Mr. Speaker, a deceased man’s CPP survivor’s pension is taxed at 50% before it can help his disabled widow. Linda McGinness is my constituent, and she needs help. She’s on ODSP, but $400 a month of that is clawed back because of an $800-a-month CPP survivor’s pension provided by her late husband. So she ends up with a monthly income of $1,400, which is pretty much used up by shelter costs of $1,000 a month and $300 a month for utilities in winter. She’s been overlooked by this government’s stingy approach to ODSP in the face of rising costs of living. Would the government extend the $1,000 threshold for earned-income clawbacks to CPP survivors’ pensions?

Linda McGinness, the same constituent—her shelter situation is enormously impacted by this. She has the burden of living three houses away from Kingston’s Integrated Care Hub. That’s a consumption treatment centre with health care and social services. It anchors a community of people struggling with addictions. Unfortunately, the neighbourhood is also beset by drug-dealing and petty theft. To change this, municipalities need province-wide, predictable and sustained funding for supportive housing where treatments can be followed. While we wait, Linda McGinness is stuck. She can’t afford to move. She can’t afford to sell her house at a vastly depressed price. Will the government’s budget respond to this crisis and address Linda McGinness’s dilemma?