The Association des retraitées et des retraités de l'éducation et des autres services publics du Québec meets with seniors in Gatineau

Sonia Roy

Currently in the midst of a province-wide tour, the Association des retraitées et des retraités de l'éducation et des autres services publics du Québec (AREQ) was in Gatineau on Tuesday, October 4, 2022 to meet with seniors in the Outaouais region. The purpose of this consultation initiative was to gather the opinions and comments of concerned citizens on several realities that affect seniors: transportation, home care, housing and general well-being. The AREQ, founded in 1961 and affiliated with the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), has more than 60,000 members and is currently preparing for its 2023 annual convention. As a result, they want to develop a clear list of issues faced by seniors. The association, although visiting Gatineau, had also invited residents of the Petite-Nation, Pontiac, Lièvre, Draveurs and Hull-Aylmer sectors to express themselves on the issue of their priority needs. The AREQ's tour, which will stop in no less than 10 regions of Quebec, stems directly from the association's mission to defend the rights of seniors.

The day after the provincial elections, AREQ representatives were at the Ramada Plaza Hotel to meet with their members and the citizens who were concerned by this day of discussions. In addition to public transit accessibility, home care and housing issues in the Outaouais, AREQ members invite the newly elected MLAs to take an interest in affordability and the cost of living in the National Capital Region (with Gatineau currently facing a major housing crisis). These priorities for AREQ represent files in which the organization's members are asking for an explicit and rapid involvement of the new provincial elected officials. Nicole Tremblay, regional president of AREQ in the Outaouais region, notes: "We may be coming out of two difficult years marked by the pandemic, but for seniors, the hardest part could still be ahead if nothing concrete is done. AREQ wants to make it clear to the next elected government that the dignity of seniors is everyone's business, as shown by the national poster campaign currently underway. AREQ is setting the tone on priorities common to seniors and voters throughout Quebec, young and old alike.”.

Photo caption: AREQ-led campaign

Photo credit: Taken from AREQ's Facebook page