Roundtable – Strategic Dialogue on Advancing Support for Older Canadians
Jointly organized by International Longevity Centre Canada and HelpAge Canada
Canada’s population is aging rapidly, with 19.8% of Canadians aged 65+ in 2024, and women representing 53.8% of this group. Older racialized women face compounded inequities, including higher, barriers to preventive care, and greater economic vulnerability. These disparities are driven by systemic racism, lower lifetime earnings, and limited access to services, underscoring the need for policies that promote health equity, inclusive care, and supports for aging in place. HelpAge Canada, in collaboration with national partners, is convening a roundtable after the Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) funding announcement, to identify shared priorities, strengthen inter-organizational collaboration, and inform federal policy directions on aging and gender equality.
Purpose
This roundtable provides an opportunity for national aging organizations and federal partners to come together to align strategies, share insights, and identify collective priorities to strengthen supports for older Canadians. This roundtable, taking place after the national funding announcement, will facilitate discussion on emerging challenges and opportunities in aging and gender equity, while fostering collaboration across sectors to inform Canada’s policy agenda, with a particular focus on addressing the unique needs of older racialized women. Following the roundtable, HelpAge Canada will compile a synthesis brief summarizing outcomes and recommendations for dissemination to all participants and federal partners.
Objectives
Explore how newly announced WAGE funding can be strategically applied to advance health equity for older Canadians, with a focus on older racialized women.
Identify concrete opportunities for joint initiatives and collaborations among federal partners and national aging organizations to improve access to services and supports.
Discuss evidence-informed strategies to translate funding into measurable improvements in health outcomes and quality of life for older adults.
Create a short summary report outlining key recommendations for government consideration.
List of Participating Organizations
Minister Rechie Valdez - Minister of WAGE
The Honourable Rechie Valdez was appointed Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism) in May 2025.
Minister Valdez brings an extensive background in business, community leadership, and public service to her role. Elected to the House of Commons in 2021, she made history as the first Filipino Canadian woman elected to Parliament. Prior to her appointment as Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism), she served as Minister of Small Business and as Chief Government Whip. Minister Valdez is committed to advancing gender equality and strengthening the inclusion, safety, and economic participation of women and 2SLGBTQI+ communities across Canada. She brings a strong community lens to her work and is passionate about creating opportunity through inclusive policy and grassroots engagement.
Secretary Stephanie McLean - Secretary of Seniors
The Honourable Stephanie McLean was first elected as Member of Parliament for Esquimalt–Saanich–Sooke in the spring of 2025 and, shortly after, joined Mark Carney’s government as Secretary of State (Seniors). In 2015, she was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Alberta and served as Minister of Status of Women and Minister of Service Alberta. She made history when she became the first member of the Legislative Assembly in Alberta to give birth while in office. Secretary McLean earned her law degree from the University of Calgary. As a practising lawyer, she represented both unions and employers, including acting as general counsel for a building trades union. She has called Vancouver Island home since 2019 and lives in the city of Colwood with her husband Shane, son Patrick, and their three dogs.
Brainwell Institute
Brainwell Institute is an independent think tank that elevates evidence to ignite change and revolutionize thinking about dementia and brain health.
Dr. Saskia Sivanathan, CEO
A data scientist and neuroscientist specializing in dementia Dr. Sivananthan consults with senior health experts from around the world, offering the benefits of years of experience in the field. She has worked with multiple health systems nationally and internationally and was appointed by the federal Minister of Health to the Ministerial Advisory Board on Dementia. She was the former Chief Research Officer of the Alzheimer Society of Canada and Senior Consultant for the WHO where she co-drafted the WHO Global Dementia Action Plan which received unanimous consensus at the World Health Assembly. She lives and works in Toronto, Ontario.
Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence
The Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence supports and empowers caregivers and care providers, advances the knowledge and capacity of the caregiving field, and advocates for effective and visionary social policy, with a disability-informed approach. A Canada leading the way in quality care, where caregiving is valued, caregivers are supported and people accessing care are central to policies and practices.
Liv Mendelson, Executive Director
Liv Mendelsohn, MA, MEd, is the Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence, where she works to strengthen the systems and communities that support caregivers and care providers across Canada. She leads this work through research, innovation, policy engagement, and co-design with people whose lived experience shapes and guides the sector.
