Aging, Long-Term Care and Income Security
Roundtable Luncheon with the Hon. Merrilee Fullerton, Dr. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald and Dr. Samir K. Sinha
Sponsored by:
Providing quality long-term care support is one of Canada’s fastest growing challenges. As Canadians live longer, the more likely they will be managing a chronic disease and will need some degree of long-term care support, whether in the home or in an institutional setting.
Many Canadians have the mistaken belief that their long-term care needs will be met through programs and services funded by governments. While government programs aimed at assisting Canadians with long-term care needs currently exist, these programs vary by jurisdiction and at least partly dependent on the income and/or assets of individuals. Based on future funding requirements for long-term care, it is anticipated that Canadians will become responsible for an increasing portion of the overall costs, either directly or through increased taxes.
This luncheon will focus on the growing needs of an aging population and examine some of the solutions that could be considered by governments of all jurisdictions, beyond building new facilities.
The Honourable Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Long-Term Care, Government of Ontario
Dr. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, Director of Financial Security Research, National Institute on Ageing
Dr. Samir K. Sinha MD, Director of Geriatrics, Sinai Health System & the University Health Network
The Honourable Dr. Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Long-Term Care, Government of Ontario
Dr. Fullerton was elected as the MPP for Kanata–Carleton in 2018 and served as the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities.
After graduating from the University of Ottawa Medical School, she practised medicine locally with the Carleton Place Hospital and then as a family physician at Med-Team Clinic in Kanata.
She has been very active in professional medical associations and local health care organizations. This has included advisory roles with the Ontario Medical Association and Canadian Medical Association, and membership in the City of Ottawa Board of Health and the Local Health Integration Network serving Ottawa and area.
For the past decade, Fullerton commented and advocated in media and public forums for better health services. She is a champion of improving the delivery of Ontario’s health care, particularly long-term care services.
Fullerton has been married for more than 30 years, and she and her husband, Steve, still enjoy the parks, waterways, and beauty in their Kanata Lakes backyard.
Dr. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, Director of Financial Security Research, National Institute on Ageing
Bonnie-Jeanne is the Director of Financial Security Research at the National Institute on Ageing (NIA), Ryerson University (Toronto). She is also a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, an Associate of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, and the resident scholar at Eckler Ltd.
Her research focuses on the financial and health aspects of Canada's ageing population. Bringing together leading industry experts and building on academic best practices coupled with innovative ideas, her work aims to improve retirement financial security for Canadians through practical insights, industry innovations and government solutions.
She has published numerous academic papers on a wide variety of topics relating to retirement financial security for Canadians. Her research contributions have received numerous awards and have been adopted by industry and government. She is a prolific keynote speaker at industry and public policy engagements and a regular contributor to the Globe and Mail. A recipient of the 2001 Gold Medal in Actuarial Science at the University of Western Ontario, Bonnie-Jeanne received her FSA in 2004, and also holds a PhD in Actuarial Mathematics from Scotland's Heriot-Watt University. In 2011, she was chosen one of the Canada's top young economists and attended the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Germany.
Dr. Samir K. Sinha MD, Director of Geriatrics, Sinai Health System & the University Health Network
Dr. Samir Sinha is a passionate and respected advocate for the needs of older adults. Dr. Sinha currently serves as the Director of Geriatrics of the Sinai Health System and the University Health Network in Toronto and the Peter and Shelagh Godsoe Chair in Geriatrics at Mount Sinai Hospital. He is also an Associate Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Family and Community Medicine, and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
A Rhodes Scholar, after completing his undergraduate medical studies at the University of Western Ontario, he obtained a Masters in Medical History and a Doctorate in Sociology at the University of Oxford’s Institute of Ageing. He has pursued his postgraduate training in Internal Medicine at the University of Toronto and in Geriatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dr. Sinha's breadth of international training and expertise in health policy and the delivery of services related to the care of the elderly have made him a highly regarded expert in the care of older adults. In 2012 he was appointed by the Government of Ontario to serve as the expert lead of Ontario's Seniors Strategy and he is now working on the development of a National Seniors Strategy. In 2014, Canada’s Maclean’s Magazine proclaimed him to be one of Canada’s 50 most influential people and its most compelling voice for the elderly.
Beyond Canada, Dr. Sinha is a Fellow of the American Geriatrics Society and a member of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council. Dr. Sinha has further consulted and advised hospitals and health authorities in Britain, China, Iceland, Singapore, St. Kitts and Nevis and the United States on the implementation and administration of unique, integrated and innovative models of geriatric care that reduce disease burden, improve access and capacity and ultimately promote health.
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