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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 6

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 29, 2021 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 6 - Nov/29/21
Mr. Louis Plamondon
  • Nov/29/21 3:14:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, perhaps the minister wanted to show us that he could not be in the House in person because his bicycle had a flat tire?
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Context: House Hansard - 6 - Nov/29/21
Mr. Louis Plamondon (Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, BQ)
  • Nov/29/21 5:20:25 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-2 
Mr. Speaker, congratulations on your appointment. I had the honour of sitting beside you for two years. We do not applaud the same speakers, but we had a very good rapport, and I have fond memories of that. I would also like to congratulate the member for his very interesting speech, during which he raised a point about seniors who received financial assistance during the pandemic through the CERB. That assistance was added to their income, prompting the government to cut the amounts they were getting through the guaranteed income supplement. Some of those people were working one day a week or were self-employed and could earn up to $5,000 before their GIS was reduced. During the pandemic, since everything was closed and no one could work, government guidelines should have allowed these seniors to receive up to $5,000 in assistance from the CERB before their GIS was cut. This would have been a big help to people who were previously receiving $5,000, $6,000, $7,000 or $8,000 in GIS payments. Moreover, even if these people had received too much money, we could have been more humane by spreading the recovery of the overpayment over two or three years instead of one year. This would have allowed some people to survive, as some lost their entire GIS benefit for working one or two days before receiving the CERB. Does my colleague not agree that the government should adopt this solution?
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