Premier Doug Ford and Members of Provincial Parliament,
I am writing to ask a simple but urgent question: how did we reach a point in Canada where seniors must continue working at 70 just to survive?
Across our communities we see elderly men and women working behind counters at coffee shops, standing for hours in grocery stores, or stocking shelves late at night. These are not young people earning pocket money. These are seniors who have already worked their entire lives, paid taxes for decades, raised families, and helped build this country.
Yet today many of them cannot afford the basic cost of living.
I know many women my age who are still working simply to make ends meet. These are not people looking for extra spending money. These are women who worked their entire lives, raised families, and contributed to their communities. Yet today they are still working because their pensions are not enough to cover rent, groceries, and basic living costs.
A lifetime of work was supposed to lead to security, not to another shift just to survive.
Rent continues to rise. Groceries continue to rise. Utilities and medication costs continue to rise. Meanwhile the fixed incomes seniors depend on struggle to keep pace. After paying for housing, many seniors are left with very little for food or basic necessities.
Even assisted living, which should provide safety and dignity in later years, has become a luxury few can afford unless they are willing to accept the most minimal conditions.
And when seniors are forced to continue working simply to survive, the little income they earn is often taxed again.
Canada is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, yet many of our seniors are quietly living on the edge of poverty. These are the very people who worked for 40 or 50 years, paid into the system, and helped build the communities we enjoy today.
They deserve dignity, stability, and the ability to live their later years without financial fear.
The question Canadians are beginning to ask is simple: how did we allow this to happen, and what will our leaders do to fix it?
Respectfully,
Margherita Tabone
Hamilton, Ontario