A lifelong caregiver, Liv brings her own experiences as someone with a disability and as a member of the sandwich generation to everything she does. These perspectives fuel her commitment to building a Canada where caregiving is understood and valued, and where the voices of caregivers meaningfully shape programs, policy, and decision-making. Under her leadership, the Centre has helped shift the national conversation on caregiving by advancing a coordinated vision across aging, disability, and health care; generating the kind of evidence that is now guiding policy and organizational decisions; and bringing together leaders and lived-experience experts in ways that are accelerating real systems change across the country. Throughout her career, Liv has founded and led organizations that centre inclusion and community, including the Wagner Green Centre for Accessibility and Inclusion and the ReelAbilities Toronto Film Festival. She serves on the City of Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee and sits on the boards of the Kids Brain Health Foundation and the Centre for Independent Living in Toronto.
Canadian CBSS Interim Community Leadership Council (ICLC)
The Canadian CBSS Interim Community Leadership Council (ICLC) is a group formed to develop a strategic plan and affirm the long-term governance structure for a unified, national Community-Based Seniors' Services (CBSS) sector in Canada. It was established after the 2024 CBSS Sector Summit to provide direction for the sector, including establishing HelpAge Canada as its Backbone, integrating principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and advancing shared policy needs.
Karen McDonald, Co-Chair
Karen McDonald’s career has focused exclusively on the field of gerontology, including seniors’ supportive housing. Karen is currently Chair of Community Leadership Council and seconded part-time as Provincial Director of Healthy Aging Alberta; working with community-based seniors serving organizations across Alberta to advance sector development to best meet the needs and build on the strengths of seniors living in community.
Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (CNPEA)
CNPEA builds awareness, support and capacity for a coordinated pan-Canadian approach to the prevention of elder abuse and neglect. CNPEA promotes the rights of older adults through knowledge mobilization, collaboration, policy reform and education. All older adults in Canada have the support they need to thrive within their communities and live free from violence and neglect.
Bénédicte Schoepflin, Executive Director
Bénédicte Schoepflin, Social Media Coordinator for the British Columbia Law Institute and Coordinator of the Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, was born in France and holds a Master's degree in English Literature from the University of Poitiers. She grew up in southwest France and completed part of my studies in Toulouse and Paris.
Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario (EAPO)
EAPO is a charitable, non-profit organization, recognized for its leadership in elder abuse prevention, providing awareness raising educational forums, training multi-sectoral front-line service professionals, and creating tools/resources for all to better understand and appropriately respond when supporting older adults at-risk or experiencing increasingly complex issues of elder abuse.
Marta Hajek, CEO
Marta Hajek leads the seasoned, dedicated staff team at EAPO, in supporting older adults, service professionals and community-based senior serving agencies, while tackling the pervasive impacts of ageism, like elder abuse. Under her stewardship, EAPO has woven together globally reaching strategic initiatives to help strengthen the sector’s ability to respond to the evolving needs of older adults and ensure their voices are present in policy development, decision-making, and resource allocations. Her leadership extends to influential advisory and governance roles ( like the Ontario Securities Commission’s Seniors Expert Advisory Committee, serving on the Boards of the Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (CNPEA), and the International Longevity Centre Canada (ILC-C), as well as an elected member of the Steering Group of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older Persons (GAROP), Co-Chair of the National Leadership Council advancing the Community-Based Seniors Serving Sector and, through EAPO a founding partner of the Canadian Coalition Against Ageism (CCAA). Internationally, Marta, delivered several interventions at the United Nations, advocating for a UN convention on the Rights of Older Persons, including and spoken at the UN High-Level Political Forum on The Intersectionality of Gender & Ageism.
HelpAge Canada
The HelpAge Canada mission is to support community-based initiatives through our partnerships, both locally and abroad, to improve the lives of older persons and their communities. HelpAge develops innovative programs and leads network-wide collaborations to create a world for all to age with dignity. The HelpAge Canada Vision is for all older persons to lead secure, healthy, active, and dignified lives.
Kahir Lalji, CEO
Kahir Lalji is the Provincial Director, Government Relations & Programs with the United Way British Columbia – working with communities in BC’s North, Interior, Lower Mainland and Central & Northern Vancouver Island. Inspired by caring for his grandparents, Kahir dedicated the last 15+ years of his life in the Provincial, National and International NGO space intentional in supporting the quality of life of equity-seeking groups– always attempting to ensure the representation of traditionally underserved populations.
