44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 15, 2022 10:00AM
Mr. Speaker, we all agree that the passage of this bill is so important, and we need to get it passed as soon as possible. We know how difficult this pandemic has been for those most vulnerable.
This bill is short, concise and clear. Bill C-12 would exempt pandemic relief benefits from the calculation of GIS or allowance benefits in July 2022, so seniors who took pandemic benefits last year would have that security and surety that their GIS would not be impacted. In fact, this bill is the exact product of much collaboration between parliamentarians and parties already. I have spoken to all my critics, who agree on why we need to move forward with this quickly. I hope we do just that.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for all of his hard work on this file as well, and the work that we have been able to do, indeed, with all parliamentarians to move very quickly.
When it comes to Bill C-12, it is a very short, concise and clear bill. What this bill would do is to exempt pandemic relief benefits from the calculation of GIS or allowance benefits, so seniors who took pandemic benefits last year will have the security and surety that their GIS will not be impacted.
It is a short bill. Indeed, it was done in collaboration with all parties. I have spoken personally with all of my critics on this from different parties. They all agree and know the urgency in moving forward. That is exactly what we are doing.
I was at committee yesterday, and we spent a fair amount of time speaking specifically on this, but I look forward to answering members' questions to make sure we can move forward as quickly as possible.
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Madam Speaker, Bill C-12 is exactly that. It is a proactive measure to ensure that seniors who got pandemic benefits last year are not impacted by any reduction or affected by their GIS and income tax.
I appeared at committee yesterday regarding my mandate letter and spoke to this very issue a number of times. The member opposite had the opportunity to ask me questions. I was available to all committee members to speak about this issue, and it is included in my mandate letter. The motion is to expedite this matter to reflect both the urgent nature of the bill to support needs and the ongoing collaboration and agreement between all parties on this. There is a simplicity in the policy content.
Nothing about this pandemic has been normal, and I argue that neither should this be. I hope we can move forward to make sure the most vulnerable people have support moving forward.
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Madam Speaker, our government's priority is to be there to support seniors, particularly those who are the most vulnerable. We have worked extremely hard to strengthen income security for them by increasing the GIS, which has helped over 900,000 single, low-income seniors. It has lifted 45,000 seniors out of poverty. During this pandemic, as members know, we were able to quickly provide direct and immediate support to seniors.
When it comes to supporting seniors, we have done a number of things, such as restoring the age of eligibility to 65, enhancing the OAS and the GIS, enhancing the CPP and making significant investments in community services and home care. For seniors affected by the 2020 GIS reduction, we have moved very quickly with a one-time payment, which I announced yesterday. We will be able to give it ahead of schedule and even quicker for those in dire need. Bill C-12 is also going to exclude any pandemic benefits for the purposes of calculating the GIS moving forward.
We have an opportunity to work together to showcase to Canadians how this place can work in collaboration and help those who are most vulnerable. I really hope the member opposite, and indeed all members, will help us move quickly to make sure those seniors are helped.
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Mr. Speaker, one of the things I find really troubling is that, in the length of time that it has taken to address this issue, we know many seniors have been losing their homes. They cannot afford to eat. We know that with all of the many programs that were introduced by the government, with lots of little failures and things, they managed to put money into 800,000 people's accounts who really were not eligible to receive the benefits.
I really do not understand. Why could the Liberals not have just put the money into the accounts of seniors who were getting the GIS? They got the CERB, so they would be topped up and they would not have to wait until July of next year. They will probably have lost their houses by then.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her question.
I am very proud of our government and of all the measures we have put in place for seniors.
We helped seniors with these benefits during the lockdown, and they were included in taxable income. We have gone back and are making a fix, and rightly so. We do not want to penalize seniors going forward. That would not have been a regular amount of income they received.
I encourage all seniors to look at the number of measures we have put in place since 2015.
Seniors are most important to me because they are the ones who built our country and our future.
Our future is very dependent on what seniors have done in the past.
I am proud that we have put many measures in place for them.
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Mr. Speaker, in all of Hamilton, 2,020 seniors saw a reduction in their GIS benefits because of the CERB clawbacks. Residents in Hamilton Centre bore the brunt, with almost 660 having their GIS clawed back. This has been an attack, and it has been devastating on working poor seniors in my community.
