Ottawa has replied to our petition with a letter cataloguing the many worthy programs and supports available to seniors, and acknowledging caregivers' efforts. However, the letter did not say how government will address our two chief concerns -- throwing family caregivers a lifeline, and preparing for the coming wave of seniors. When ten million baby-boomers reach their eighties in a few years, they will put immense pressures on a health-care system relying increasingly on home and community care. Thousands of you have told us that your loved ones are already living their "golden years" under duress after contributing their productive lives to society. So what's next? Since it is crucial to get Minister Duclos and the federal government to addressing our chief concerns, we have decided to launch a letter-writing campaign, and to boost our petition with a promotional video. We invite supporters to write directly to Minister Duclos with their own messages, or to cut and paste from the suggested text below, then email them to: jean-yves.duclos@parl.gc.ca [Cut and paste at will]: "Canada needs a plan to prepare for the ten million baby-boomers reaching their eighties in 2025. Without a plan, there will be unprecedented and overwhelming pressures on our health system and family caregivers -- especially those sandwiched between aging parents and adult children with disabilities. 24,000 Canadians urgently need a lifeline, and would much appreciate hearing from you by October 1st 2018, the UN International Day for Older Persons." We also urge supporters to share on social media the following link to our promotional video, and to ask supportive organizations to post it where appropriate: https://youtu.be/6-sn1qzLMYU The petition itself may be shared with this link: https://www.change.org/LifelineForCaregivers Thanks for spreading the message and boosting this worthy cause! Salvatore (Sal) Amenta