B.C. Health Minister announces appointment of new seniors' advocate

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix says the province's new seniors' advocate is Dan Levitt, an adjunct professor of gerontology at Simon Fraser University and the head of a non-profit long-term care home. 

Levitt says he's "deeply honoured" to be appointed the province's second seniors' advocate, and thanked current advocate Isobel Mackenzie, who is retiring in April. 

He said the demographic shift as the population ages means it's important to start "rethinking aging" and no longer view it as something to fear but something to embrace. 

Levitt says his first priority will be travelling the province to meet seniors in rural and urban centres to hear their concerns and produce reports on how to improve their lives. 

Mackenzie said it's "bittersweet" to be leaving the role, but she has "great confidence" in the team that chose Levitt as her successor. 

She said she's thankful for Dix's "unwavering support" during her tenure.

The health minister said that Levitt had championed the rights of seniors for three decades, and the government would work with the advocate to improve seniors' lives.

According to the B.C. government, the seniors' advocate "acts in the interest of seniors and their caregivers," by monitoring care and supports for seniors provided by the province and private industry, and producing regular reports and recommendations on how they are functioning.

Dix said Mackenzie's 10 years in the role saw her become known for "being highly effective and for her fierce advocacy,'' tackling important issues such as long-term care home staffing deficiencies.

The minister said he believes B.C. was the first province to create such an advocate for seniors.

"It has a crucial role in oversight and advocacy, playing its part to address the broad systemic issues that affect seniors.''

With B.C.'s population rapidly growing and aging, the health minister said the Office of the Seniors' Advocate is becoming more important than ever to ensure a more accessible, transparent and accountable approach to seniors' care in B.C..

Levitt said he wants to address a societal narrative that sees "aging as a negative thing,'' leading to an unwarranted "fear of older people.''

"There's a fear of growing old and I think if we turn that upside down and we rethink it, we embrace it and we think about longevity as a good thing, I think that's a much more healthy approach," he said.

Levitt added that he believes it's important "to have a positive viewpoint going forward about growing old.''