44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 15, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/15/22 3:34:33 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. Just to be clear, it is highly recommended that we wear the masks inside the chamber. On that note, I would ask if there is unanimous consent of the House to have members wear their masks unless they are actually speaking.
51 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/15/22 3:34:52 p.m.
- Watch
Do we have unanimous consent?
Some hon. members: No.
9 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/15/22 3:35:23 p.m.
- Watch
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage has seven minutes and 30 seconds remaining in his elocution.
19 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, in regard to your ruling with respect to masks, we have been hearing, from the opposition, a lot of shouting about science. They say, “Listen to the science.”
However, the number of MPs who removed their masks as soon as your order was issued is rather shocking. The science is clear on masks, and I truly hope that the hon. members on the other side who are heckling me, maskless—
75 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/15/22 3:35:59 p.m.
- Watch
Order. I want to make sure individuals and MPs recognize that whoever has the floor should have the respect of the House. I also want to remind the hon. member that the decision from the Speaker clarified what the policy was, and I would hope that everybody would respect that.
50 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, I also hope that the opposition respects what the Speaker said, which was that he highly encouraged the use of masks. We were being lectured on science and that we should listen to the science, and the science is clear on mask usage. I am seeing a lot of unmasked faces on the other side, and that is disappointing because, as we are talking about vaccinations—
69 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/15/22 3:37:05 p.m.
- Watch
Order. Again, I think that matter has been dealt with, and I would ask the parliamentary secretary to speak to the issue that is before the House, which is Bill C-12.
32 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, I was just moving on to seniors, who are looking forward to us listening to science and listening to public health. I will move on to the debate at hand.
I had already given some of my remarks before the break, but as a first step, our government is providing $742.4 million for one-time payments. These payments would help alleviate the financial hardship faced by GIS and allowance recipients who received pandemic relief benefits in 2020, but who also faced a reduction or loss of their GIS or allowance benefits in July, 2021.
As the payments would be automatic, seniors would not need to take any action to receive the one-time payments. These payments would also fully compensate affected seniors. They would be non-taxable, too. We estimate that the 183,000 GIS clients who qualified to receive CERB or similar benefits in 2020 would benefit.
We did not want to just provide a quick fix. We also wanted to ensure that seniors would not be facing such a loss—
176 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/15/22 3:38:24 p.m.
- Watch
Order. The hon. member has the floor. There are a lot of discussions being had here, and I know that they are side discussions.
I would just ask members to please step outside the chamber if they wish to have side discussions. I am sure that they want to attentively hear what the hon. parliamentary secretary has to say, because I am sure they are going to have questions and comments for him.
73 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, I am sure they are just excited to hear the rest of my speech. The buzz on the other side is encouraging for me to keep going and defend our seniors.
As I said, we did not want to provide a quick fix. That is why we introduced this bill. Bill C-12 would permanently exempt federal pandemic benefits from the calculation of GIS or allowance benefits, beginning in July, 2020, and would prevent this from ever happening again.
To be clear, the following benefits would be exempt: the Canadian emergency response benefit, including any CERB amounts paid under the Employment Insurance Act, the Canada recovery benefit, the Canada recovery sickness benefit, the Canada recovery caregiving benefit and the Canada worker lockdown benefit. Once again, we are proposing this change to the OAS act to ensure that this problem never happens again.
Bill C-12 would make an important legislative change that would provide seniors with certainty and peace of mind in the future if they receive GIS and allowance benefits to which they are entitled, without the need for a one-time payment.
To strengthen Canadians' financial security later in life, we provided one-time payments of $500 in August, 2021, to OAS pensioners who would be age 75 or older on June 30, 2022. We are also permanently increasing OAS pensions for seniors 75 and over, beginning in July, 2022. We have taken these steps because seniors face increased financial pressures and vulnerability as they age, but the well-being of seniors has been a priority for our government since 2015.
Before COVID, we had already improved the Canada pension plan, reduced income tax for seniors and moved to enhance the GIS. We increased the GIS for nearly 900,000 low-income seniors. As a result of this and other measures, an estimated 45,000 seniors were lifted out of poverty. We put thousands of dollars back in the pockets of future Canadian seniors by restoring the age of eligibility for OAS and the GIS to 65 from 67. Many of the members on the other side voted in favour of actually increasing the retirement age, not for their own pensions but for other seniors in Canada.
We enhanced the GIS earning exemption for working low-income seniors to help them keep more of their benefits and more of their hard-earned money. This means that seniors could earn up to $5,000 without a reduction of their GIS benefit. Our government is moving forward with its plan to increase the OAS pension by 10% for seniors 75 and over, and will start in July of this year to provide people receiving the full OAS pension with an extra $766 in the first year. This will be the first permanent increase to the OAS pension, above and beyond inflation adjustments, since 1973.
