Elder advocates want province to do more to protect seniors abuse

By KENDALL KING, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on June 24, 2022.

kking@medicinehatnews.com

The Elder Advocates of Alberta Society is urging provincial legislators to do more to protect seniors from abuse, an issue which affects approximately 9 per cent of Albertans over the age of 65.

EAAS executive director Ruth Adria specifically called out MLAs who she says often refer elder abuse cases to the EAAS and other seniors advocacy groups, but fail to address the lack of elder abuse legislation or modify existing legislation.

Darcy Gray, EAAS press secretary, says the society has dealt with many cases where laws reduce the rights of seniors experiencing abuse, particularly in cases where competency has been called into question.

“What we’ve seen over the years, particularly with seniors who are very wealthy and have a great deal of assets in their estate, is that people are turning to competency assessments, not out of the best interests of the senior but for matters of convenience,” Gray told the News.

Gray explained abusers, who usually have a close relation to the senior, will use their relation to deliberately cast doubt on the senior’s mental or physical competency, with the overall goal of having the senior declared legally incompetent. At which point the abuser could take control of the senior’s care, including care of their estate.

“They might decide they’re going to obtain the help of a psychiatrist or a lawyer they know, and they’re going to work together to have this person put away,” said Gray. “Then they grab the estate and, presumably, they distribute (the money and assets).

“For the senior who’s being targeted, they often find if there’s enough professional people on the other side, they begin to experience discrimination. So, in some cases, seniors are not given a voice in which they’re allowed to speak for themselves. In some cases, they can’t even get legal counsel to represent them because the doctors, the lawyers, the assessments and some of the forms (abusers) use are taken at face value.”

While Gray admits the introduction of new legislation, or modifications to existing legislation, would not provide an ultimate solution to elder abuse, he believes such actions might impede it.

“Everybody ages and everybody, as they age, becomes more at risk (of abuse),” he said. “Government, banks, lawyers, big institutions and society in general, should care.”

Local MLAs, Michaela Frey, representing Brooks-Medicine Hat, and Drew Barnes, representing Cypress-Medicine Hat, agree elder abuse is a concern which needs to be addressed legislatively.

Both Frey and Barnes confirm their offices handle elder abuse cases, which they often refer to other organizations or services, depending on the victim’s chosen course of action.

“Some people, what they want is not something we can provide, like legal action,” Frey said. “But if they want to be in contact with agencies, we can refer them to agencies who specialize in this and can refer them to other people as well.

“Unfortunately, there isn’t a direct line to do this. And that’s one of the complications which exists. In Alberta, or anywhere in Canada actually, there’s no standalone legislation which specifically deals with elder abuse. There’s a lot of elder abuse legislation which deals with it on the periphery, or in the context of health or social services. But as far as standalone, specific Alberta-focused elder abuse legislation; there hasn’t ever been one.”

While Frey is confident improvements will be made in terms of elder abuse legislation, Barnes feels MLA advocacy is not heard by the province’s top legislative bodies, thus delaying a legislative response.

“We have a situation where, quite often, it’s hard for MLAs to talk to any provincial government bureaucrats,” said Barnes. “I, for one, would like to see a system where local MLAs could be a lot more of the advocate or the ombudsman for our local constituents.”

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