44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 15, 2022 10:00AM
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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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—
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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—
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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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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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