According to the recently-released statistics from Canada’s 2011 National Census, our country’s population count has jumped by over two million people. In 2006, Canada had 31.6 residents; this number has now increased to 33.5 million (a national growth rate of 5.9 per cent). We are a country which is practically busting out at the seams. According to Statistics Canada, this is just the first of multiple reports … the next portion of our national head count (focusing on “Age and Sex” of residents) will be made public on, or after, May 29th, 2012.
While it is interesting to note our population’s increase, I am more concerned in the forthcoming numbers. A safe presumption, considering our country’s aging baby boomers, will be that the amount of seniors (those over 65 years old) will also rise dramatically. Yes, this is an assumption on my part; however, I do feel confident with saying this. With the expected rise in Canadian seniors, there will be a rise in the number of informal family caregivers. I must also question if our country’s current health care system can properly handle the ever-growing issue.
But this is not intended to be a rant on our country’s health care system (we can save that for another day …). If it wasn’t obvious enough already, people do age. With the influx of new Canadian residents, there will come a day when there will be even more seniors living in our country. These people will grow older; this is the natural course of life. Aging cannot be ignored. We cannot simply casually sweep the matter under the nearest carpet, shelve our country’s seniors or stack them high in a corner like moving boxes. Seniors are living, breathing people deserving of love, proper medical and personal care and attention.
How does this affect you? If you are not a caregiver already, you can expect to fill those shoes in the months or years ahead with supporting an aging parent/friend/partner. When considering this fact, it will be important for you to prepare (and maybe even buckle your seatbelt tightly as you may be in for a rough ride …). Know that the job is far more difficult when you try to do this independently. In your pre-planning stage, take a look at your own social circle. Approach these individuals (whether they are siblings, friends, neighbours, members of your church congregation and so on) and ask for their help. You’ve heard the term, “many hands make light work” … this is very true. When you delegate others to help, caregiving becomes an easier task. This is just one helpful way to lighten your own load.
I do not want you to dread those caregiving times ahead. Just consider this a word of caution. With preparing, you will be far better set to provide better care to your loved one. I, for one, was caught totally unexpected when both of my parents were diagnosed with serious health conditions (Mom had Parkinson’s disease and Leukemia while Dad had Alzheimer’s disease). Mom and Dad, I thought, were the pictures of good health. Foolish me! I have since realized this was completely wrong. With a little time, effort and pre-planning on my part for all of this, I would not have scrambled so much. If you are a caregiver currently, I expect you will understand all of this all too well.
So, until the additional tallies are done by Statistics Canada, we will not be able to – concretely – prove all of this just yet anyways. However, when those numbers are made public, it will verify that, not only is our country growing in size, it is getting older as well.
For more information on the just-released national census, please check out http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/08/canada-census-2011-canadas-leads-g8-in-growth-population-hits-33-5-million/.
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