In a time of such uncertainty and despair, that the Liberals would plunge seniors further into poverty can only be described as cruel and unusual. They have known about this for quite some time. I ask the hon. member, who knew this was an issue for seniors, why he and the Liberals waited so long to fix it.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge for sharing his time with me today and thank all members for engaging in this important debate.
We know how difficult this pandemic has been on seniors and how it has impacted them, their livelihoods, their quality of life, their mental health and even their safety. We all agree in the House that we need to do more to help seniors and their communities. As announced in the fiscal update, we will be delivering a one-time payment to fully compensate those affected in 2020, and today we introduced Bill C-12 to exclude any pandemic benefits for the purposes of calculating the guaranteed income supplement going forward.
I had many conversations at the doorsteps with individuals who were affected. Bill C-12 would go a long way in demonstrating that as parliamentarians we are listening and our government is responding. The fact remains that far too many seniors in Canada have been living in poverty. It was an issue long before this pandemic, but COVID, an unprecedented global health crisis, has made matters worse. Seniors who lost income and were financially struggling accessed emergency support to help them get by. Bill C-12 would protect seniors from losing their income-tested GIS payments going forward and would rectify any loss of GIS as a result of receiving COVID benefits. This would protect struggling seniors from falling deeper into poverty and rectify the unintended consequences of pandemic benefits that were designed to help.
Many seniors have been trying to survive paycheque to paycheque, and in New Brunswick the situation is worse. One in five seniors in my province lives below the poverty line and many more are just at the cusp. This is well above the Canadian average. These seniors depend on GIS to pay their rent, heat their homes and buy groceries, particularly at a time when the cost of living continues to rise. In Fredericton, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment is now close to $1,000. Seniors desperately need the action our government is proposing.
Passing Bill C-12 also matters for our commitment to advancing gender equality, furthering reconciliation and combatting systemic discrimination. The loss of GIS payments would disproportionately impact women, indigenous people and racialized Canadians, demographics that statistically experience higher rates of poverty. It is urgent that we pass this bill and help the estimated 90,000 seniors across the country who have been impacted. Failing to pass this bill would further threaten the economic security of thousands.
I am optimistic that through the leadership of the Minister of Seniors, real and tangible change will be felt across the country. This government is committed to building a better future for seniors. As a member from Atlantic Canada, this positive change cannot come soon enough. By 2036, Canada's senior population could be close to 11 million. As the Canadian population continues to age, so does the number of older adults expecting to be living in subsidized housing. We need to look at the future and take measures now to avoid having seniors, who spent their lives building this beautiful country, reach their golden years and live under the poverty line.
I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to suggest that we can go further to support seniors and many others facing poverty. I am proud that this government is seriously looking to implement pilot projects on a guaranteed livable income and is moving forward on its objective to reach agreements with provincial and territorial partners to implement national universal pharmacare. I truly feel these measures, in particular, could usher in deep and lasting systemic change.
Simply put, to improve the lives of senior citizens, we must make life more affordable. I am proud to say that this government is doing just that by investing in better public transportation, affordable housing and creative programs, such as the multi-generational home renovation tax credit to help families add a secondary unit to their homes for an immediate or extended family member. This government is also working to establish an aging at home benefit so that seniors can afford to stay in their homes longer, while increasing the quality of long-term care for those who need it. We are also creating opportunities for seniors to be more connected, supported and active members of their communities through the New Horizons for Seniors program. These initiatives will help to enhance the quality of life for all Canadian seniors, and we should not stop there. It is long overdue that we return elders in our communities to their positions of honour and respect.
I want to acknowledge the organizations in my community that have been working hard to support older adults. They are making a real difference in my riding. The Stepping Stone Senior Centre and the Senior Wellness Action Group are but two great examples of those working to help connect hundreds of seniors in the greater Fredericton area to work collaboratively to develop and deliver affordable and accessible activities to meet physical, mental and social needs. They provide volunteer matching, assist with emergency preparedness, support food security and much more. They are providing opportunities for seniors to meet, to learn, to develop new skills, to socialize, to entertain, to be entertained and to be entrepreneurs, and they are serving as an information source for seniors and those who work with them, like me, while promoting the growth and development of seniors in our community.
There are important lessons that we must take forward from this pandemic, and providing adequate supports for seniors must be at the top of our priority list. We must invest in seniors and ensure that people can live in dignity and safety in their older years. We have seen many examples of Canadians being there for each other throughout this pandemic, and this must continue. In many communities around the world, elders are celebrated, they are seen as the head of their family and their knowledge is precious. We need to do more to cherish them here in Canada.
