Pamela

For Pamela, a fifth-generation resident of a small town in Nova Scotia, caregiving was never a single moment, but a series of transitions. For more than a decade, she was a caregiver to multiple people in her life, supporting her father through Alzheimer’s, dementia and lung cancer, her mother through terminal brain cancer and lung cancer, and her husband through vascular and frontal temporal dementia.

Her father was diagnosed with late-stage dementia when she was 45. Balancing a demanding career with the realities of caregiving quickly became unsustainable, and she could no longer give her full attention to both. At the time, she did not yet know that her mother and husband would also become seriously ill and pass away within a six-year period. At 49, at the height of her career and just five years from retirement eligibility, she made the decision to leave the workforce.

“I loved my career, but I loved my family more.”

What followed was a prolonged period of caregiving that was emotionally, physically, and financially demanding.

“Support from NSHealth Continuing Care, which helped fund part-time caregiving, was critical in allowing my family to remain in the home. Yet even though some support exists for patients, there is little to no financial support for caregivers themselves.”

Stepping away from work meant losing income, pension contributions and long-term financial security. Caregivers who leave the workforce, she says, are often penalized in ways they do not anticipate, particularly when it comes time to access retirement benefits.

“Caregivers who leave work for many years to care for adults are penalized for lack of CPP contributions. It’s a big surprise when they go to draw CPP – as it was for me.”

She now advocates for changes to the system, including a provision like the child-rearing benefit in CPP, which allows parents to exclude low-earning years from benefit calculations.

After her husband’s passing, the caregiving role did not end. It shifted. Today, Pam supports her brother, helping him navigate a civilian healthcare system that she says is not equipped to meet the needs of Veterans, particularly in rural communities. Another concern, she says, is increasing number of Canadian Veterans who are relying on specialized food banks due to rising living costs, financial crises, and gaps in support services

For Pamela, this reflects a broader issue that is as relevant to Veterans as it is to caregivers, who often step away from their careers and their contributions remain largely unrecognized – and in some cases penalized.

“If I did the math of taking care of three people at home, I saved the healthcare system at least $60,000 a year, over more than a decade. We say we want people to age at home, and that’s fine. But how are we going to do that without supporting the caregiver?”

Today, Pamela is focused on advocating for change. She wants to ensure caregivers are recognized, supported and not left to carry the long-term consequences alone.

“I want to educate people. I want to advocate for supports, education and training. Whatever we can get.”