FREDERICTON – New Brunswick is facing a growing crisis in senior care, despite repeated warnings from government reports spanning the last three decades, according to a CBC News report broadcast today.

The CBC segment highlighted a pattern of successive New Brunswick governments failing to adequately address the province’s aging population. Reports dating back to 1991 identified the need for increased support for seniors, both in their homes and in care facilities. Cecile Casista, a long-time advocate, has reportedly lobbied multiple governments for increased support over the past two decades.

The political focus, the broadcast stated, has often been on which party could offer the most subsidies for senior care, rather than long-term solutions. A policy change implemented by a recent Liberal government, intended to increase government funding for nursing home care, was found by the New Brunswick Auditor General in 2016 to have dramatically increased waitlists for care.

Furthermore, population projections for seniors have been exceeded. The Graham government had projected 188,000 New Brunswickers aged 65 and older by 2026. However, Statistics Canada estimated that the province surpassed that number in the last year, with over 196,000 residents in that age group. The broadcast indicated that the situation is, in some ways, worse than previously predicted.

The CBC report suggested a lack of political will to address the core issues, with governments primarily responding to crises rather than proactively implementing preventative measures.