a good quality of life within the community through the New Horizon’s program. Funded projects in this round will enable the continuation of programs and activities that encourage seniors to contribute to their communities and share their knowledge and skills for the benefit of others. 

The deadline for applications is November 6, 2009. For more information on this call for proposals, please visit http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/community_partnerships/seniors/index.shtml.

In March of this year, Minister for Seniors, Senator Marjory LeBreton, announced more than $11 million in funding to over 900 projects across Canada through the Capital Assistance component of the New Horizons for Seniors Program.

With the other components of the New Horizons for Seniors Program—Community Participation and Leadership and Elder Abuse Awareness—the overall budget of the Program is $35 million per year.

Since its beginning, the New Horizons for Seniors Program has funded over 5,000 projects in hundreds of communities across Canada including projects here in our own riding of Kelowna-Lake Country.

The New Horizons program for seniors is just one way in which the Government has kept its commitment to seniors.  In Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the federal government made a clear commitment to protect seniors, by implementing several key measures:

• Increasing the Age Credit by $1,000 for 2009 and beyond to allow eligible seniors to receive up to an additional $150 in annual tax savings.
• Providing seniors with $200 million in tax relief by reducing the required minimum withdrawal amount for 2008 from Registered Retirement Income Funds by 25 percent, in recognition of the impact of the deterioration in market conditions on retirement savings.
• Helping older workers and their families through these tough economic times by investing an additional $60 million over three years in the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers, and by expanding the number of eligible communities to include older workers in small cities.
• Providing $400 million over two years through the Affordable Housing Initiative for the construction of housing units for low-income seniors.

I encourage all local organizations who can qualify under this program to make an application for funding.  Seniors are vital to the well-being of our community and we owe it to them to make sure the community serves them as effectively as it can

For more information on the Government of Canada’s actions to support seniors, please visit http://www.seniors.gc.ca.

If you cannot find the information you need, please feel free to contact my office at
470-5075 or ron@cannan.ca