Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, everyone.
First I'm going to speak to Ms. Westlund.
I'm very sensitive to all the issues concerning assistance for seniors and fairness within the various classes of society. However, I don't think the recommendation that RRSP and RPP deductions be converted to tax credits is a good path to take. In the case of RRSPs, what is called a tax credit is not a tax exemption, but a tax deferred. As a result, when people claim a tax refund, those who have larger incomes receive more than individuals in the less well-to-do classes. On the other hand, when they retire, when they withdraw the money from their RRSPs, these people obviously pay more tax than those who have invested less in their RRSPs.
I think this deferred tax system should be preserved. However, other measures are of much greater concern to me, among other things the fact that the Guaranteed Income Supplement is not fully reimbursed to seniors on a retroactive basis. That seems to me to represent much larger amounts. The program that you're proposing would not constitute a saving: it would simply amount to deferred taxes.
However, in the case of the Guaranteed Income Supplement, this is net money that the victims of this problem still don't have and that is owed to them. If a person has owed the government money for five years because he or she has failed to pay taxes, the government will inform that person of the fact and go back. However, if the government owes a senior the equivalent of five years of the Guaranteed Income Supplement, that person is only given the equivalent of 11 months of benefits.
Were you aware of that? Does that issue concern you as a group?