NEWS: White Rock Forum/PM & Hats Off Day/Blog

The PM was in town on Hats Off Day and met with the Mayor of Burnaby, and Burnaby Firefighters, moving down East Hastings to also visit our Campaign Office for a small gathering with volunteers.

We also operated a tent for the Party and Campaign down near Boundary Rd at the other end of Hastings, along side all of the other parties.

The team in Burnaby North – Seymour is geared up for the upcoming election, and we are looking at a very exciting race ahead of us.  Our campaign office is open at the corner of Hastings and Gamma in Burnaby (the old Pizza Hut structure) and we invite Senior Liberals to get involved with regular door knocking, phone banking, and other events.  Come on down!

New Horizons Grant applications are now available.  If your seniors’ group is considering applying, here is the link for an application package:

https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/new-horizons-seniors-community-based.html

The LPC has sent out a handy information link to events in all Ridings:

http://www.event.liberal.ca

This link shows the upcoming events in any Riding in Canada.  It will be updated by the various EDAs all the time, so this is a handy little link to keep on your computer or personal device to see what your Riding, or any other Riding, has in the works.  Get involved and stay updated!

MEDIA RELEASE: May 24^th, 2019

Building Safer, More Inclusive Communities for Seniors:

Seniors issues and the challenges of aging were explored by a blue ribbon panel of experts at a community meeting Friday afternoon at the White Rock Community Center Gallery.

Isolation, economic uncertainty, elder abuse, along with health and public safety issues, were just a few of the topics explored by the panel, who invited comment, personal statements and important issues raised by the audience.

The Panelists included: Gordon Hogg, MP for South Surrey White Rock, and former MLA and Provincial Cabinet Minister; Linda Annis, a Councillor for the City of Surrey and Executive director of Crime-Stoppers; Jim Cessford, retired Chief of the Delta Police Services; and Ramona Kaptyn, President of the White Rock Surrey Chapter of CARP (Canadian Association of Retired Persons) . The meeting was chaired by Judith Higginbotham, a former long-time Councillor in the City of Surrey and a chair and member of many public safety committees in the City.

The meeting heard comments from the panelists that covered four key topics at the top of the agenda for seniors in the community: They were:

• Impact and Anxiety: Crime in South Surrey/White Rock
• Economic Anxiety: The risks associated with fraud, mobility and street safety
• Social Interaction and Security
• Government Support: Pensions, Cost of Living Allowances, Rent Subsidies, Medial Needs Assistance and Seniors’ Advocacy.

Retired Police Chief Jim Cessford stressed that isolation; loneliness and depression were some of major issues he encountered in Delta as head of police services. He advocated establishing more community outreach programs which bring together seniors interacting with the broader community, particularly access and opportunities with youth.

Councillor Linda Annis focused on public safety concerns in the City of Surrey and the under-reported crime of ‘elder abuse’. “Many seniors living in isolation are vulnerable to fraud, confusion and vulnerability about monetary issues within the family and safety in walking our streets.”

Ramona Kaptyn stressed the work of CARP as a Canada-wide advocate and voice for seniors. The group focuses on programs, services and most importantly gaining the attention of governments in addressing the living conditions and quality of life for seniors across Canada.

Finally, MP Gordon Hogg outlined the changes in recent Federal Budgets aimed at addressing housing shortages and affordability; changes to the Income Tax Act and adjustments to Federal subsidies and programs for Seniors.

The meeting was sponsored by the Liberal Party of Canada, Seniors Liberal Commission of British Columbia, and is one of a number of meetings that will be held throughout British Columbia in the coming months.

The input gathered will eventually be posted on the SLCBC website; federalslcbc.ca and will be presented to the election platform committee ahead of the General Election this Fall.

 For more information contact Judy Higginbotham @ 604-535-9196 or jehigginbotham@shaw.ca

 

 

 

SLCBC President Ginny Hasselfield, Past President SLCBC Ken Halliday, Communications Chair SLCBC Peggy Stewart, and a good turnout of seniors from the White Rock, British Columbia area.  The event featured a well-informed and approachable panel of experts on the topic of Seniors and Crime and Safety.  From left to right on the panel above – MC Judith Higginbotham, MP Gord Hogg, Linda Annis from Crime Stoppers, Chief of Police Jim Cessford, and Ramona Kaptyn from CARP.

