Montreal West: an Age-Friendly Town

Launched in 2007 by the World Heath Organization, an age-friendly Town encourages all residents to be active within their community and to be treated with respect, regardless of their age.

The Town of Montreal West is proud to announce that it has received its Age-Friendly Town (Municipalité amie des aînés – MADA) certification in June 2022! This recognition by the Ministère de la santé et des services sociaux confirms our commitment towards making our Town a better, safer and more caring Town for residents of all ages.

This concludes the accreditation process, which spanned 2.5 years and included multiple meetings of the MADA Steering Committee, public consultations with residents, and the drafting and implementation of a policy and action plan.

Certificate of recognition

 

In May 2018, the Town formed a new steering committee to review issues of concern to Montreal West seniors. The creation of this committee was the first step in becoming an officially recognized Age-friendly Town, or in French, Municipalité amie des aînés (MADA). A MADA recognition opens up the door to grants established specifically to help communities become more senior-friendly, for example, by installing elevators in public buildings. Any such improvements would also benefit the community as a whole.

Survey and public consultations

The MoWest Age-Friendliness Survey was mailed out to residents 60 years of age and over in November 2018. The survey is based on the eight principal factors that are identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as central to a municipality’s age friendliness (as seen on the petals of the flower). The Town held two public consultations on becoming a MADA certified (age-friendly) community during the week of June 10th. The results of the age-friendly survey distributed in the fall of 2018 were presented by Dr. Christina Wolfson of McGill University and Dr. Shannon Hebblethwaite and Nora Lamontagne of Concordia University. The presentation of results was followed up with lively and interesting conversations during the round table discussions. Overall, it was an enriching experience for the 80+ residents in attendance.

Survey results

At the conclusion of the consultations, the information was consolidated, needs were identified, and a Plan of Action was developed setting out objectives and actions. Prior to its finalization, the Plan of Action was available for online consultation on the Montreal West website.  For more information

Timeline of the accreditation process

 Council resolution
Completed on May 28, 2018

 Form Steering Committee
Completed on May 28, 2018

 Develop mandate
Completed on October 15, 2018

 Complete a profile of municipality
Completed on March 4, 2019

 Identify needs
Completed in June 2019 (survey, focus groups, key informant interviews and public consultations)

 Develop a policy and plan of action
Completed, approved by Council on August 31 2020

Implement and follow-up on plan of action
2020 and beyond

Distribution of the final Age-Friendly Policy to all Montreal West residents
Completed in December 2020

MADA certification
Received in June 2022

Read the 2020-2025 Age-Friendly Policy

Forever Young: living and aging in Montreal West (podcast)

This podcast is made by a group at the Montreal West Public Library. Our aim is to build a living toolbox to let Montrealers know about resources available to those over 60. We have lively conversations with intergenerational network builders, social activists and people who are thinking outside the box to meet housing and other challenges that arise as we age.

 Listen to the podcast

Services for seniors

Click on the service of your choice for more information.

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