About six years ago this association at the direction of its 8,000 members embarked on a road not trodden previously, at least not by the members of this association. The goal at the end of the road, or our particular rainbow, was to have the provincial government provide financial support to the many seniors' centres across the province. The majority of the centres requiring assistance were situated in small-town Saskatchewan with populations of less than 1,000.
The road we journeyed on was not without many setbacks and disappointments and so along the way we found ourselves at times wondering if that particular road was the best, or were there maybe others more beneficial. But each year our faith and hope in reaching our goal was sustained and indeed rejuvenated by many seniors telling us to stay the course. So we did and, although there were times when we lost some members, we were eventually joined by more than 100,000 seniors across this province who also believed in our goal.
During the journey we experienced setbacks when we found ourselves talking to and with members of the government, both elected and non-elected, who failed completely to see the importance of seniors' centres. Those same centres that provided social and recreational opportunities for so many seniors who lived their lives in small and at times isolated communities. Centres that proved to be beneficial to not only seniors but to the community in general, and indeed at times the provincial government whose various departments used the centres for their purposes.
While we were on this journey together, we tried various small side roads that may have helped us to reach our destination, such as asking the various municipalities to forgive the taxes levied on the centres which, by the Act that governs them, they are allowed to do. Some did but some didn't. We asked SaskPower, SaskEnergy and SaskTel to help us by creating a new level of payment, seeing that a seniors' centre was neither residential or business, but unfortunately they turned us down. Their specific answer was that if they were to do that it could lead to anarchy where anybody and everybody would be requesting the same treatment.
We talked to the Minister of Health, who is the Minister Responsible for Seniors, and pointed out the benefits seniors obtained from their centres. Being involved in recreation and social activities within their community must surely have some health benefits for elderly people. Was trying to keep those same elderly people living in their own homes near their friends and families not important? What about the fact that as long as they were involved in the community it may be helping to keep them out of beds either in hospitals or long-term care institutions - was that not important in the view of the health care system?
The reply, as we all know by now, is a great big no, for in the mind of the minister it was not in the least important. So much so that this present minister sees no valid reason to even sit down and discuss the matter with the representatives of over 100,000 seniors. That is 100,000 voters. What courage! But also, maybe, what folly.
In the last month, just to show how unimportant seniors' centres are, the provincial government has come up with a grant scheme that will provide many ice rinks across the province an annual sum of money to help them with their costs. This is coming out of the Parks and Recreation budget and is being managed by them. The sum being talked about is $2,500. Not too bad for those particular non-profits, but whether or not this grant is going to apply to other non-profit organizations is not known at this time.
More information and applications can probably be obtained by going online or contacting the nearest Parks and Recreation department. What the criteria to obtain this grant is not yet clear. My guess is the only way we will know if our centres qualify is by applying for it. Communicating details of the grant and other proposals for helping seniors and others does seem to be not too high on this government's list of things to do.
Is there some small light beginning to show at the end of this long road we have travelled or is it going to end up being all smoke and mirrors? Time alone will tell. Unfortunately, for a lot of us seniors, time is something we don't have a lot of.
In the meantime spare some time from keeping your hopes up by staying active and staying healthy. Remember a kind word and a smile is all it takes to make someone's day.
