It’s no secret that Canada’s population is aging, and it is now an issue the Canadian government must deal with.
Other developed countries have begun to face the elephant in the room, particularly France, which has seen a large backlash when trying to institute necessary reforms, such as raising the retirement age.
If Canada hopes to effectively deal with the problem when the strain on government social programs becomes much larger in 15 to 20 years, reforms must be made now to prepare ourselves for when the problem comes to a head.
Instead of the federal government investing over $16 billion for fighter jets, the money should have been invested in something that actually will have a direct effect on us, like the health-care system.
Canada has to face the reality that the current model of Medicare may not work when the number of elderly people demanding care increases dramatically. While social health care doesn’t need to be done away with entirely, perhaps altering the services it provides is necessary.
The reason young people must care about this issue is because our generation will be the one bearing the bulk of the cost of the older generation’s needs. Even more, we will be forced to deal with it at a time when we are coming into our own as adults, purchasing cars and shouldering mortgages.
While the prognosis of our aging population may seem grim, we as individuals must also see the bright side behind it. An older population offers new opportunities in industries relating to the elderly, such as medical supplies, in-home care and recreation.
While the solution to the problem may not be readily apparent today, everyone from the lowest individual to the highest offices of government power must begin to accept that the demographic makeup of our society is changing quickly, and start preparing now.