Yellowknife seniors lobby against changes to health benefits

Seniors in Yellowknife are calling on the Northwest Territories government to back down on changes it plans to make to their extended health benefits.

The Yellowknife Seniors' Society is circulating a petition calling on the territorial government not to cut back on benefits programs that have covered the entire costs of dental work, glasses and prescription drugs for non-aboriginal seniors aged 60 and older.

Starting April 1, seniors will only be entitled to such benefits if they pass an income means test. Otherwise, their benefits would be discontinued.

"Personally, it means that I am looking very strongly at going down the highway," said Harry Golding, a retired teacher who has relied on the N.W.T. government's extended health benefits programs to treat his diabetes and a heart condition.

"What am I getting? This is our home, and apparently the government wants to kick us out of our home," he added. "I'm just a piece of garbage, that's how I feel about it."

The changes are part of the government's plan to launch a new supplementary health benefits program that will replace the existing seniors benefit program.

More than 100 seniors met with Yellowknife-area MLAs and health officials to discuss thechanges on Thursday. Officials with the seniors' society circulated the petition during a lunch meeting at the Baker Centre on Friday.

"Although we agree with providing supplemental health benefits for other segments of N.W.T. society, we strongly disapprove of restricting eligibility through income testing and reducing benefits provided through the above programs in order to fund the extension," the petition reads in part.

Yellowknife-area seniors are also reaching out to sympathetic groups for support, as well as writing letters and sending emails to MLAs and cabinet ministers.