The best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elder. Let us listen to what they have been telling us. Let us pass Bill C-12 without delay.
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Mr. Speaker, I can assure the House, I would never mock that individual. I have great respect for him, but he is incorrect in suggesting that we did not support these benefits and then voted in favour of them. I never, in my speech, suggested that these benefits were not necessary for Canadians. In fact, I gave a speech in the House supporting these COVID benefits because they were necessary to keep Canadians afloat.
Seniors never expected that they would be betrayed and told after the fact that these benefits would be taxable, especially when they were on the cusp of poverty.
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Mr. Speaker, I am looking forward to taking us into question period and being here today to talk about Bill C-12, an act to amend the Old Age Security Act.
It is interesting that the hon. member for Abbotsford used most of his speech to criticize what he called mocking, none of which was happening on this side, but is using this opportunity to heckle me. It is just shameful. It is unbelievable.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
Mr. Chris Bittle: It seems I am very popular today with respect to the warm welcome I am receiving from the opposition. I thank my hon. colleagues. It is wonderful.
This bill would exempt pandemic relief benefits from the calculation of the guaranteed income supplement or allowance benefits beginning in July 2022.
Allow me to explain. The Canada emergency response benefit was put into place very quickly in 2020, voted in by unanimous consent from the members here, to help people avoid the catastrophic income loss of COVID‑19. The unprecedented pandemic required an unprecedented response. The CERB and the Canadian recovery benefit did just that. They allowed Canadians who did not know what was next to not have to worry or choose between a roof over their head or putting food on their table. These benefits are now having an impact on some vulnerable seniors.
I forgot to say that I would like to share my time with the hon. member for Kitchener Centre.
An hon. member: Oh, oh!
Mr. Chris Bittle: It is heartening to hear the members of the opposition wanting me to go the full 20 minutes, but I will share my time.
The GIS is an income-tested benefit for low-income seniors who receive the old age security pension. Every July, an individual's entitlement to the GIS or the allowance is reassessed, based on the individual's income, or the combined income if it is a couple, as reported on their income tax return. The Income Tax Act defines pandemic relief benefits as taxable income, which means they are also considered as income when someone's entitlement to the GIS or allowance benefits is being determined. Unfortunately, that means that some GIS or allowance recipients may be facing lower benefit payments because of the income they received from these pandemic benefits. This is the unprecedented aftermath of an unprecedented response to an unprecedented crisis. We need to move quickly to resolve this situation.
It seems my time is up for the moment. I hope to come back to finish my speech after question period.
Some hon. members: No, no. More, more.
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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—
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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.
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Mississauga—Erin Mills.
I have the privilege of rising today to speak to Bill C‑12, which seeks to support low-income seniors whose guaranteed income supplement was affected by pandemic benefits.
I will use my time today to speak about the measures in the bill and the reasons why the government has introduced them to support vulnerable seniors. I will also speak about other measures that our government has taken to assist seniors. I am proud of these measures, which are making a difference in the lives of seniors in my riding of Kings—Hants.
My colleagues and, of course, all Canadians are aware of what we have been dealing with over the past two years. Our government has been there to support all Canadians, including seniors. We made a one-time $300 payment to seniors who were receiving old age security benefits and a $500 payment to those who were receiving the guaranteed income supplement.
These benefits were not considered income for the purposes of calculating old age security or the guaranteed income supplement. Of course we had work-related benefits, such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, the Canada recovery sickness benefit and now the Canada worker lockdown benefit to support workers whose jobs were directly affected by COVID‑19.
Sometimes these measures created a situation where low-income seniors who were working before the pandemic lost access to the guaranteed income supplement because their income exceeded the eligibility threshold. Given the circumstances, it seems that all members support the principle of eliminating repercussions on the vulnerable seniors we are trying to support.
I think it is also important to talk about the measures that the government has introduced since 2015, measures that have made a difference in the lives of seniors across the country, including a positive difference in the lives of seniors in my riding of Kings—Hants.
First, it is sometimes easy to forget that it was the Conservatives who increased the age of eligibility for old age security. We restored the age of eligibility for old age security and the guaranteed income supplement from 67 to 65, putting thousands of dollars back in the pockets of seniors.
