70+ in Brampton? The city is giving out free annual recreation passes
Durlabh Gill is retired but faces one of the same health problems lots of us do: he sits down too much.
Gill, 79, often sits for 10 hours a day while volunteering at a Sikh Temple.
To stay in shape despite the long sitting, he comes to the Cassie Campbell Community Centre to walk on the treadmill for an hour every day.
"At this age, we really need to exercise. If we sit all day, we'll be sick," he told CBC Toronto.
Soon, Gill's workouts at the city-run recreation centre will be free — just like they'll be for every other Brampton resident aged 70-plus. As of June 1, the City of Brampton announced seniors can register for a free annual pass to all of its recreational centres, which can cost more than $200.
Here's what residents need to apply:
Proof of a Brampton address.
An ID.
Proof of Canadian citizenship or permanent residency card.
A Brampton health advocacy group is welcoming the news.
"It's going to help people live longer," Janine Herrmann-McLeod, co-chair of Brampton Caledon Health Coalition said, adding that her father will be using the free annual pass.
The program will address social isolation as well as physical and mental health of seniors, which is often overlooked, Herrmann-McLeod says.
"It will take pressure off of our healthcare system from the diseases that happen when people become sedentary from sitting at home alone all the time," she said.
Her father is just one of the 57,000 seniors who are elligible for the program.
Program to help people socialize, councillor says
Coun. Rowena Santos said with rising affordability concerns, some of those residents had been sharing their struggles with the city about not being able to socialize and walk in parks during the winter months.
"We're dealing with upstream health issues for many of these seniors and in many ways keeping them healthy and active also prevents them from being in the hospital all the time," Santos said.
Savita Ramesh Shivani, 72, says the program will allow her to get some of her friends to join her for her daily walks at the Cassie Campbell Community Centre. (Saloni Bhugra/CBC)
Savita Ramesh Shivani, 72, is retired and visits the Cassie Campbell Community Centre daily, hoping to make friends and remain healthy. With a free pass, she says it'll be easier for her to get some of her friends to join her.
Seniors like Gill, who have already paid for an annual pass, can get a refund in the form of an account credit when they apply for a free pass in June.
There's no refund for those who paid for individual lessons, according to the city's website.
Seniors 65+ to get free passes next year
Other Greater Toronto Area municipalities offer some free programming or discounted rates for seniors, but Brampton is taking it a step further.
The city is spending over $978,000 this year and has decided to extend the program to seniors of age 65 and above next year, which will cost the city an extra $600,000.
Annually, at that point, the city expects the program will cost over $1.6 million.
Amrit Kaur, 65, moved to Brampton five months ago and visits recreational centres with her nieces to deal with isolation. The news about the city making recreational services free for seniors her age next year has given her 'so much joy,' she says. (Saloni Bhugra/CBC)
That is exciting news for 65-year-old Amrit Kaur.
She moved to Brampton five months ago and says she visits city-run recreational centres with her teenage nieces as a way to cope with isolation.
"People our age don't go out … Some get diabetes or heart issues," she said in Punjabi.
"This is a huge help to people like us, and it has given me so much joy that the city is doing this."
The city says the free membership will be renewable eight weeks prior to the expiry date every year.
