OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 1, 2012) - The Honourable Alice Wong, Minister of State (Seniors), delivered opening remarks today, on the occasion of National Seniors Day, at an elder abuse awareness event organized by the Fédération des aînées et aînés francophones du Canada (FAAFC).

"National Seniors Day is an occasion to recognize seniors, and all of the valuable contributions they have made and continue to make in our communities, workplaces, families and society," said Minister of State Wong. "On this day, the Government of Canada is proud to pay tribute to seniors and remains committed to better protecting Canadian seniors from elder abuse."

The FAAFC received $700,000 in pan-Canadian project funding under the New Horizons for Senior Program (NHSP) to update and improve elder abuse awareness tools, create a national network of partners and train senior volunteers to facilitate awareness activities for seniors in francophone communities across the country. This is one of 33 pan-Canadian NHSP projects, totalling $14.6 million, that the Government of Canada announced in early summer to help increase awareness of elder abuse.

The Government of Canada is committed to supporting the well-being of seniors. For relevant and easy-to-access information on federal, provincial and territorial services and benefits available to Canadian seniors, please visit www.seniors.gc.ca.

This news release is available in alternative formats on request.

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Backgrounder

The Government of Canada is working hard to help improve the lives of seniors on many fronts. These efforts include:

• introducing a new Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) top-up benefit to help Canada's most vulnerable seniors in 2011. This was the largest increase in 25 years to the GIS, for the lowest-income seniors. This measure further improves the financial security and well-being of more than 680 000 seniors across Canada. It represents an investment of $1.5 billion over five years;

• increasing funding to the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) in Budget 2011 by $5 million, bringing the Program's annual budget to $45 million. The Program helps seniors use their leadership abilities, energy and skills to benefit communities across Canada;

• providing Canadians with close to $76 billion this year through Canada's public pension system;

• providing $2.5 billion in additional tax relief to seniors and pensioners through measures such as enabling pension income splitting and increasing the Age credit in 2012-2013;

• providing $400 million over two years under Canada's Economic Action Plan for the construction of housing units for low-income seniors;

• supporting positive and active aging through the collaborative Age-Friendly Communities Initiative, Physical Activity Tips for Older Adults, and falls-prevention initiatives;

• appointing a Minister of State (Seniors)-someone who can bring the concerns of older Canadians to the Cabinet table and stand up on their behalf;

• ongoing actions to address elder abuse, which include: awareness campaigns; the NHSP, which funds projects to raise awareness of elder abuse; and recently proposed legislation that would help ensure consistently tough penalties for offences involving the abuse of elderly persons;

• establishing October 1 as National Seniors Day to recognize the significant and ongoing contributions seniors make to families, communities, workplaces and society; and

• developing seniors.gc.ca as a central resource for Government of Canada information relating to seniors and seniors' initiatives.