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Office of the Seniors Advocate 2023/24 Annual Report Released

Read the OSA 2022-2023 Annual Report for highlights of our activities in the past year and details about projects that are currently underway.

Message from the BC Seniors Advocate

The 2023/24 fiscal year has been one of transition for the Office of the Seniors Advocate as Canada’s first seniors advocate, Isobel Mackenzie, retired after setting up the office in 2014. Last year, she focused on completing several new reports including: systemic reviews of assisted living and the challenges facing seniors in rural areas in B.C., as well as an update of a previous review of contracted long-term care funding and a second survey of every resident in long-term care in B.C. The office also issued our annual Long-Term Care and Assisted Living Directory and Monitoring Seniors Services reports.

I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize the unparalleled commitment and dedication to improving the lives of B.C. seniors that Isobel brought to the role of BC Seniors Advocate over the past decade. I think all British Columbians would agree she was compassionate, data driven, accessible, and outspoken. Isobel has been a tireless advocate and her tenure was marked by her willingness to travel to all corners of the province to meet with seniors, speaking to small groups in local libraries and seniors centres, as well as large conferences with audiences in the thousands. She challenged the status quo at every turn and asked the hard questions of decision-makers. I am honoured to be her successor and look forward to carrying her passion for seniors’ wellbeing into the future.

Since joining the office in March 2024, my priority has been meeting with seniors throughout British Columbia and hear about their successes and challenges first hand. Our Council of Advisors has been particularly helpful in facilitating meetings in communities throughout the Province and I’m very grateful for their assistance and expertise. While many of the current challenges are similar to those taken on by my predecessor, there are also new concerns facing older people as the office enters its tenth year of operation. A summary report of what I heard from seniors Office of the Seniors Advocate | 2023/24 Annual Report 2 was released in a report Ageing Matters: Listening to B.C. Seniors in June 2024 which is available on our website.

I’m excited to take on the role of BC Seniors Advocate and pleased to be working with the small but very skilled team at the office. Additionally, staff at several ministries, health authorities and other agencies are integral to the work of the office and I appreciate their assistance in helping us fulfill our mandate. Together, we will work hard to ensure that B.C. seniors can age with dignity and enjoy a high quality of life as they grow older.

Sincerely,

Dan Levitt
Seniors Advocate Province of British Columbia