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Decentralized Democracy

Member of Parliament

Lisa Marie Barron

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of Parliament
  • NDP
  • Nanaimo—Ladysmith
  • British Columbia
  • Voting Attendance: 66%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $144,270.93

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 303 - Apr/19/24
Ms. Lisa Marie Barron (Nanaimo—Ladysmith, NDP)
  • Apr/19/24 12:17:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to present a petition. I want to first thank the Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners, in particular Ian Andexser, who is a constituent in my riding. Over 113,000 British pensioners living in Canada are currently receiving a frozen U.K. pension. In the last two years, the U.K. state pension has increased 18.6% to keep up with inflation, yet British pensioners in Canada are receiving a 0% increase. Canada annually indexes the CPP for Canadians who live in the U.K., so there is no reciprocity. Recently, the U.K. sought the support of Canada to join the CPTPP, which was willing given, yet Canada has requested an end to this one-sided arrangement five times in the last 10 years. Overall, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada who receive a U.K. pension, or who will be eligible to draw a U.K. pension in the future, call upon the Government of Canada to seek a meeting with officials in the U.K. government to negotiate a stand-alone social security agreement to include the upgrading of U.K. pensions.
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Context: House Hansard - 86 - Jun/10/22
Ms. Lisa Marie Barron (Nanaimo—Ladysmith, NDP)
  • Jun/10/22 2:09:27 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to rise today to discuss such an important issue. I am disappointed, to be frank, that my colleague across the floor did not support my colleague's amendment to add a much-needed guaranteed livable basic income to this motion. We know seniors are asking for real solutions. Across Canada, more and more seniors are struggling to make ends meet. Despite a lifetime of hard work and contributions to our communities, seniors are unsure how they are going to pay for their groceries, keep a roof over their head and pay their bills. Is this the example we wish to show our children? It is shameful. Seniors deserve to retire with dignity. In my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith, seniors represent almost a quarter of our population. Too many seniors in our communities are struggling to make ends meet. In Nanaimo, for example, the average cost of a two-bedroom apartment has more than doubled over the last six years. An average one-bedroom rental now costs over $1,500 a month. For seniors living on a fixed income, these costs mean cuts elsewhere, such as in groceries or their life-saving medications. Seniors cannot wait for relief. Why do we keep talking about study after study when we know seniors need action now? Seniors contacting my office have been clear: They want to be treated with dignity and be able to afford to get by. That is why I am so glad that my NDP colleague put forward this amendment for a guaranteed livable basic income so that seniors can be treated with the respect they deserve. I hope that this conversation and this solution continue after this debate today. Seniors with British citizenship in Nanaimo—Ladysmith and across Canada, as another example, are losing their hard-earned money every month. This is the result of their U.K. pensions being frozen because they live in Canada. If they still lived in the U.K. or almost anywhere else in the world, these pensions would be indexed and would continue to increase year after year, but because Canada never reached an agreement with the U.K., these pensions have been frozen. Pat, a well-loved and respected 91-year-old constituent in Nanaimo—Ladysmith, continues to contribute in our communities in so many ways. Pat grew up in New Malden, U.K. She left school and went to work at 16 years of age, paying into the U.K. pension plan for two decades before coming to Canada. She began drawing her pension at retirement, as one would expect, and has been receiving the same amount every month for 30 years, which is about 119 pounds or $190 Canadian per month. As a result, Pat lives well below the poverty line and struggles to make ends meet. I want to acknowledge all those advocating to the government to finally do better for the 127,000 and counting British pensioners in Canada, such as Ian Andexser, the president of the Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners and a constituent in my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith. This is not a new problem. Ian and many others have been advocating a change for decades. Most recently, he called the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development to ensure that these frozen pensions are part of Canada's ongoing trade talks with the United Kingdom. While the government chooses inaction on this issue, contributing members of our communities are the ones left to suffer. This is not good enough. As I conclude my remarks today, I want to thank the member opposite again for making sure that the struggles seniors are facing are recognized and discussed in this chamber. While I agree that the motion has the best of intentions, I want to stress that seniors who are losing their homes or skipping meals because they cannot afford their groceries should not have to wait for another study on this issue. We know that the government can and should do more to be there for seniors. I really hope that the government reconsiders the NDP amendment to add the guaranteed livable basic income and ensure that we are finding real solutions so that every senior in Canada is able to live with dignity. Another issue that is coming forward in my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith is around supporting seniors during the pandemic. When the pandemic hit, many seniors believed that their support system from the government would be there for them. The pandemic revealed that this was not the case, unfortunately. One example of this occurred when seniors who relied upon the guaranteed income supplement, and rightfully accessed CERB during the pandemic, saw their benefits clawed back the next year. Despite seniors and advocates raising this concern for months, and the NDP pushing the government to do better, the government sat on its hands for months before addressing this problem. While I am glad to see that the government has moved forward to begin addressing the problem, it should never have come to this. As members can see, there are endless tangible items that are being brought forward by seniors to my office. Seniors are asking us to make sure that we are putting in place solutions that afford them the dignity and respect that they deserve. I am apprehensive and concerned that we continue to implement study after study and we are not seeing that action necessary for seniors be put into place. I hope that we start seeing those actions put into place, and I thank the member again for the motion.
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