44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 29, 2022 10:00AM
- Sep/29/22 10:20:01 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to hear from the Leader of the Opposition. The Conservatives keep coming back to the same issue, one that is very important. No one is denying that. However, it seems to me that there is a lack of constructive solutions.
Would my colleague be open to increasing benefits for seniors on fixed incomes? The Bloc Québécois has been trying to hammer home this point for several months in Parliament and the government has not responded. Given inflation rates, which are particularly affecting food prices, we should help seniors by increasing the old age security pension. The agricultural community also needs more support, considering that the cost of gasoline has increased.
I would like to hear some constructive comments from my colleague.
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- Sep/29/22 10:49:05 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, one of the things I have been hearing a lot lately from seniors in northwest B.C. is how difficult it is to make ends meet on a fixed income, how their pensions, old age security is insufficient to cover the basic costs of living.
So many people have asked me when their public pension will increase to the point where they can afford the basics, where they can have the dignity of being able to pay for rent, medication and the things that so many of us take for granted.
Could the parliamentary secretary outline his government's plans, if indeed it has them, to finally increase the public pensions to a point where people can have the dignity of a basic income to pay for the things they need?
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- Sep/29/22 11:02:02 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question.
Although I take French lessons three times a week, I will answer in English to ensure my comments are clear.
It is important to have a place, in the House, where we can debate the minutia and the details of the importance of a strong social safety net. That is why I appreciate the high-level question and debate from my hon. member.
We all agree, in the House, that a strong social safety net is really important so people can rely on a pension. It is just disappointing that some members in the House, who, let us confront it, have a really strong pension due to their work here in the House of Commons, would deny Canadians the very same.
I think it is so important that we stand up for Canadians and ensure they all have access to that security.
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- Sep/29/22 12:01:53 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to pick up on the member's comments in regard to CPP, because CPP, for many years under Stephen Harper, just sat idle. As the prime minister at the time, Stephen Harper refused to meet and work with the premiers to look at ways we could enhance retirement. One of the initiatives that was taken a number of years ago by this government was to work with the provinces to achieve an agreement on CPP.
However, Conservative members often refer to CPP as a tax. In fact, it is not a tax, as the member so rightly said. It is an investment by those individuals who are working today so that they will be able to have a healthier pension tomorrow when they retire.
I wonder if the member could provide her thoughts in regard to how the Conservatives want to label an investment in a future retirement simply as a tax in order to try to stir an emotional pot, which is so misleading.
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- Sep/29/22 12:20:11 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I share the frustration of my colleague from Edmonton Strathcona that the Conservatives seem intent on mischaracterizing pension contributions as taxes. Both of my parents are pensioners. One thing I hear about frequently from seniors in northwest B.C. is how difficult it is to make ends meet on old age security, on the minimal public pensions they receive.
Does my colleague from the Conservative Party agree, first, that Canada's seniors deserve a significant increase to old age security; and, second, that this increase should accrue not just to seniors over 75 but to all seniors?
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- Sep/29/22 1:33:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are hearing all sorts of things today, just like last Tuesday. It is more or less the same. I am not even sure where to start.
Does my colleague realize that the oil companies are a price-fixing cartel and that lowering taxes will simply increase their profit margin?
Look at the current inflation. Analyzing the numbers, it is clear that their profit margin has increased. This is not just because of nasty government taxes. What we need to do is to redistribute money to people in need. I would like to have an answer to that, because I have tried and tried, yet I have not gotten any response.
In the past, people in the Conservative Party seemed to agree with increasing old age pensions starting at age 65. That is a concrete measure to increase the standard of living for people who are struggling on a fixed income. Enough with the populism and combining all sorts of issues. We need a clear answer to the question.
Will they agree to increase the old age pension for those who are struggling to buy groceries today, yes or no?
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- Sep/29/22 1:50:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I take that to be a good faith question. I am not sure of the actual lapse of which the member speaks, but I can assure her that our EI system is a very important part of our social safety net. As we have seen, our government believes in supporting that social safety net.
The Conservatives continue to call it a payroll tax, which it absolutely is not. When we contribute to our pension and we make contributions to employment insurance, those are benefits of which we get to take advantage. They are not a tax in the usual sense of the word.
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- Sep/29/22 2:04:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, October 1 is the International Day of Older Persons.
It is an opportunity to recognize their diversity, but also to collectively reflect on their place in our society. In this inflation crisis, let us recognize that those on a fixed income are directly affected and need to see an increase in their old age security pension starting at 65.
Let us not leave them in a precarious financial position. We should also allow those who want to remain in the workplace to do so and give them some tax breaks. The Liberals prefer to impoverish seniors 65 to 75 so they will be forced to stay in the workforce.
In the Bloc Québécois, we are saying that seniors need to be treated as the driving forces behind their community. We owe them respect. They shaped Quebec. The benefits of intergenerational ties and active aging are being proven every day.
Let us take a day to reflect on everything that seniors bring to the table. We have a duty to treat them with the utmost consideration and ensure that their social safety net allows them to age with dignity.
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- Sep/29/22 2:44:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite just said that our CPP and EI contributions only serve the purpose of taking money out of the pockets of Canadians. Let us think about that for a minute. That is absolutely reckless. We contribute to the CPP so our seniors can have pensions when they retire. Not everyone is a member of Parliament. Not everyone has the pension that the members opposite and members on this side of the aisle enjoy. We need to be responsible. Canadians rely on their pensions.
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- Sep/29/22 3:01:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Deb, a constituent, found out she was being evicted from her affordable apartment due to Liberal inflation. She worked her whole life as a nurse, caring for others in need. Now, on a disability pension in her early sixties, she has no home security and a limited income that is being consistently eroded by new Liberal tax grabs.
Will the finance minister give Deb hope and dignity for a future where she can afford a home or will she condemn Deb to poverty in her senior years by tripling the tax on gas, heat and groceries?
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- Sep/29/22 4:01:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, lost in this conversation is the very fact that, when talking about employment insurance and pension copays, this is workers' money and contributions matched by their employers, yet we have a Liberal government that in the past raided these funds to balance the budget to the tune of $50 billion under Chrétien and Martin.
Would the hon. Liberal member agree with New Democrats that pensions and EI contributions need to be separated out of the general coffers and protected, because it was never the government's money to begin with? It was always the money of hard-working Canadians.
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