Financial Abuse of Seniors Meeting

Financial abuse constitutes up to 50% of all reported cases of abuse perpetrated against older Canadians, and can have significant impacts not only on the financial security of seniors, but also on their emotional well-being. It is the most difficult kind of abuse for service providers, police services, and judicial systems to provide an adequate response, as most financial abuse is hidden and many victims are unaware of the abuse.

To discuss this issue and its solutions, The Department of Human Resources and Skills Development in collaboration with the International Federation on Ageing hosted a high-level meeting on the financial abuse of seniors to raise awareness, build networks, and create a dialogue on the financial abuse of seniors. Delegates discussed challenges existing in preventing, detecting and responding to this issue, shared promising best practices and explored how to best address the financial abuse of seniors.

The meeting was purposefully developed as a neutral platform that brought together key industry parties to develop a proactive, preventative approach to combating financial abuse of older people. All participants have demonstrated a willingness to collaborate and create a deeper understanding of the current impediments in this field, and to consider efficiencies and mechanisms for subtle yet important changes to improve the lives of older Canadians.

Read the full report here.