Our government increased the GIS by 10% for seniors, improving the financial security of roughly 900,000 vulnerable seniors. We are permanently increasing the old age security pension by 10% for people 75 and older in July, which means that those who receive the full pension will receive roughly $766 the first year.
It is also important to recognize the platform commitment we made to increase the guaranteed income supplement by $500 for individuals who qualify, and up to $750 for couples. I want to give an example. The Speaker and I both reside in and represent rural Nova Scotian ridings. There are individuals, particularly single senior women in my riding, who are sometimes vulnerable in the sense that these programs are extremely important for them to keep the lights on and stay in their homes. I am really proud this is something our government is committing to.
We are in the middle of a pandemic. We are working our way through it, of course, and challenges abound, but this is something I know all parliamentarians will be working toward to help support affordability measures for lower income seniors.
Let us talk about New Horizons for Seniors. For Canadians who might not know, New Horizons is a program run through the federal department of seniors that is supporting either infrastructure upgrades to communal buildings or programming that support seniors' activities.
I can speak positively about this program in my own riding of Kings—Hants. For example, the Glooscap Curling Club in Kentville, Nova Scotia, had a $25,000 investment provided by the Government of Canada to help keep that facility in top shape. It serves not just seniors but residents across Kings—Hants. It is particularly important for the seniors' programming that goes on. There are many examples of how this program is making a real difference in keeping seniors active and on the move.
We have also increased the basic personal amount, which is something that perhaps is not always talked about to the extent that it should be. That is increasing the threshold before individuals are required to pay federal tax. We have done that, which is certainly helping low-income seniors to the tune of about $300 to $400 a year. I recognize that might not solve all issues, but it is moving the yard sticks in the right direction. It is a making a difference for Canadians across the country.
What have all these measures resulted in? What has the government actually done, and what are the results? I laid out some of the measures the government has undertaken, but what are the results all members of the House can take in? It has resulted in an 11% reduction in seniors poverty since this government formed office in 2015.
I do not say that lightly. I know there will remain challenges. Indeed, many members of the House talk about instances where individuals continue to face challenges, and I am not naive to that, but the fact is 11% is not just a number in the House. That 11% represents the lives of individuals who have been supported and aided by the government programs we put in place, and I am certainly proud to stand on this side of the House, which has been part of making that happen.
I will now compare and contrast. I mentioned earlier that it was the Conservative Party that had increased the old age security threshold to 67. We, of course, brought that back down to age 65. I had the privilege of sitting in the House in the 43rd Parliament. I had the opportunity to hear a unanimous consent motion that came from the Bloc Québécois, perhaps an opposition day motion, that talked about increasing old age security by $110 across the board for every senior.
I voted against the motion, not on the idea that we should not be supporting seniors, but sometimes it is easy for opposition members in the House to say things and not really give a full reflection of the cost of the programs. I had the opportunity to tell the Bloc members what they did not say in that motion, which is that it would be an $8-billion expense per year, at a time when the fiscal framework is under duress.
I offered to my Bloc colleagues that, if they want to make those types of suggestions in the House, I hope it is also coming with concrete measures on how to grow the economy and increase government revenue to pay for it.
On the Conservative side of the House, the Conservative Party will often say this government is spending too much money. As someone who identifies as a business Liberal, that is fair by me. If we want to be able to rein in spending, it is important we remain fiscally prudent, but at the same time, how do we make sure we support those individuals who are vulnerable?
We are talking about programs. We are talking about a $700-million measure. How do Conservative members square the fact that they want less spending, but they also want us to do more in certain areas? Perhaps it is do more for seniors and do less elsewhere. I do not know, but those are some of the legitimate challenges we, as parliamentarians, face. How do we balance fiscal prudence versus also supporting lower-income individuals who could use help?
Those are my thoughts. I am happy to take questions from my hon. colleagues.
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Mr. Speaker, it is indeed a pleasure to join the debate in the House today on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people to discuss proceedings on Bill C-12, an act to amend the Old Age Security Act. The bill would exempt pandemic relief benefits from the calculation of the guaranteed income supplement, or the GIS, and allowance benefits, beginning in July 2022.
