"Infantilized" by the government during the pandemic, Quebec seniors say they are striking back.

They are demanding a new financial allowance and are preparing a list of demands to ensure that they never have to go through such a trying time again.

"We felt infantilized and we suffered from isolation more than ever," said Lise Lapointe, of the Coalition for the Dignity of Seniors, at a press conference Monday morning at the Quebec City parliamentary press gallery.

'CONDEMNED' TO STAY HOME

"We were told at every press conference that we had become condemned to our home," said Lapointe.

"It created mental problems. We couldn't even go out to get supplies. We really felt we had reached a more than difficult age. Being reminded on a daily basis that we were old people had a big effect."

Seniors are not consulted when thinking about public policy, she said.

So seniors want to take back some of the initiative, starting with a broad consultation of the association's 150,000 members. At the same time, the group is arguing that the time for commissions and surveys has passed, that solutions exist and that it's time for action.

"We can't turn the page on the 10,000 deaths that occurred in seniors' facilities during the first wave of the pandemic," Lapointe said.

"That's more than 10,000 families who are still in shock... We will not forget this."

They say they have reported their "anger" and "dismay" to the minister for seniors, Marguerite Blais.

Blais, in turn, admitted Tuesday that the provincial government may have indeed been ageist. 

During question period, Liberal MP Monique Sauvé relayed the organization's complaints and recalled that the Health Commissioner had also deplored the infantilization of the elderly.

In response, Blais asked colleagues to recall that the government wanted to protect seniors from the worst of the first wave.

However, it may have been, she said, that the government created a form of ageism.

GENERAL MEETINGS

The organizations have announced they will hold general assembly meetings on the living conditions of seniors on May 3, with a forum to come up with specific demands concerning their top priority: services and home support.

The associations are also asking for a new allowance to preserve the purchasing power of seniors, which has been hit hard by inflation.

"Poverty has just gotten a lot worse," said Lapointe. As for the amount of money required, "we haven't done the calculations, people in a better position will do those calculations," she continued.

At the end of the general assemblies, the coalition will demand a firm commitment from the government on their demands.

"I can't imagine that the government and the opposition parties can't sit down and say, 'Enough is enough, it takes concrete action,'" said Lapointe.

Within 15 years, seniors aged 65 and over will represent a quarter of the Quebec population, according to the coalition's data.

The coalition is made up of six associations: Association québécoise de défense des droits des personnes retraitées et préretraitées (AQDR), Regroupement interprofessionnel des intervenantes retraitées des services de santé (RIIRS), Association des retraités et retraitées de l'éducation et autres services publics du Québec (AREQ), Association québécoise des retraités des secteurs publics et parapublics (AQRP), Association québécoise des directeurs et directrices d'établissement d'enseignement retraités (AQDER), and Alliance des associations des retraités (AAR).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 21, 2022.