We reduced income taxes for seniors by increasing the basic personal amount. Once we have fully implemented this measure in 2023, 4.3 million seniors will benefit, and 465,000 of them will see their income tax reduced to zero.
Our government has helped seniors in myriad ways beyond direct emergency payments and tax relief. We recognize the sad reality that the COVID pandemic has brought isolation to many seniors, and to our most vulnerable seniors. The sense of isolation and vulnerability cannot be overstated, so our government continues to find ways to address those issues.
The pandemic has tragically highlighted the challenges to long-term care homes. It has exposed gaps in infection prevention and control and staffing. That is why, in the fall economic statement, our government committed up to $1 billion to the safe long-term care fund to help provinces and territories support infection prevention and control, make improvements to ventilation, hire additional staff and top up wages. We are also committed to affordable housing, and we are working to improve palliative care, end-of-life care, and to supporting Canadians' mental health through the Public Health Agency of Canada.
In conclusion, I am proud of the measures we have developed and are still developing on all aspects of senior care, but this must not simply be a stopgap measure. We are constantly working hard to find permanent solutions that will bring ongoing comfort and relief to the men and women who have worked hard, who have contributed to Canada and who are proud and privileged to call it home. Seniors deserve nothing less than the best care and consideration that we can provide. We acted quickly to resolve this issue. I hope my hon. colleagues will agree that this bill deserves swift passage.
774 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, the member opposite is from my former hometown of St. Catharines. I heard him talk about the increased OAS, and the $500 bonus that those over age 75 were going to get. I had been critical before that the government disenfranchised seniors between the ages of 65 and 75, but I noticed that the mandate letter of the minister says that she is supposed to increase the OAS and the GIS for seniors over 65.
Would the member opposite not admit that this recognizes the huge failure of the government, when it disenfranchised seniors between the ages of 65 and 75?
103 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, I know the hon. member for Sarnia—Lambton speaks to many residents and seniors in her community, as I do and as all members do. We have to recognize that seniors 75 and older have challenges that are greater, in many cases, than those who are ages 65 to 75, as retirement savings dwindle or as there may not be the resources that were once available. It is the government recognizing that there are additional challenges. This was a campaign commitment that was made in 2019, and it is one that the government delivered upon.
98 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, my colleague listed all the wonderful things that his government has done for seniors. I will repeat for him the headline of an article published this morning in the Journal de Montréal: “Seniors starved by Ottawa”. It is not the most complimentary headline I have seen.
This article mentions two of my constituents: Bob Petit, of Saint‑Jean‑de‑Matha, whose GIS was cut by $350 a month, and Jacques Rhéault, of Louiseville, whose GIS was cut by $400 a month.
Can my colleague explain why the government did this deliberately? The Bloc Québécois sounded the alarm last summer in July 2021. Today, we are seeing a bill that will come into force only in July, yet people are going hungry right now. That is disgusting.
141 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, I would like to remind the hon. member that these supports, and this legislation, passed with the unanimous consent of the House. The minister has acted swiftly since her appointment last fall to correct the situation. This bill is part of that. I am happy that most of my colleagues in the opposition are seeking swift approval of this legislation to get it through as quickly as we can. Hopefully we can see that done rapidly.
78 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, I have a gender question for the member. We know that women were limited in the work that they could do. There were only a few roles that were considered to be women's roles back in the thirties, the forties and the fifties. We know that wage gaps continue to be discriminatory. Getting a mortgage without a man as cosigner was not possible for many women in the 20th century.
My question to the member is about the GIS clawback. How did it affect women?
88 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, I am not going to disagree with the member. I know that her party is supportive of the speedy passage of this legislation. I thank her and her party for that support. I look forward to seeing this bill pass.
42 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, today is a special day because it is flag day. Just out the window, we can see the national maple leaf flying on top of the Peace Tower.
Can the member provide his thoughts on how wonderful and important our flag is to our country?
47 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, our seniors love our flag. I will bring it back to the bill. It is important to recognize that it was an MP for Kingston and the Islands who brought this flag, and this design, forward. It is a renowned symbol. It is something that not only seniors, but all Canadians can appreciate.
55 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/15/22 3:48:11 p.m.
- Watch
We have a point of order.
The hon. member for Kingston and the Islands.
14 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/15/22 3:48:14 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, it was actually a member for Leeds, which is just east of Kingston.
15 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
