CARP’S PAST

CARP is registered as a corporation by a professor, a physician and a retiree, but the organization lies dormant.

Lillian and Murray Morgenthau, along with a group of friends, gather around the kitchen table to discuss the fact that older Canadians have no advocates promoting their rights. They activate the previously dormant CARP and begin lobbying. October 1985 Brian Mulroney’s Conservatives threaten changes to RRSP tax rules. CARP’s first national advocacy battle culminates with the Tories backing down. June 1989 The same federal government then launches clawbacks on Old Age Security. CARP’s Get Your Claws Off Our Pensions campaign clearly resonates with seniors, resulting in a huge spike in membership. April 1994

Federal Liberal budget cuts a range of social and health programs used by seniors. CARP sets out an action plan to tackle health care in “How We Can Fight Back,” which headlines the April 1994 issue of CARPNews. June 1999

CARP commemorates the International Year of the Older Person by holding a National Forum on Health Care. June 2001

CARP releases Report Card on Home Care in Canada, the first major study to shed light on how caregivers are “undervalued and overstressed.” May 2002

CARP erupts when the governments of Saskatchewan and Ontario announce big increases in long-term care costs. A fierce lobbying campaign ensues, and both provinces back down. May 2004 Prime Minister Paul Martin visits CARP’s offices and holds a wide-ranging discussion on seniors’ poverty and health-care reform. November 2007 After a vigorous two-year campaign led by CARP, the federal Conservatives announce Pension Income Splitting as part of their budget, a huge tax-savings for many retirees. March 2008 CARP calls for a national summit on pension reform, pressing Ottawa to enhance the Canada Pension Plan for future generations. October 2009 Moses Znaimer is elected President of CARP at the Annual General Meeting. Moses shares his vision of a unique and powerful association that will use all the tools of his emerging media group – national and regional television and radio stations, magazine and websites – to promote CARP’s New Vision of Aging for Canada. December 2012 The battle to allow Canadians to make their own decision as to when to retire – which CARP started more than a decade earlier – is finally resolved when the federal government repeals the Mandatory Retirement Exemption in the Canadian Human Rights Act. October 2013 NDP leader Tom Mulcair addresses the CARP Annual General Meeting and promises to roll back the age of OAS eligibility to 65. January 2014 Another CARP lobby ends successfully when Ontario announces it will become the first province to make automatic sprinkler systems mandatory in care homes for seniors with most homes given five years to comply with the new requirements. October 2014 Justin Trudeau addresses CARP’s AGM. Like Tom Mulcair, he pledges to restore the age of eligibility for OAS back to 65 and to enhance the Canada Pension Plan. June 2015 CARP protests Canada Post’s announcement that it intends to end door-to-door mail delivery. September 2015 Future Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes his second appearance at CARP’s national offices, a key stop on

his campaign tour just two weeks before the election. He unveils plans to further enhance benefits and boost supports for Canadian seniors and caregivers. June 2016

CARP’s long lobby to enhance CPP for future generations ends in victory as federal and provincial governments announce historic agreement to increase coverage from 25 to 33 per cent of earnings and increase earnings covered from $54,900 to $82,700 on full implementation in 2025. August 2016 As per his promise during his campaign visit to CARP, Justin Trudeau announces his government will restore the age of eligibility of Old Age Security back to 65, a huge concession. November 2016 CARP launches its Heat or Eat campaign, calling for the Ontario government to “restore sanity” to electricity rates. In March the following year, Premier Kathleen Wynne backs down, announcing a reduction in electricity rates. March 2017 CARP’s decades-long call for action to help overburdened caregivers is realized as the federal budget includes a five-year, six-billion-dollar, 10-year home-care funding pledge and expanded tax credits and Employment Insurance benefits for caregivers.