Imagine seeking home support after an illness, only to meet an account, an identity check and a parade of unfamiliar forms. This is a hypothetical situation, not a description of a particular Ontario program. The problem isn't your age; it's a design that assumes you already know the way through.

The National Institute on Ageing's 2025 survey found that 81% of Canadians aged 50 and older wanted to remain in their own or a smaller home for as long as possible. Its compendium reports that only 47% of people needing community support received it all or most of the time. These national figures don't measure digital barriers' contribution.

We understand ageing in place as more than having a safe home. You also need to find and request support, and digital exclusion can add a hurdle to a fragmented system. A phone referral can point you toward a provider; it isn't a magic wand that completes a government application.

British Columbia offers something to consider, not proof of an Ontario solution. The National Institute on Ageing's compendium records 2,396 digital literacy and technology services delivered through Better at Home in 2024–2025. Picture a learner practising how to recognize an official website and save a form, with a patient instructor nearby. We'd fund that hands-on teaching, without asking anyone to share passwords. Passwords aren't party favours.

Here's the distinction we can't afford to miss: online services can be convenient, but using them should be a choice, not a condition. Can you complete the same request by phone or in person? Can you get patient help in a language you understand and learn at your own pace? Those are practical questions for policymakers, and they deserve answers.

The available evidence doesn't measure Ontario's online-only services or their impact on seniors. Our proposals are starting points to test, not proven cures. Let's ask our representatives to assess access with seniors themselves, and share our experiences in the community. We can keep the door open while people learn to use the screen.

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This article was created using research from the cited references below, a human editor and an AI-assisted workflow.

References:
Canadians scored 53 out of 100 on retirement housing readiness: a new Manulife-MIT index reveals the gaps to fix now
Poor health cost Canada more than $100 billion in economic output in 2025: Deloitte Canada