Kahir is a Gerontologist with a Masters of Gerontology from Simon Fraser University, and also has a fellowship in developmental leadership and evaluation. He serves as the Vice Chair on the Board of Directors for HelpAge Canada and Vice President of International Longevity Centre-Canada. Kahir also serves as the Country Lead for Seniors for the Ismaili Community. Kahir is the past President of the Board of Directors for British Columbia Original Minds Association and a past Board Member of BC211.
Dr. Rose Joudi
Dr. Rose Joudi brings over 15 years of expertise as an Aging and Ethnic Diversity researcher and consultant. Dr. Joudi collaborates with stakeholders to address the unique needs of older adults in diverse populations. She actively promotes educational strategies and facilitates training sessions including elder abuse awareness, ageism, trauma-informed care and cultural competence and compassion when working with diverse populations. She lives, works and plays in Calgary, Alberta.
International Longevity Centre Canada (ILCC)
International Longevity Centre of Canada is a registered, independent, non-profit nongovernmental organization, which uses a human rights lens to approach all its work, including knowledge development and exchange, recommending evidence-based polices, social mobilization, and networking. ILCC’s mission is to propose ideas and guidance for policies addressing population aging based on international and domestic research and practice with a view to bettering the lives of Canadians.
Margaret Gillis, President
Margaret Gillis is the founding President of the International Longevity Centre Canada, part of a global alliance of 16 Centres dedicated to the needs and rights of older people. An award-winning executive and innovative leader, Margaret played a key role in establishing the Age-Friendly Community Program in Canada and internationally; this program is now in over 900 Canadian communities and 26 countries worldwide. Other career highlights include a joint government-NGO project to protect seniors in disasters which was recognized with an individual award by Her Majesty the Queen.
Margaret has strong credentials regarding human rights, working with and speaking at the UN General Assembly on behalf of older people, as past Chair of the National Advocacy Working Group at the Global Alliance on the Rights of Older People (GAROP) and at the Working Group on Mainstreaming Aging at the UNECE. With a background in health promotion, protection and programming for the aged, women and children, Margaret is committed to improving the rights of older people.
Imagine Canada
Imagine Canada is a national charitable organization whose cause is Canada’s charities and nonprofits. We support and strengthen charities and nonprofits so they can, in turn, support the Canadians and communities they serve. Their mission is to strengthen Canadian charities and nonprofits so they can better serve individuals and communities both here and around the world.
Bruce MacDonald
Bruce MacDonald is the President & CEO of Imagine Canada. When carnivals and social good combined, it pointed to a path and for 30 years Bruce has been walking that route. From working for organizations that provide services to young people, older adults, persons with disabilities, community service clubs and sports and recreation groups, Bruce's experiences have lead him to Imagine Canada. Prior to that, he was the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada where he participated in a collective effort to bring mentoring programs to kids. Bruce holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Sports Administration from Laurentian University, a Masters in Management in the Voluntary Sector from McGill University and a former record in the Guinness Book of World Records. From 2019-2023, Bruce served as Co-Chair of the Permanent Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector working with the federal government. In 2025, Bruce received the King Charles III Coronation Medal in recognition of his distinguished achievements and leadership.
Men’s Sheds Canada
Simply put, a Men’s Shed is a group of men who get together in their community to develop new skills, discover new interests, and make new friends. But it’s so much more than that. For many men, aging and retirement can lead to loneliness and a loss of purpose; and that’s where Men’s Sheds come in. Symbolic of that backyard workshop where men share stories and tinker with woodworking or electronics, a Men’s Shed is grounded in the idea that men communicate more effectively when they’re “shoulder to shoulder” with other men. As health concerns related to social isolation and depression are often unrecognized, and men can be reluctant to seek help, Men’s Sheds have a vital role to play in fostering emotional well-being and transformative, fulfilling relationships for men in their retirement years. Shed members cross age, culture, and socioeconomic status, and no two Sheds are quite alike. Some Shedders gather in a workshop to build and fix things. Others focus on hiking or gardening or cooking. Most team up with local organizations to do special projects that support their community. But what all Sheds have in common is a welcoming environment where men create shared experiences, celebrate accomplishments, and build community.
Robert Goluch, President
Robert grew up in Northwestern Quebec and spent most of his career in leadership positions at colleges in Ontario, Alberta, and Manitoba, as well as with the Gov’t of Manitoba. Appointments ranged from college Vice-President to Assistant Deputy Minister, Finance and Admin in Education. Robert also worked part-time in media as a journalist and a radio broadcaster. A firm believer in giving back to the community, he served as Board Chair of Winnipeg Habitat for Humanity; Assistant Superintendent of St John Ambulance (MB); Judge, Premier’s Volunteer Award Committee (MB), Volunteer Ambassador in the dialysis wing of the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg; and Chair of the Prairie Region Citizen Advisory Committee with Corrections Canada for which he was recognized nationally with the James A. Murphy Award of Excellence.