As members know, our government acted swiftly to be there for Canadians when the pandemic first hit our communities. Our number one priority was to make sure that all Canadians were protected. The Canada emergency response benefit was put in place very quickly in 2020 to help people avoid catastrophic income loss during COVID. The CERB and then the Canada recovery benefit did just that. It helped millions of Canadians. Some low-income working seniors relied on pandemic relief benefits, as they too were eligible and could not continue working. These are the people we are focused on today, like the seniors in my riding of Scarborough—Agincourt who have called my office with questions. This is the answer for them.
The Minister of Seniors heard all seniors across the country and she brought forward a bill, but these benefits are now, unfortunately, having an impact on some vulnerable seniors. We therefore introduced Bill C-12 to mitigate those impacts going forward. This is a simple yet very significant amendment. Bill C-12 understands that when this unpredictable global public health crisis hit and we rolled out pandemic benefits quickly, the benefits were not intended to impact monthly low-income benefits. We explained that they would be taxable income. However, low-income seniors were trying to make ends meet at the time of crisis.
I would say this is a non-partisan cause, and it is proactive, automatic and has spinoff benefits. This would help keep more GIS recipients on the provincial benefits they rely on as well. This is a point that means a great deal to seniors regarding dental and housing benefits in some provinces, like Ontario.
While we have committed to fully compensating those affected seniors with a one-time, automatic, non-taxable payment, the pandemic is not over. Seniors' livelihoods were affected in 2021 and now even into 2022. Seniors depended on the Canada recovery benefit, Canada worker lockdown benefit, Canada recovery sickness benefit and many other pandemic supports. Bill C-12 gives a chance to the parties opposite to help us restore some hope for seniors. This is a matter that we can all get behind. This is an opportunity for all members of the House to show that they do in fact care for the most vulnerable and for Canada's seniors who built this country.
Seniors want to see government respond to the issues raised by stakeholders and those who are affected. Some affected seniors only lost a small amount of GIS, while some were taken off entirely. There is a range of situations. That is why evidence-based targeted approaches are the right solution to compensating affected seniors.
Let us remind ourselves that every July, an individual's entitlement for the GIS or the allowance is reassessed based on the individual's income or the combined income of a couple, as reported on their tax return. July is fast approaching, so the timing on this is very important. Tax season has once again begun and the GIS will be recalculated this July. That is why we need to ensure the bill is passed immediately so that low-income seniors, like the ones in Scarborough—Agincourt, are not affected for a second or third time for that matter. I want to remind seniors to file their taxes to ensure that their benefits will continue.
Let me be clear. Parliamentary processes are important to this government. We respect the House, but we are also concerned for our seniors who are worrying right now. We ask all members to help us strike this balance. We can uphold the processes of Parliament and have the backs of low-income seniors.
We have worked very hard and engaged with members from all parties on this very pressing matter from the very beginning. The Minister of Seniors engaged with her critics. From tabling this bill to technical briefings to second reading, we are ensuring that the bill goes through vigorous processes and analysis.
Just yesterday, although the minister was at the human resources committee to speak particularly on her mandate letter, she dedicated a significant amount of time speaking about Bill C-12 and answering any questions members had.
We did not just want to provide a quick fix. We wanted to ensure seniors would not be facing such a loss or reduction in benefits again. Bill C-12 would permanently exempt federal pandemic benefits from the calculation of GIS or allowance benefits, beginning in July 2022, which would prevent this from happening again. To be clear, the following benefits would be exempt: the Canada emergency response benefit, including any CERB amount 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 this problem never happens again.
Bill C-12 would make an important legislative change that would provide seniors with the certainty and peace of mind that, in the future, they would receive the GIS and allowance benefits to which they are entitled, without the need for a one-time payment. This bill is simple and understandable. I could easily read the bill to the House to showcase its simplicity. There is no fine print.
Moreover, this is not the first time an amendment would be made to the Old Age Security Act. In fact, it underwent its first big important amendment in 1966. That was the amendment that created the guaranteed income supplement, the very mechanism we are dealing with today in Bill C-12. The idea of this mechanism was always to support the lowest-income and most vulnerable seniors. We all agree that prioritizing them is the right approach. Seniors who took these benefits need a quick response to keep them confident that their financial security will be protected. This is what we are here for.
This is what I hope opposition parties will join us in doing today. All parties have already agreed that this is the most pressing or one of the top priorities for them because it relates to vulnerable, low-income seniors. This would mean to me that all members should explicitly show support for Bill C-12 and move it ahead quickly.
