Is this how we want to age?
“In America, there is anxiety associated with decline. Old age is the mirror of what we fear. […] We live in a segmented society. There are few places in our society where we can mix ages, we will have to rethink everything, ”notes Martine Lagacé, professor at the University of Ottawa.
(City…) The crisis that is hitting CHSLDs in Quebec forces us to think about how we view the elderly in our society. Beyond the failures of the health system, it might be time to question our refusal to accept the passage of time. The words that we naturally associate with aging - loss-decline-retirement-burden ... - are almost always negative. And they say a lot about our conception of old age.
Does this devaluation of old age partially explain the sad fate reserved for the elderly?
Does this devaluation of old age partially explain the sad fate reserved for the elderly?
Elderly people who die alone, without their families, in conditions we wouldn't want for our dog or cat. People who take their last breath after saying goodbye to their children on FaceTime. Elderly people, foreheads leaning against glass, looking at loved ones on the other side of the window. We are collectively struck with terror at the inhuman and heartbreaking scenes that have been brought to our attention
for the past few days. Beyond the pandemic, what exactly does this tragedy reveal?
"It shows the lack of interest that we have for the elderly," says Claire A. Noël. This 85-year-old woman published the book Aging in dignity
and not in poverty , last year, by Marcel Broquet editions. She says she is indignant at what she sees these days.
"We have put people's lives at risk," said Martine Lagacé, professor and researcher at the LIFE Research Institute at the University of Ottawa. “When we saw what was going on in Italy, we could have been better prepared. This laissez-faire deal with the elders, and not just on the
part of our leaders, but of the population in general, is revealing. Would we have acted in the same
way if it had been the young people who were most at risk? "
The failure of a system
Michèle Stanton-Jean is a visiting researcher at the Research Center in Public Law at the University of Montreal. She was Deputy Minister of Health in Ottawa at the time of the Ebola crisis. "What brings out this crisis," she says, "is the failure of public health. We are focusing on the curative, but we are not talking about home care. We invest billions of dollars in research on unknown diseases,
but we do not care about the fundamentals of public health. "
"We ignored systemic issues, we made health cuts on the back of long-term care," notes Patrik Marier, professor in the department of political science at Concordia University, who says he feels angry facing the current crisis. Responsible researcher at the FRQSC Aging, Social Exclusion and Solidarity (VIES) partnership research team, he recalls that older people require more patience and different follow-up. "Now, we prefer
to be in the healing rather than in the long term," he adds. And our policies are oriented in this direction. "
He does not hesitate to make a link between the current state of affairs - the underfunding of long-term care, the lack of resources, the low salaries of staff in CHSLDs - and the low regard for elderly and the end of life. Can we speak of systemic ageism?
"I think so," he replies. We are marginalizing the public policy needs for the elderly ”, continues the man who is also scientific
director at the Center for Research and Expertise in Social Gerontology. “The issue of long-term care
has been made an old man's problem. It is a social problem. "
Old and alone
We often hear that it is in the province of Quebec that we find the largest number of seniors living in residences. There are socio-economic reasons that explain this, reminds us of Anne-Marie Séguin, geographer and researcher specialized in aging and poverty issues at INRS.
"Quebec has fewer owners and therefore more tenants," she says. They are less attached to their accommodation and more inclined to move to residences, where rents are cheaper than in the rest of the country. "
But what about these buildings in which we group all people of the same age, set back from society?
for the past few days. Beyond the pandemic, what exactly does this tragedy reveal?
"It shows the lack of interest that we have for the elderly," says Claire A. Noël. This 85-year-old woman published the book Aging in dignity
and not in poverty , last year, by Marcel Broquet editions. She says she is indignant at what she sees these days.
