QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Employment and Social Development
Climate Change
October 7, 2025
Madam Secretary of State, let’s talk about climate change. Climate change is an important issue for seniors. Deadly heat domes, lengthy power outages, forest fires and floods have a disproportionate impact on seniors, especially those with mobility issues or chronic medical conditions and those who experience isolation.
However, national climate change adaptation strategies and programs to support seniors seem to operate completely separately, without adequate frameworks for measuring and monitoring.
Where is the integrated national plan to protect seniors from the impact of climate change?
What concrete measures is your government taking to ensure that we have specific measures in place for seniors before the next disaster?
Thank you. In terms of my role as Secretary of State (Seniors), I provide the seniors’ perspective both with respect to overseeing the parts that are directly within my portfolio and within the portfolio of Employment and Social Development Canada, and with respect to providing the perspective to the ministers responsible for climate change and for emergency preparedness. In terms of being able to answer the actions that those departments are taking, you will have to direct questions to them.
We’ve certainly heard the concerns that you’re speaking about with emergency preparedness and the disproportionate impact on seniors. My department provides those perspectives to those who are making the decisions around how to ensure that seniors are protected when it comes to climate and emergency preparedness.
In 2023, Canada released its National Adaptation Strategy for climate change, but it was one of the last OECD countries to do so. The strategy contains very few measures for seniors.
In June 2025, the Auditor General criticized the strategy because it lacked an effective framework for measuring and monitoring and did not contain specific targets.
Can you tell us what concrete steps your department plans to take in the next 12 months to protect vulnerable seniors?
Again, I’ll have to direct you to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change with respect to the “how.” Thank you.
