http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AozVTuHFyqE

Household http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/05/24/canada-scores-near-the-top-of-quality-of-life-index-study/ http://www.bankruptcy-canada.ca/trustees-talk/bankruptcy-alternatives/20101018/why-are-more-seniors-filing-bankruptcy-in-canada.html
Doug Hoyes chartered accountant and a licensed trustee in bankruptcy

Doug is an expert on bankruptcy
I have a number of thoughts on why the percentage of seniors filing bankruptcy is increasing.
First, as every resident of Canada is aware, we are in a recession. A recession hurts everyone. It’s possible that in the current economic downturn more seniors have lost their jobs, or had their incomes reduced, leading to serious financial problems.

Second, a growing number of Canadians in their 40′s, 50′s and 60′s are carrying mortgages and other debts into retirement. Twenty or thirty years ago Canadians typically retired with little or no debt; they paid off their mortgage before they retired.

Third, many seniors assumed that their house or other real estate would be their “retirement fund.” Unfortunately with the weak real estate market over the last two years house prices in many areas of Canada have declined, so seniors cannot sell their house for as much as they had hoped.

Debt Can Be A Problem For The Baby Boomers Retirement Plans
Written by Jim Yih http://canadianfinanceblog.com/debt-can-be-a-problem-for-the-baby-boomers-retirement-plans/ Jim writes for a blog
B.Comm, Finance
1987 – 1991

Here are some of my tips on how boomers can deal with the debt epidemic:
1. Stop overspending
. Increase your income
3. Get support.
. Focus on you before your kids.
5. Take one step at a time.

In the end, remember, debt makes others rich, not you. Debt is big business and the financial institutions figured this out. When you overspend, there is a consequence to that overspending and someone else is going to profit from your indulgence.

Press Releases
BMO Retirement Institute: Canadians Should Make it a Priority to Retire Debt Free http://www.businessreviewcanada.ca/press_releases/bmo-retirement-institute-canadians-should-make-it-a-priority-to-retire-debt-free said Tina Di Vito, Head, BMO Retirement Institute. "Many retirees have fixed incomes and could find it very difficult to meet their mortgage obligations, especially in the event of sudden increases in interest rates or unexpected expenses."
Household debt 'serious issue' for Canadians; Over a trillion dollars owed on mortgages, report says falseCovert, Kim. The Province [Vancouver, B.C] 30 Dec 2011: A.38.
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Canadians owed more than a trillion dollars on their mortgages as of March of 2011, according to a report released Thurs-day by the Canadian Mort-gage and Housing Corp

CMHC figures show that mortgages made up about 68 per cent of total house-hold debt in 2010 - up from 63 per cent in 1971 but down from the peak of 75 per cent in 1993. Consumer credit, which makes up the other 32 per cent, has been growing faster than mortgage debt over the past two decades.

C o n c e r n s e x p re s s e d about household indebtedness have been largely driven by the total household debt-to-disposable income ratio," the report says, noting that the ratio hit a record high of 1.506 in the second quarter of 2011.

According to CMHC
Canadians' debt levels have been growing fairly steadily since the 1960s, the report notes, but adds that a number of more recent factors have allowed debt to grow to its current record level, including low interest rates, rising household incomes and financial product innovations, which have allowed Canadians to make lower payments on higher debt loads.

Rising household debt a threat to consumerism falseCovert, Kim. The Ottawa Citizen [Ottawa, Ont] 15 June 2011: A.1.
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consumerism