City of Burlington receives Age-Friendly Community Recognition Award

The Ministry of Seniors’ Affairs has selected the City of Burlington to receive the Age-Friendly Community Recognition Award. The award recognizes communities and municipalities that are working to meet the needs of Ontario’s growing older adult population by creating enabling environments that encourage social connections and ability to age well.

In July 2017 Council adopted the Burlington Active Aging Plan as a living document intended to evolve with the community and to provide actionable changes to improve the lives of Older Adults within Burlington.

The nomination for the recognition award was submitted by the Burlington Seniors Advisory Committee. The nomination included:

• The engagement process that was undertaken with our community to prioritize needs and interests which shaped the Active Aging Plan
• The key objectives of the plan
• The collection of testimonials from citizens who could speak to the value of age-friendly community work already underway

Recognition ceremonies were held on March 26 in Toronto at the first ever Ontario Age-Friendly Communities Symposium named after the Ministry’s aging well strategy: ‘Aging with Confidence’.

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Honourable Eleanor McMahon, MPP for Burlington

“Our government is proud to recognize the City of Burlington with an Age-Friendly Community award for its ongoing work and progress to meet the needs of seniors, Burlington’s fastest growing age group. Through Burlington’s Active Aging Plan and Ontario’s Aging with Confidence Action Plan, we are working together to provide support so older adults can stay independent, safe, healthy, active and connected to our community.”

Mayor Rick Goldring

“We are grateful to the Ministry of Seniors Affairs for our 2015 grant which helped us focus our priorities and helped us engage with seniors to develop and adopt the Burlington Active Aging Plan in 2017. The Burlington Seniors Advisory Committee was a critical part of developing this strategy, and they continue to do a tremendous amount of work advocating for seniors.”

Chris Glenn, Director of Parks and Recreation

“We are proud that our collective efforts to make Burlington an age-friendly community are making a difference and are being recognized. We strive to provide accessible and inclusive environments, both physical and social, that enable seniors to live independent, healthy and active, safe and socially connected lives.”

Links and Resources

Age-Friendly Ontario

Burlington Active Aging Plan

Aging with Confidence Action Plan
Images/Photos

Image of staff and members of Burlington Seniors Advisory Committee

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