"We have put people's lives at risk," said Martine Lagacé, professor and researcher at the LIFE Research Institute at the University of Ottawa. “When we saw what was going on in Italy, we could have been better prepared. This laissez-faire deal with the elders, and not just on the
part of our leaders, but of the population in general, is revealing. Would we have acted in the same
way if it had been the young people who were most at risk? "
The failure of a system
Michèle Stanton-Jean is a visiting researcher at the Research Center in Public Law at the University of Montreal. She was Deputy Minister of Health in Ottawa at the time of the Ebola crisis. "What brings out this crisis," she says, "is the failure of public health. We are focusing on the curative, but we are not talking about home care. We invest billions of dollars in research on unknown diseases,
but we do not care about the fundamentals of public health. "
"We ignored systemic issues, we made health cuts on the back of long-term care," notes Patrik Marier, professor in the department of political science at Concordia University, who says he feels angry facing the current crisis. Responsible researcher at the FRQSC Aging, Social Exclusion and Solidarity (VIES) partnership research team, he recalls that older people require more patience and different follow-up. "Now, we prefer
to be in the healing rather than in the long term," he adds. And our policies are oriented in this direction. "
He does not hesitate to make a link between the current state of affairs - the underfunding of long-term care, the lack of resources, the low salaries of staff in CHSLDs - and the low regard for elderly and the end of life. Can we speak of systemic ageism?
"I think so," he replies. We are marginalizing the public policy needs for the elderly ”, continues the man who is also scientific
director at the Center for Research and Expertise in Social Gerontology. “The issue of long-term care
has been made an old man's problem. It is a social problem. "
Old and alone
We often hear that it is in the province of Quebec that we find the largest number of seniors living in residences. There are socio-economic reasons that explain this, reminds us of Anne-Marie Séguin, geographer and researcher specialized in aging and poverty issues at INRS.
"Quebec has fewer owners and therefore more tenants," she says. They are less attached to their accommodation and more inclined to move to residences, where rents are cheaper than in the rest of the country. "
But what about these buildings in which we group all people of the same age, set back from society?
Claire A. Noël, author of the book Aging in dignity and not in poverty
We created ghettos.
Claire A. Noël, who lives in a building for independent persons on Gouin Boulevard
Michèle Santon-Jean calls them "monogenerational chicken cages". "Even in the best kept, people are bored," she believes.
"In America, there is an anxiety associated with decline," notes Martine Lagacé. Old age is the mirror of what we fear. So we protect ourselves by taking a certain distance, by inventing elaborate structures outside of life. We live in a segmented society.
There are few places in our society where we can mix ages, we will have to rethink everything. "
The University of Ottawa professor goes further and talks about the words that exclude and ostracize the elderly. "The expression 'OK boomer', we could never have used that for another social group like the disabled or women," she observes with a hint
of anger in her voice. “A sort of moral hierarchy has settled down over age. "
Isolation kills
In September 2018, on the eve of the provincial elections, an open letter published in Le Devoir drew attention to the isolation of the elderly. Michèle Stanton-Jean, hyperactive who is putting the final touches to a new biographical work written with Marie Lavigne,
was one of the signatories of this text which denounced a real "human waste".
Claire A. Noël, who lives in a building for independent persons on Gouin Boulevard
Michèle Santon-Jean calls them "monogenerational chicken cages". "Even in the best kept, people are bored," she believes.
"In America, there is an anxiety associated with decline," notes Martine Lagacé. Old age is the mirror of what we fear. So we protect ourselves by taking a certain distance, by inventing elaborate structures outside of life. We live in a segmented society.
There are few places in our society where we can mix ages, we will have to rethink everything. "
The University of Ottawa professor goes further and talks about the words that exclude and ostracize the elderly. "The expression 'OK boomer', we could never have used that for another social group like the disabled or women," she observes with a hint
of anger in her voice. “A sort of moral hierarchy has settled down over age. "
Isolation kills
In September 2018, on the eve of the provincial elections, an open letter published in Le Devoir drew attention to the isolation of the elderly. Michèle Stanton-Jean, hyperactive who is putting the final touches to a new biographical work written with Marie Lavigne,
was one of the signatories of this text which denounced a real "human waste".
Michèle Stanton-Jean (left), former Deputy Minister of Health in Ottawa, and Marie Lavigne
People want to participate in their society, but we don't ask for them. There are educated people who have had careers,
who have expertise. They don't want to be scrapped.
