Living on the Margins: Economic Security Among Senior Immigrants in Canada.

The percentage of the elderly poor has begun to rise in Canada, with single elderly women with limited familial supports and immigrants representing the most vulnerable. Rising poverty is associated with shorter average life spans, and greater risk of illness and disability, more family stress and greater physical, psychological and social illness. The accumulation of poor health, lack of housing, rising unemployment, and lack of family care providers creates a series of interconnected issues requiring a new policy dialogue be opened up about understanding and resisting the variegated forms of inequality in later life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]