Thousands of Seniors and Caregivers Take Action to Call for Home Care Tax Credit

HAMILTON, ON, March 10, 2021 /CNW/ - In a little over two weeks since Home Care Ontario launched its www.homecaretaxcredit.ca campaign, more than 6,750 emails have been sent to MPPs calling for the introduction of a new home care tax credit to support seniors living at home.

"Our research shows that 91% of Ontario seniors want to live at home for as long as possible, and more than three-quarters are looking for the government's financial support to do it," said Sue VanderBent, CEO of Home Care Ontario.  "We are seeing this demand translate into action – with thousands of seniors and caregivers calling for a home care tax credit."

To help make the dream of aging at home a reality, more than 150,000 families support their loved ones with over 20 million hours of family-funded home care services every year. These services are provided by personal support workers, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and other frontline workers.

In mid-February, Home Care Ontario began encouraging families and seniors who rely on those services to voice their support by visiting the website www.homecaretaxcredit.ca. Since its launch, thousands of Ontarians have used the website to take action and call for a new tax credit worth up to $1,500 for family-funded home care services.

"Ontario seniors want a tax credit to support them in their efforts to age at home," said VanderBent.  "Home care provides critical supports to seniors and have only become more important during the pandemic.  It is time for Ontario to introduce this tax credit in their upcoming budget."

Ontario's home care system provides vital supports to help maintain capacity in hospitals by both supporting recovering surgery patients at home and allowing ALC patients to move home safely.  It also helps by reducing the number of non-essential visits to hospitals and it and gives seniors options to stay away from crowds and congregate settings.

The proposed 15% tax credit would apply to between $1,000 and $10,000 in annual family-funded home care services.

About Home Care Ontario:
Home Care Ontario, The Voice of Home Care in Ontario^TM, is a member-based organization with a mandate to promote growth and development of the home care sector through advocacy, knowledge transfer, and member service. Home Care Ontario members include those engaged in and/or supportive of home-based health care. In Ontario, service provider organizations are responsible for providing nursing care, home support services, personal care, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, infusion pharmacy, social work, dietetics, speech language therapy and medical equipment and supplies in the home to individuals of all ages.

SOURCE Home Care Ontario

For interviews: Ruta O'Grady, 905-543-9474, [email protected]