This Forum will not be a one-off.  Plans are already in the works for a follow-up.  Congratulations to all involved for such a successful endeavour.

Hello SLCBC members … please note that there will be no May 2019 Executive Meeting of the SLCBC.  Make a note to attend the Town Hall on Seniors’ Safety and Crime in White Rock (see below notice) instead!  It’s important to keep seeing each other as we serve on the Seniors’ Committee – otherwise a connection can wear away.  Keep in touch with each other via other group meetings, phone calls, emails and so forth.  Safety and Crime is a very worthy topic and Judy Higginbotham is to be credited for putting this topic forward and making it into a Town Hall.  Safety can perhaps be described as being “mindful” all the time – mindful of one’s demeanor, one’s attire, even one’s makeup (if you are female).  Perception is everything, say the cognitive psychologists and first impressions are never erased.  As far as safety is concerned, it should be top of mind in our homes, conversations we have with strangers, giving out too much information, where we park our cars at night – plan on attending the White Rock Town Hall on Safety and Crime.  It’s important, because … you never know!

On May 24, 2019 there will be an important Town Hall held at the White Rock Community Centre Gallery between 2 and 4 p.m.  The Topic is “Seniors’ Safety and Crime”.  The address is 15154 Russell Avenue in White Rock.  Please RSVP to Judy Higginbotham at jehigginbotham@shaw.ca or telephone Judy at 604-535-9196.  Senior citizens are particularly at risk for criminal activity and we often wonder if we are even safe in our own homes.  Attend this important Town Hall to find out how to best protect yourselves.  Refreshments will be provided and there is parking under the building.

MAY 4TH:

Catherine Branch, President of the North Burnaby-Seymour EDA, wants all Senior Liberals to know about “TRIVIA NIGHT” !  This fun event always attracts large numbers of Senior Liberals, but this year three Ridings are holding the event together …  here are details:

Where:  The Legion 118 – 125 West 15th Street, North Vancouver.  Time:  7 p.m.

MC:  Barry Forward

Fundraiser – $20 cash

Nibblies and coffee & No-Host Bar

Proceeds to –  3 Ridings:

West Van-S/C-STS Country, North Vancouver, Burnaby North-Seymour.  Proceeds go towards “Election Readiness” for the MPs.

 

Letter from Suzanne Cowan:

Colleagues and Campaign Co-Chairs – I’m excited to share that today Justin Trudeau is announcing the appointment of Jeremy Broadhurst as our 2019 Team Trudeau National Campaign Director.

Jeremy Broadhurst served as National Director of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2013 to 2015, and comes to the campaign after having serving as Chief of Staff to Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Chrystia Freeland, from 2017-19, and Deputy Chief of Staff and Deputy Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister from 2015-17. He has served as a senior advisor to every Liberal leader since Bill Graham, and was instrumental in our party’s innovation and modernization on the road to 2015. He has a proven record of leadership and success on a wide variety of both local and national campaigns.

I was privileged to work with Jeremy in the lead-up to the 2015 campaign, when he served as our National Director and led a new party-wide commitment to innovative campaign technologies and grassroots field organizing – helping take the party from third place to a majority government in one election cycle.

I know that his experience and commitment will help us continue to build a campaign that is innovative, empowering, and competitive in every part of Canada.

We’ll be issuing a press release shortly, and I know Jeremy looks forward to working with you.

Suzanne Cowan, President of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Hello fellow Liberal seniors.  As your Communications person I would like to let you know that we now have our own Twitter page and I invite you to Tweet as much as you like.  Tweets might be about your Club activities or news from your Riding or your MP’s visits and activities.

https://mobile.twitter.com/liberals_b

Above is the “handle” but you can also just go to Google and type “Twitter Senior Liberals” and the Twitter page will come up.  I would be pleased to receive suggestions about the photo or logo we should use at the top of the Twitter page.  It can be anything senior-oriented, use your imaginations!

Peggy Stewart.