SoVote

Mar/8/23 6:22:08 p.m.
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Re: Bill S-209

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Clearly, this was just an oversight by the member. I believe, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to return to the individual who was supposed to speak, the member for Edmonton Manning, so he can continue.

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Context: House Hansard - 166 - Mar/8/23

Mr. Mark Gerretsen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate), Lib.)

Mar/8/23 7:18:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I really enjoy this new line from Conservatives asking Liberals to get out of the way so they can do the job. It is as though they have completely given up on the democratic process, and they realize that they are never going to get elected to the position, so they are just asking the government to step aside and attacking it that way. Nonetheless, it is quite rich for the member to go on at great length about the fact that this government has not been there for seniors when I will read for members a number of the things, which have been repeated so many times in the House, that we have done. In advance of that, I remind those people who are watching that Conservatives voted against every single one of these initiatives that we brought forward. Therefore, to suggest that the government has not been there, but somehow Conservatives have had the backs of seniors is a no. Conservatives had much more interest in playing politics around these issues than in providing anything of substance. However, the member is right that the rising grocery costs are a problem and inflation is a worry on everybody's mind. While we know that inflation is a global issue, making sure that Canadians can make ends meet is a priority. In this context, the Government of Canada has stepped in. We have ramped up supports for seniors. In fact, we made history last July with the new permanent 10% increase to the OAS pension, the first in 50 years for seniors over the age of 75. Thanks to the increase, full pensioners will get more than $800 extra over the first year. That will go a long way toward groceries. What is more, eligible seniors have not had to fill out any forms or take any action to receive the increase. They are automatically receiving it. Because all OAS benefits are indexed quarterly, they maintain their value over time as prices increase. This new historic measure is just one of the ways that we have seniors' backs. Since 2015, as I alluded a few moments ago, we have provided a number of measures. Allow me to reiterate what those are. We increased the guaranteed income supplement for nearly one million low-income single seniors. We have restored the age of eligibility for GIS and OAS from 67. Members might remember that the member's previous government increased the qualifying age. Imagine paying into these programs over one's entire working career and planning on retiring at age 65, and then suddenly, just before they get to the finish line, the government of the day says it was going to move it to age 67. Well, we restored it to 65. We also enhanced the Canada pension plan. We reduced income taxes through increases to the basic personal amount. During the pandemic, we provided seniors with one-time payments to help with extra costs. Finally, budget 2022 committed an extra $500 to the Canada housing benefit and doubled the GST credit for six months. As the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance said on February 13: Thanks to measures put in place by our government, hundreds of thousands of seniors have been lifted out of poverty, as have hundreds of thousands of Canadian children. We have done that while maintaining Canada's AAA credit rating and having the lowest debt and the lowest deficit in the G7.

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Context: House Hansard - 166 - Mar/8/23

Mr. Mark Gerretsen

Mar/8/23 7:23:01 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will admit that, from time to time, I rise in the House and some of the words that come out of my mouth might not be to their satisfaction in answering the question asked by a member opposite. However, I would encourage this member to review my answer because I gave a very thorough one. These are not one-time payments. We restored the age of eligibility for GIS and OAS from 67 to 65. We enhanced the Canada pension plan. We reduced income taxes. Yes, during the pandemic there was a one-time payment, but we did so many other things. For him to cherry-pick that one data point and not listen to my complete answer is very telling of where the Conservatives are on this issue.

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