Michèle Stanton-Jean, former Deputy Minister of Health in Ottawa
"The elderly are active in a society," observes Anne-Marie Séguin, from INRS. They contribute, they volunteer, they provide help
and comfort to their families. If you count everything they do, it would make a lot of money. "
Claire A. Noël is a good example. After a career in communications, she volunteered with young people in difficulty. The confinement forces her to stay locked up, and she stamps. "I'm walking in my enclosure," she jokes. In normal times,
I am very active. There, I can do nothing and I find the time long. "
Many older people are in the same situation. Active, athletic, committed, they find themselves overnight "imprisoned" at home. Some,
like the journalist Pierre Sormany, who spoke in L'Aut'Journal earlier this week, even talks about
discrimination against healthy people aged 70 and over.
"If, for example, we decided to gradually lift containment measures by targeting young people first, as Dr. Horacio Arruda mentioned in the first days of April, writes the journalist, I would encourage the elderly healthy to complain to the human rights tribunal. "
Aging otherwise
In 2031, a quarter of Quebec's population - about 2 million people - will be 65 and over. A more educated,
more informed and more demanding cohort. Will the image of old age change?
"We have a polarized vision of old age," notes Martine Lagacé, of the University of Ottawa. "It is negative, we talk about decline,
or we put a person on a pedestal because he looks young. It creates a clash between the elders themselves. "
"In recent years, advertising has helped to convey a toxic image of old age," notes Jean-Jacques Stréliski, ex-advertiser now an associate professor at HEC Montréal. “We show people who play golf, who go on cruises. As if everyone was rich and idle. I believe that this break time forces us to think about the approach we want to take to prepare for the ultimate. You have to have this conversation. "
Will baby boomers reach retirement age? Martine Lagacé is convinced of this.
"They are reorganizing everything, retirement and end of life," she says.
"Old age is getting ready," Claire A. Noël insists. Our life is very much focused on consumption, which fills an interior void.
But there comes a time when you have to think about how you want to age. You have to have a personal
project and find people who have one too. It is important to be the architect of your old age. "
who have expertise. They don't want to be scrapped.
Michèle Stanton-Jean, former Deputy Minister of Health in Ottawa
"The elderly are active in a society," observes Anne-Marie Séguin, from INRS. They contribute, they volunteer, they provide help
and comfort to their families. If you count everything they do, it would make a lot of money. "
Claire A. Noël is a good example. After a career in communications, she volunteered with young people in difficulty. The confinement forces her to stay locked up, and she stamps. "I'm walking in my enclosure," she jokes. In normal times,
I am very active. There, I can do nothing and I find the time long. "
Many older people are in the same situation. Active, athletic, committed, they find themselves overnight "imprisoned" at home. Some,
like the journalist Pierre Sormany, who spoke in L'Aut'Journal earlier this week, even talks about
discrimination against healthy people aged 70 and over.
"If, for example, we decided to gradually lift containment measures by targeting young people first, as Dr. Horacio Arruda mentioned in the first days of April, writes the journalist, I would encourage the elderly healthy to complain to the human rights tribunal. "
Aging otherwise
In 2031, a quarter of Quebec's population - about 2 million people - will be 65 and over. A more educated,
more informed and more demanding cohort. Will the image of old age change?
"We have a polarized vision of old age," notes Martine Lagacé, of the University of Ottawa. "It is negative, we talk about decline,
or we put a person on a pedestal because he looks young. It creates a clash between the elders themselves. "
"In recent years, advertising has helped to convey a toxic image of old age," notes Jean-Jacques Stréliski, ex-advertiser now an associate professor at HEC Montréal. “We show people who play golf, who go on cruises. As if everyone was rich and idle. I believe that this break time forces us to think about the approach we want to take to prepare for the ultimate. You have to have this conversation. "
Will baby boomers reach retirement age? Martine Lagacé is convinced of this.
"They are reorganizing everything, retirement and end of life," she says.
"Old age is getting ready," Claire A. Noël insists. Our life is very much focused on consumption, which fills an interior void.
But there comes a time when you have to think about how you want to age. You have to have a personal
project and find people who have one too. It is important to be the architect of your old age. "