Host a student
International students come to Canada hoping to
learn about its cultures and people. The Host for the
Holidays program is just one of the ways that helps.
A project of the International Students
Centre, it matches international students with local
families willing to open their homes for a
Thanksgiving meal. The program is now accepting
applications from prospective hosts and will open
to guests after October 1. Organizers will match
hosts with guests based on a number of
factors—dietary preferences, tolerance for pets,
timing of the meal, and even convenience of
transportation. The program is looking for at least
60 host homes.
Thanksgiving weekend runs
October 10 to 12.
Find more information, including
online applications at
www.uwindsor.ca/host
Aging
population
In late September, Statistics Canada announced
that for the first time ever, there are now more
people in Canada age 65 and over than there are
under age 15. This milestone was predicted by
demographers some time ago.
There were 5,780,900 Canadians 65 and older
on July 1. That compares to an under-15 population
of 5,749,400. In percentage terms, 16.1 per cent of
Canadians were in the 65-and-over group, with
under-15s comprising just 16 per cent of the
population.
The cohort of people 65 is growing faster than
the others, too. The population growth rate for the
over-64 set increased by 3.5 per cent during the
year, four times faster than the population at large.
If these population trends continue, seniors
could outnumber children in Canada by a factor of
three to two 20 years from now.
An aging population can affect community
development in various ways. Exepct more
discussion about school closures, resdiential
development and health care costs and services in
the near future. As the under 15s age, enrolment in
post-secondary education and workforce shortages
could also be impacted.
October 2015 - The HUB 15