Seniors deserve nothing less than diligent and co-operative work in this regard. As parliamentarians and Canadians, we owe this to our seniors, and I hope we can all get behind Bill C-12.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join members virtually from Brampton West, which is situated on the traditional territory of the Anishinabe, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee, Ojibwa and Chippewa people, the land that is home to the Métis and the territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit.
I will be sharing my time with my excellent colleague and parliamentary secretary, the member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour.
I am pleased to speak on Bill C-12, an act to amend the Old Age Security Act, Guaranteed Income Supplement.
Simply, this bill would exempt pandemic relief benefits from the calculation of the guaranteed income supplement or allowance benefits beginning in July, 2022. Allow me to explain this short, simple and clear piece of legislation a little more and expand on why we are proposing this amendment.
As hon. members may know, and they surely know, when this pandemic first began in early 2020 our government moved very quickly to provide an unprecedented response to a once-in-a-lifetime crisis. We left no stone unturned to help Canadians, from workers to businesses to students to, indeed, seniors.
We did that through introducing pandemic benefits, such as the Canada emergency response benefit and the Canada recovery benefit, to support employed and self-employed people who lost jobs during the pandemic so that they could have a roof over their heads and food on their tables. All of these measures helped millions of Canadians avoid catastrophic income loss. In fact, let me remind the House that $8 out of every $10 that was spent during this pandemic was invested through our federal government. We also know that these benefits are having an impact on some of our most vulnerable seniors.
To start, I would like to remind my hon. colleagues that the guaranteed income supplement is an income-tested benefit payable to low-income seniors who receive the old age security pension. The allowances are income-tested benefits that are payable to 60- to 64-year-olds who are the spouses or common-law partners of GIS recipients, or who are widows or widowers. Every July, an individual's entitlement to these income-tested benefits is reassessed based on their income or the combined income of a couple.
I want to highlight this, as I have heard during debate in the House some members from the Bloc ask why it is in July. It is because July is when income benefits are reassessed, based on the income of the previous year. Therefore, GIS and allowance payments can increase, decrease or even cease according to the changes in a person's annual net income from the previous year.
Let me also clarify for the House that old age security is not income tested, which means that seniors continue to receive it every year. It is not reassessed based on an individual's previous income. In fact, our pension system is designed to reflect the cost of living, with payments only ever increasing or staying the same. They actually never go down. This is something I have heard members from the Conservative Party speak to and debate: that somehow a senior's OAS was impacted by these pandemic benefits. That is simply not the case. Seniors continue to receive their old age security.
The Income Tax Act defines pandemic relief benefits as taxable income, which means that they have also been considered income when determining entitlement to the GIS or allowance benefits. Unfortunately, that means that some seniors receiving GIS may now be facing lower benefit payments because of the income they received from these pandemic benefits.
We recognize that some seniors were facing significant challenges as a result of this, and we needed to move quickly to rectify the situation. I can tell the House that we moved very quickly with our extraordinary public servants to look at all the options possible. We worked very closely with the Minister of Finance, and we did just that.
As a first step towards resolving this issue, we proposed to provide up to $742.4 million for one-time payments. These payments would help to alleviate the financial hardship for GIS and allowance recipients who received pandemic relief benefits in 2020 and saw their GIS affected as a result. This automatic, non-taxable, one-time payment would support those who saw a decrease in their GIS or allowance payments by compensating them for the full annualized loss amount.
We are going to fully compensate seniors for their loss of GIS or allowance benefits, and we are making it simple. Seniors would not need to take any action to receive their one-time payments. These payments would be provided to approximately 204,000 seniors who qualified to receive the CERB or similar benefits in 2020, and as I announced yesterday, we are now going to be able to deliver payments to those who saw their GIS reduced in 2020 ahead of schedule. It will be as early as April 19. To support those seniors in dire need, members of Parliament will be able to work with Service Canada to help those seniors even sooner.
However, we will not stop there. We do not just want to compensate those who saw reductions in the past, because we know seniors continued to struggle to make ends meet and navigate the pandemic into 2021. Some seniors are still facing financial difficulties and relying on benefits to support themselves, and we want to ensure that seniors will not be facing a loss or reduction in benefits again. That is precisely why we introduced this simple but significant piece of legislation.
Bill C-12 would exempt federal pandemic benefits from the calculation of GIS or allowance benefits beginning in July, 2022. 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 peace of mind and certainty in knowing they will not face any undue financial hardship if they continue to access pandemic relief benefits.
