Eyeglasses for seniors - the Minister says it is only $50 he may be taking away

On Thursday June 21, I asked the Minister of Health about the provincial program which provides support for eyeglasses for seniors. It was earmarked, in the KPMG report, along with "orthopedic shoes for children" to be cut. I asked the Minister of Health about his plans for the program My question and the Minister's response is below. If you want to send a comment to the Minister of Health you can do so by writing to his email at minhsal@leg.gov.mb.ca

Mr. Gerrard: I'll just talk about another couple of recommendations.

That recommendation for reducing the support for orthopedic shoes for children–this is a–you know, pretty important in terms of children being active, getting the exercise that we know that is so important for many things, including brain development and activity, including the prevention of diabetes, including reducing the risk of heart attacks. So developing good ability to walk, to move, to run and to make sure that all children have that opportunity seems to me pretty important. So I would just ask the minister, you know, about that program.

And I would ask him also about the program which is eyeglasses for seniors, having looked and watched firsthand in terms of the importance of seniors being able to maintain their sight to the extent that they can, be able to have that sight to prevent them falling, which can be a major problem in seniors, to have that sight to be able to keep involved and avoid the loneliness that can certainly be a major problem for seniors and has been identified as such. So I would ask, maybe not the minister to comment on every program, but at least to give a brief comment on the orthopedic shoes for children and the eyeglasses for seniors programs.

Mr. Goertzen: Just for context for those who are listening or might be reading Hansard, I–you know, the–I think the eyeglasses for seniors program provides a subsidy. It doesn't pay for the entire glasses. It's in the range of $50. I imagine that there's probably many Manitobans who don't even know that the program exists.

To learn more about the eyeglasses for seniors program go to this link. As of June 26, 2018 it was still listed on the provincial government program as an active program.

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Canadian Seniors June 26, 2018 at 11:17 AM
I wish that the Minister in question would have a better understanding of the eyeglass program when he says that he doubt s that many people would even know about it. People who need glasses as prescribed by their eye doctor know about the program because the optometrist mentions the program to every client and at the store where the eyeglasses are sold, they tell you about the program. Perhaps the Minster gets his glasses elsewhere? It is a paltry sum that one receives and this is something that should be, and ought to be, included in our Health Care Act.

The Gerrard Report

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