Slick, be thankful that you live in BC so that when you do change positions you will still be covered by health insurance with no thought of your medical conditions (unfortunately that is not always true down here).

Over the years I have hired a number of people or been involved deeply in the process. Generally I find that "older" people tend to work out better because they have the work ethic and the basic skills to do the job. So Slick, I don't think you will have a problem getting a position because you have the skills and there are plenty of position in IT (particularly in Canada).