Aging population puts working seniors in the spotlight

Canada's federal, provincial and territorial ministersresponsible for seniors have just wrapped up a meeting in Vancouver thatB.C. Health Minister Terry Lake says focused mainly on keepingworkers on the job past age 65.

Lake said the bulk ofthe talks centred on seniors who wish to stay on the jobafter the standard retirement age.

He says the knowledge and skills of older workers may not be easyto replace and governments should encourage employers to be flexibleand add supports for older employees.

Part of what's driving the discussions is the fact that Canadiansare now living longer than ever on average to the age of 82, nine years longer than they did 50 years ago, according to Statistics Canada.

As well, 2015 marked the first year the number of people in Canada age 65 or older exceeded the number of children age 14 or under.

The ministers also discussedissues such as care givers forseniors, affordable housing and social inclusion.

Federal Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said the Trudeau governmentalso hopes to announce a seniors price index that would determineold age security and guaranteed income supplement payments.

With files fromKarin Larsen