As Canadians know, the well-being of seniors, especially the most vulnerable, has been a priority for our government since 2015. I will remind the House of some of the measures our government has put in place and some of our priorities moving forward. We made seniors' financial well-being a top priority. One of the very first things we did as a government was restore the age of eligibility for OAS and GIS to 65 from 67. We also increased the guaranteed income supplement, which has helped over 900,000 low-income single seniors and has lifted 45,000 seniors out of poverty. We have enhanced the CPP, which was mirrored by the QPP.
We are also moving forward with our plan to increase the OAS pension by 10% for seniors aged 75 or over in July, 2022. This increase will provide an extra $766 to full pensioners over the first year. To help address the urgent needs of this group of seniors, we provided a one-time payment of $500 last summer. We provided this one-time payment to support older seniors who face higher financial pressures, because we know that as they age seniors tend to have lower incomes and often face higher health-related expenses, all while they are more likely to be unable to work, to have disabilities or to be widowed. Simply, we followed the facts and evidence. We understand seniors' needs grow as they age, and we are there to support them. Of course, a big part of my mandate is to increase the guaranteed income supplement by $500 for single seniors and $750 for couples.
During the pandemic, the focus of our support was always on people. We helped millions of Canadians with pandemic supports and benefits. We delivered direct payments to seniors and families, and when we saw that some seniors were affected by this, we took action to support vulnerable seniors who experienced reductions in their GIS or allowance as a result. With Bill C-12, we can ensure that low-income seniors would not have to face a reduction in their GIS or allowance benefits again if they took them in 2021, or if they find they need to access relief benefits in the future.
As I have said, this pandemic has worsened many challenges facing the most vulnerable seniors and those who care for them. We are constantly working hard to find permanent solutions that will bring ongoing comfort and relief to people whose hard work, and in many cases sacrifice, has contributed to the Canada we are so proud and privileged to call home.
Seniors deserve nothing less than the best from us. They do not need delays or political games at this crucial moment, and I really hope all members in the House will join us in moving quickly to pass this bill.
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Mr. Speaker, through you, allow me to also thank the hon. member for her advocacy and certainly her commitment to help seniors. I know we have worked closely together since I became the minister on this particular file, and I really want to take an opportunity to thank her for her work.
I think we all agree that it is important for us to move forward on this bill quickly, and on just how challenging this pandemic has been for those most vulnerable seniors. This is why we proposed this bill. It is short, concise and very clear. It is going to exempt pandemic relief benefits from the calculation of the GIS or allowance benefits beginning in 2022 so that the seniors who took these benefits last year will have the security and surety that their GIS will not be impacted.
As the member knows, we have always had a very collaborative relationship with our provincial and territorial counterparts, and we are going to continue to build on that relationship and make sure our seniors are supported.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, the hon. minister, for splitting her time with me tonight.
It is with tremendous pleasure that I virtually rise in the House this evening to talk about Bill C-12, an act to amend the Old Age Security Act, guaranteed income supplement, at this very important second reading stage. Before I do so, I would like to acknowledge that I am joining the debate from the traditional territory of the Mi'kmaq people.
To echo the words of the hon. Minister of Seniors, the purpose of Bill C-12 is very simple. This bill would permanently exempt pandemic benefits from the calculation of the guaranteed income supplement, the GIS, or allowance benefits starting as of July 2022. As we have heard discussed by my hon. colleagues today during a very thorough debate, our government has a plan in place to get direct compensation to seniors who experienced reductions in their GIS previously. This is not enough, however. We know that we will find ourselves back in the same position four months from now if further action is not taken immediately. We have heard agreement on this from all parties who share our concern in preventing this problem from ever happening again.
The Canada emergency recovery benefit and the Canada recovery benefit continue to play an important role in supporting Canadians who were unable to work throughout 2021 and protecting so many from crippling income loss. To allow pandemic benefits like this to continue being effective and to avoid negative impacts on seniors, Bill C-12 would provide the reassurance seniors need to continue collecting the financial support they need, if they need to do so.
Our government has also helped seniors in many ways beyond direct emergency benefit payments and tax relief. We invested $100 million to improve access to food for Canadians, including seniors facing social, economic and health impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We created a $350-million emergency community support fund to support charities and non-profit organizations to adapt the services that they provide to vulnerable groups, including seniors, in response to COVID-19.
