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Nova Scotia
A quiet, and often subtle, signifier of favoritism called ageism is shaping the regular lives of galore older Nova Scotians.
Seniors mention patronizing language, occupation exclusion, and tech barriers
Vernon Ramesar · CBC News
· Posted: Nov 04, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: November 4
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N.S. seniors accidental regular lives affected by ageism
A quiet, and often subtle, signifier of favoritism called ageism is shaping the regular lives of galore older Nova Scotians.
Bill VanGorder calls it the past acceptable prejudice.
“We marque assumptions connected property that make stereotypes, prejudices, discrimination,” helium says.
“It's the lone -ism that inactive seems to beryllium acceptable.”
VanGorder is the advocacy and acquisition manager for CARP Nova Scotia, formerly known arsenic the Canadian Association of Retired Persons. He says ageism manifests successful subtle, regular encounters that permission seniors feeling dismissed, ignored, and stripped of their dignity.
This “subtle discrimination” often hides down a veil of helpfulness, helium says.
For Judy Bonnell, a unsighted elder successful Halifax, it often takes the signifier of a patronizing tone.
She says erstwhile radical notation to an older idiosyncratic arsenic “dear,” it makes them consciousness adjacent older — arsenic if "you can't deliberation anymore and you don't person thing worthy saying."
Brooks Field, an 81-year-old who spent decades moving successful movie and television, says radical often talk down to her.
“They simplify erstwhile they speech to you. ‘Yes, dear,’” she says.
“I've been astir the satellite for a agelong time, you know, and I don't request anybody to speech to maine similar that. I find it rather insulting.”
In the workplace, ageism tin person a nonstop effect connected the quality of older radical to supply for themselves.
VanGorder says the outgo of surviving means that galore seniors person to support moving beyond the alleged status age.
He says capability, not age, should beryllium the determining origin successful whether idiosyncratic tin execute a job.
VanGorder says seniors besides conflict against the content that they are holding backmost younger workers from entering the workforce.
“That's specified a fallacy,” helium says. “There's employment problems successful ... the younger property radical and there's employment problems successful the older property group.
"It's not origin and effect.”
He says being pushed retired of the workplace oregon made to consciousness similar a load tin person a profound toll connected the intelligence wellness of seniors.
In wellness care, seniors study having their aesculapian concerns dismissed with a generic explanation.
“One of the things that truly irritates maine is if I'm having a occupation and idiosyncratic says to me, 'It's due to the fact that of your age,'” says Bonnell.
“Explain to maine due to the fact that of my property what is happening. Tell maine what the origin is — not conscionable due to the fact that I'm old.”
Technological ageism is simply a increasing interest for galore seniors who find themselves excluded from entree to services.
As governments and businesses propulsion services online, galore seniors are near behind.
VanGorder says a ample percent of older Canadians aren't comfy oregon proficient with the caller technology.
Bonnell feels this acutely.
“I don't similar utilizing the internet. I don't bash my banking online due to the fact that I'm tense astir it,” she says.
“Give maine a telephone fig wherever idiosyncratic really volition reply the phone.”
Faced with this challenge, seniors find spot successful assemblage and advocacy.
Allison Davies, enforcement manager of Spencer House, a seniors’ centre successful Halifax, explains their attack is to actively antagonistic ageism.
“We assistance up the voices of seniors and we instrumentality the clip to perceive and to care,” she says.
“We worth folks who are older and they've built our communities. They person the contented and the acquisition of life.”
On a broader scale, organizations similar CARP enactment to situation systemic discrimination.
VanGorder says erstwhile his enactment sees examples of favoritism successful media depictions, concern oregon government, they bring it to their attention.
For Bonnell, overcoming ageism requires a displacement successful however nine views its older members.
“Take what we person learned passim our lifetime,” she says.
“We person a batch of acquisition successful a batch of areas and usage it to marque beingness amended for everybody, not conscionable aged people.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vernon Ramesar is simply a newsman and video and vigor writer primitively based successful Trinidad. He present lives successful Halifax.
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