In 2017, Robert moved to Squamish, B.C. and looking for potential volunteer opportunities, stumbled on the Squamish Men’s Shed. Since then, he served as its President, as well as Vice-President of the Men’s Shed Association of B.C., and now as President of Men’s Sheds Canada. In 2021, he chaired and hosted the first provincial Men’s Shed Conference in Squamish, B.C.
National Institute on Ageing (NIA)
The NIA’s mission is to improve the lives of older adults and the systems that support them by conducting research, convening stakeholders, sharing information, shifting attitudes, and advancing policies and practices.
Mark Hazelden, Interim Executive Director
Mark Hazelden (he/him) is a highly regarded leader within public policy having spent the past two decades working across the private, not-for-profit, and public sectors to develop and implement future-oriented policy solutions designed to enhance shared prosperity for Canadians.
For the past nine years at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), Mark has served as the Senior Director of Partnerships at the Dais and was a co-founding member of the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship. Throughout his time at TMU, Mark has been instrumental in building strong partnerships and driving consequential policy initiatives that have left a lasting mark on the university community and Canada’s innovation ecosystem. Prior to joining TMU, Mark spent a decade with the Government of Ontario, including serving as the Director of Economic Policy for the Premier of Ontario. Mark holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from McMaster University. He lives with his wife and high-spirited children in the west end of Toronto.
The Good Companions
The Good Companions, a non-profit multi-service seniors’ centre, provides opportunities for individuals to participate in social, recreational, educational and volunteer activities and benefit from social and health services. Our mission is to promote and support the well-being, independence and zest for living of seniors and adults with physical disabilities in the greater Ottawa area through providing a congenial, stimulating, visible, accessible, safe and supportive centre, physical facilities and programs, and through providing services to seniors in their own homes. The Centre’s main priorities are social integration, affordability and accessibility. We provide meals and refreshments as well as health services including wellness and social programs/services. Special programs and volunteer assistance are also made available for frail or disabled seniors.
Matthew Ottaviani, Executive Director
A driven and caring Executive Director in the Ottawa, Ontario. Recognized as a creative leader, thinker and strategist. Supportive and compassionate but direct with clear and responsible expectations. Exceptional listener with strong instincts and flexibility to adapt effectively to changing situations and systems. Focused on collaboration, strategic planning, financial management, team development, human resources/people and culture management, quality patient-centred results and community partnerships. High energy and leadership experience within multi-disciplinary teams, board of directors, unionized work environments and diverse client populations. Previous clinical social worker in the fields of emergency and trauma hospital care, forensic/prison healthcare, primary healthcare/family health teams, elementary school systems, older adult/senior services and 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusivity.
Volunteer Canada
Volunteer Canada’s mission is to advance volunteerism to grow connection, community and belonging. Since 1977, our organization has acted as the national voice and leadership body for volunteerism. A registered charity with over 1,100 organizational members, we work with a diversity of corporate, charity, nonprofit, and education partners nationwide to strengthen the quality, quantity, and accessibility of volunteering. We are the sector’s backbone organization for volunteerism providing leadership, expertise, standards of practice and resources for the public, private, and charitable sectors.
Megan Conway, President & CEO
Megan Conway loves sparking creativity, curiosity and capacity across teams, organizations and networks to mobilize social change. With twenty years of diverse leadership roles in government and the charitable, voluntary and academic sectors, Megan has been recognized for her ability to scale innovation, to use evaluative thinking to build and adapt programs, and as a systems change champion.
Dr. Conway earned her PhD at the University of Waterloo in Urban Planning with a focus on community development and scaling social innovations across sites and scales. Megan is most proud, professionally, of her efforts to create systems that enable youth participation, equity and achievement. Starting as a volunteer in Regent Park, she spent over a decade as a senior leader within Pathways to Education—launching the Kitchener program and then becoming the National Vice President of Programs and Research. She is also the Co-Founder of the Laurier School in the Community, a unique service-learning offering option at Laurier. Megan spent eight years as the Academic Chair of Health and Community Programs at Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley where she launched a Rural Enterprise Hub and managed a diverse professional team of 100 faculty to enable student success.