When COVID hit, we had already approved many New Horizons for Seniors projects. As the pandemic's effects became clearer, we gave organizations the flexibility to adapt previously approved projects and use their funding to provide support for seniors' needs specific to COVID-19. In addition, in March of 2020, we invested an additional $9 million via the New Horizons for Seniors program to support projects by community organizations serving seniors. In May of 2020, we invested a further $20 million to expand the New Horizons for Seniors program to support organizations that offer community-based projects that reduce isolation, improve the quality of life of seniors and help them maintain a very important social support network.
It is a sad reality that the COVID pandemic has brought isolation to the lives of so many of our most vulnerable senior citizens. With isolation to stay safe at home, seniors have had challenges maintaining their physical and mental health. Seniors built the Canada that we know and love today and they deserve our support to live with dignity. That sense of vulnerability is real and cannot be overstated. It is why our government has dug deep and continues to dig deep to find ways to address those fears and bring some element of comfort to those deprived of basic securities that most of us take for granted.
To support seniors to live in their homes for longer as they age, we committed to providing $90 million for the age well at home initiative. The initiative would assist senior-serving organizations in providing practical support that helps low-income and otherwise vulnerable seniors age in their homes. It would match seniors with volunteers who can help with meal preparations, home maintenance, daily errands, yardwork, transportation, just name it. It would also help seniors access local services such as shovelling snow, cutting grass, picking up medicine and taking care of other practical non-medical tasks that they are no longer able to manage.
In budget 2021, we provided $3 billion to Health Canada to support provinces and territories in ensuring standards for long-term care are applied and permanent changes are made so that seniors who live in care live in safe and dignified conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted long-standing challenges in Canada's long-term care homes, as the Minister of Seniors knows all too well.
Gaps have been exposed in infection prevention and control, staffing and infrastructure, with tragic effects on residents, their families and those working in long-term care facilities. That is why, in the 2020 fall economic statement, the Government of Canada committed up to $1 billion for the safe long-term care fund to help provinces and territories support infection prevention and control, through making improvements to ventilation, hiring additional staff and topping up wages.
We are also committed to affordable housing. We plan to build, repair and support an additional 35,000 affordable housing units for vulnerable Canadians, including seniors. This is part of the national housing strategy, which is on track to invest $70 billion by 2027-28 to help more Canadians find an affordable place to call home.
We are working to improve access to palliative care and end-of-life care, including culturally sensitive care by providing $29.8 million over six years to Health Canada to advance the government's palliative care strategy and lay a better foundation for coordinated action on long-term care and supportive care needs.
We are also supporting seniors and Canadians' mental health by providing $100 million to the Public Health Agency of Canada to support projects for innovative mental health interventions for populations disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, including seniors. We have invested $50 million for the Public Health Agency of Canada to design and deliver interventions that promote safe relationships and prevent family violence, including elder abuse.
These are just some of the supports that our government has provided to improve the lives and financial situation of our Canadian seniors. We will continue to look at ways, in co-operation with all members in the House, to improve our supports and services for seniors.
Our government has been there time and again for seniors across Canada. The pandemic has highlighted the many challenges facing our most vulnerable seniors. We have done a lot, but here is an area where we still have a bit more to do. It is time for all members of the House to put aside politics and focus on why we are here as members of Parliament, delivering for Canadians in need of help.
I am hoping that all hon. colleagues in this House will join with us to pass this bill when it comes to a second reading vote.
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Mr. Speaker, when we suggested some improvements to the short Bill C‑12, I heard some Liberal Party members talk about how making improvements is partisan. That explains a lot. I am starting to understand them more.
I can be slow to catch on, so I would appreciate it if my colleague could explain why, after seniors have endured 21 months of reduced benefits, it is partisan to ask for the payment to be adjusted as of March.
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Madam Speaker, the member so clearly laid out the structural challenges that the federal government has created and that Nunavummiut face. Every time I hear her speak in this chamber, I am always struck by what a strong and powerful advocate she is for her territory.
In my riding there are seniors who have lost access to provincial benefits because of the GIS clawback. For example, the rental assistance program SAFER requires recipients to be on GIS. However, the impact of CERB repayment requirements on people who are on income assistance have an even more dire impact because of the government's miscommunication on CERB.
Could the member speak a bit more about the difference it would make for Nunavummiut seniors and elders to have amnesty when it comes to CERB repayments?
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