Report of the National Seniors Council on Volunteering Among Seniors and Positive and Active Aging

Introduction

SeniorsFootnote 1  are a vital part of Canadian society. Seniors exercise many diverse roles in their community as family members, caregivers, volunteers, workers and consumers. Positive and active aging focuses on strengthening the recognition of seniors as valued members of society, while optimizing opportunities for seniors to remain healthy, independent and be active participants in their communities. As Canada's population ages and the number of seniors increases, it will be increasingly important to support and encourage ways in which Canadians age in a positive and active way. Volunteering is one way that seniors can remain actively engaged in life and connected to those around them.

The value of senior volunteers to the community is substantial. Volunteers provide many important services to Canadians. They play an important role in promoting active citizenship and supporting the well-being of Canadians. As some of Canada's most active and engaged volunteers, seniors play a critical role in making their communities stronger and more resilient places to live. These messages were repeated in all of the roundtables held across the country.

The National Seniors Council is pleased that the federal government recognizes the importance of positive and active aging and volunteering among seniors and identified these issues as priorities for the National Seniors Council. The Council acknowledges the important work being done by the Government of Canada to address these priorities and has highlighted examples of federal initiatives that support positive and active aging and volunteering among seniors throughout the report. However, while significant achievements have been made, more can be done across jurisdictions to promote positive and active aging and volunteering among seniors.

The objective of this report is to share the key concerns and issues that arose from the roundtables on positive and active aging and volunteering among seniors. Another objective is to provide suggestions for action to the Government of Canada to address these matters.

The report is divided into two parts:

1. an overview of positive and active aging and volunteering among seniors; and
2. a synopsis of the nine roundtables held in 2009, with a focus on the key issues related to positive and active aging and volunteering among seniors, and Councils' suggestions for federal government action.