Day of Older Persons recognizes society’s building blocks

By Jeremy Appel on October 2, 2018.

jappel@medicinehatnews.com @MHNJeremyAppel

The Alberta government has proclaimed Oct. 1 as the official Day of Older Persons, honouring contributions — both past and present — of senior citizens.

The UN chose the date as a recognized day for seniors, which the government formally recognized for the first time in 2017.

“We make up a big percentage of the population, and besides that we made this world you guys gotta live in, for better or for worse,” said 75-year-old Hatter Pat Smith, who was at the Veiner Centre on Monday.

Minister of Seniors and Housing Lori Sigurdson said in a news release that it’s important to acknowledge seniors’ “contributions to our communities.”

“Seniors built this province,” she added.

Louise Wickstrom, 74, said setting a single day aside to honour the elderly isn’t a big deal, particularly in a city with a large population of senior citizens.

“Every day is seniors’ day, especially in Medicine Hat,” she said. “Everybody is so kind. They see a little bit of grey hair and say, ‘Wow.'”

Superintendent of community support services Shona Dickie said most of the Hat’s volunteers are senior citizens and they deserve special recognition.

“Seniors or aging adults make huge contributions to our community,” said Dickie.

“They also make many contributions to supporting younger generations, teaching them things they’ve learned throughout their lives and being there to support some of our working parents as well.”

She said it’s crucial for the city to promote further intergenerational activity between seniors and youth.

Lucien Royer, president of the Alberta Federation of Union Retirees, praised the government’s decision to adopt this day of recognition.

“We are proud to join organizations and governments across the world in recognizing the contributions of seniors to our social and economic evolution,” said Royer in a news release.

Doug Heine, 85, agreed that the government’s gesture is a good call.

“There’s a day for everyone else, so why not seniors?” he asked.

Having a day to recognize seniors could serve as an opportunity to shine a light on issues that affect them, such as elder abuse, said Dickie.

Heine cited the financial insecurity of many seniors is an issue this day could draw attention to.

“The increase in the minimum wage isn’t helping them because they’re not working,” he said.

This is particularly true for widows and widowers, who have lost a spouse that helped provide for them, Heine added.

“There needs to be some other supports for some of them,” he said.

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