Editor:
An open letter to Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley and council
Many of Burnaby’s seniors who attended the Seniors’ Confederation Center before it closed in March of 2021 because of the pandemic have real concerns. We feel “left out in the cold” at the Center’s closing, “In the dark” about what we can expect as it fully re-opens, and also in the long-term planning for Confederation Park and its facilities for Seniors.
We need some assurance from our elected municipal council members that the facilities which were provided before the pandemic, will still be provided as the Center fully reopens.
We are soon to have an AGM of the Confederation Senior Association, and the constitution re membership of the CSA does not take into consideration the situation caused by the pandemic’s closing. Many memberships expired. Only signed-up members can take part in the AGM and be informed of any changes.
There is talk of some programs, for instance the lunch program, bus trips and the significant S.A.I.L (Seniors Assisted in Living) program, will not be available when the Center is fully opened. The community monthly outreach lunch program, where volunteers brought in house-bound seniors, was extremely popular as were lunches such as honoring the Vets near Remembrance Day. It is highly likely that members might not want to renew their memberships if they become aware of possible changes. The CSA’s constitution does not make any provision for members, both “lapsed” members and paid-up members to know what the agenda of the meeting will be. Those paid-up members attending the AGM will receive the agenda before the vote for new directors. Notification of the meeting has been mainly by email, word of mouth and a notice at the Center, which only those attending the limited programs now offered will see.
Added to our concerns is that the Burnaby Council’s plan for the future of the Confederation Park facilities does not seem to include the meeting of Seniors’ needs. It is the feeling among some members that the Council has more concern for long- term planning than for what is available as the Centre fully opens and have used the pandemic as a good time to cease to provide what facilities it deems unnecessary.
You would be interested to know that, over the intervening months since the Center’s closing, small groups of members have been meeting in The Heights coffee cafés and the Admiral Hotel discussing many of the concerns that have been outlined here.
We are not talking about handouts; we are not talking about free meals, we are not talking about housing, but we are asking that the socialising that goes along with meeting and dining regularly with old friends and new friends is not a thing of the past. Loneliness is a big seniors’ problem. My question to you and your councillors is why would cutbacks be necessary?
The Burnaby Heights area is a very attractive area for seniors, and it has been enhanced by the Council’s foresight in the development of Confederation Park; and the Seniors’ Center is a significant part of that attraction. New senior members would be attracted to this area of the municipality if the programs we have now continue to be offered.
Federal and provincial governments have been increasingly placing emphasis on the significance of seniors’ health and wellbeing by making provisions for them to stay in their homes as long as possible. Neglect of seniors in BC became evident during the early days of the pandemic and more so when we learned of the number of deaths resulting from the summer heatwave. The services provided at Confederation Center have helped many citizens to delay moving from their homes into assisted living facilities. We hope that the Burnaby Council will get on board. Collectively, seniors have paid municipal taxes for a great many years, and we would like that fact considered when dealing with the Confederation facilities the council has provided and will provide in the future.
We appreciate that Councillor Pietro Calendino has shown an interest in our facility in the past, and newly elected Councillor Mike Hillman, who met with several of us when campaigning in the last municipal by-election, expressed an interest in our concerns.
A delegation of members is prepared to appear at a council meeting if feasible before the AGM of the CSA on November 29th, 2021 and present a petition.
Doreen and Les Blanchard, Burnaby
