Totally disgusted with government
Since I was a child, I have heard people cussing the various governments across Canada. Sixty years have passed and not much has changed but I now understand the cussing.
There is hospitalization coverage but there is a shortage of doctors. Some medications are covered but many drugs are not. Unless one has a private plan there is no coverage for dentists for fillings, partials and dentures; no coverage for optometrists for eye exams and glasses; no coverage for audiologists for hearing tests and hearing aids. The costs for dentures, partials, glasses and hearing aids, for some, are like a down payment on a car. Patients wait months for physiotherapy, psychiatrists, surgery, scopes and more. With a large senior population in P.E.I. one would think many of these services would be readily available but it was overlooked by many Liberal and Conservative governments.
There is low-rental housing for low-income families, yet, there is a great shortage of units. Government never looked ahead in regard to senior housing for the aging population in P.E.I. Too busy changing highways and building roundabouts. Even with two pensions coming into a household, many seniors find it is hard to make ends meet, especially on average senior pensions.
What is bothersome for many is that some seniors have money in the background or private pensions. They somehow get into low-income apartments. Some senior tenants go to Florida for six months each year.
Some have owned big houses and farm land which is now in a son’s name but they vacation at their summer houses. Some seniors have cottages and spend four to six months there. Some apartments are empty for six months every year. Those seniors struggling on the waiting list would love this freedom. Why are these seniors allowed space in low-income senior units?
Some senior tenants have two to three vehicles. All running and all require registration, gasoline, insurance coverage and repairs. Most seniors can barely afford to have one vehicle and more have no vehicle. A few senior tenants work everyday or have a business. Then there are people who have lived in other provinces all their lives, return to retire but they get into low-rental housing ... ahead of
Islanders on the list. How do they get into low-rental senior housing?
These building are supposed to be government funded for low-income seniors. Yet, I have been told by richer seniors they help to subsidize me, by living next door. I worked for provincial governments most of my life. Like many other Islanders I never got a pension due to on-call, part-time or short- and long-term contract positions, low wages and no long term benefits. On minimum wages there are no savings.
I could not afford senior housing when I worked. If a person was employed, on EI or welfare the rent was taken from the gross income. I also met with a ton of flack when I truly needed housing. I was very discouraged when I discovered very wealthy people in low-income housing. I had the gall to defend my needs to a housing officer. One wrong sentence and police showed up at my door asking if I was suicidal. Following protocol, my son was notified and their household was upset. Luckily, as a miner’s son, the policeman had known similar frustration with those who have the power to put the powerless in their place.
As a former nurse aide, LPN, dental assistant, history researcher, justice of the peace for victims of family violence, veterinary assistant, receptionist and reading tutor, I am totally disgusted with government. All but one of these job involved provincial governments and annual poverty-line living. Might as well not vote and continue cussing as a way to relieve stress.