Seniors enticed with tax credits, long-term care beds
Political leaders courted the seniors’ vote on the campaign trail Wednesday, with the Conservatives offering a new tax credit and the NDP promising long-term care beds and home care for seniors.
Conservative Leader Alison Redford announced in Lethbridge her government would introduce a $500 activity tax credit for seniors. Under the 10-per-cent provincial flat tax, that would save seniors $50 a year and cost the province $24 million.
“Making your lives better makes your family’s lives better and makes your community’s life better,” Redford said.
In Edmonton, NDP Leader Brian Mason called for more long-term care beds, using 90-year-old Anne Chipeniuk’s story to illustrate the need.
Chipeniuk has been in an acute-care bed at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for twoand-a-half weeks, ever since she fell, broke her wrist and bruised her side.
Doctors say she can be moved once she can walk 10 metres with limited help, but the nurses are so busy they often don’t have time to help her out of bed so she can build strength, her son Ken Chipeniuk said.
“There is no medical treatment being provided and she’s in an active treatment bed that’s desperately needed by others,” Chipeniuk said.
“The staff are extremely overworked. It’s been really difficult.”
Mason said the NDP platform would add 1,500 long-term care beds to the current 14,500. They would also increase the budget for home care by $100 million, an increase of about 25 per cent.
As for the Tory promise of $50 in savings, “Ken’s mom could use it to go bowling,” Mason said, jokingly.
“It’s the same approach as the Wildrose. Instead of investing in public services that are actually going to help people with relatively high needs, they think they can cut them a cheque and they are going to be happy. That’s not the answer,” he said.
Liberal Leader Raj Sherman also dismissed Redford’s seniors’ activity tax credit. “I’d like to see a serious commitment to home care, seniors’ supports, and public long-term care to our seniors.”
Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith said the tax credit “sounds awfully familiar to an activity tax credit we announced last week.”