I would like to go back to the argument that we absolutely have to act now because it will be impossible for the cost increases to be assumed by the government or by all Canadians.
The information confirmed by the government was that the amount that will be saved by these measures in 2030 will be about $10.8 billion. In 2030. In today's dollars, that means about $6 or $6.5 billion.
The GST reductions that the Conservative government has put in place since it was elected in 2006 amount to two per cent. As the government says, the GST has gone from 7% to 5%. That was a cost to the treasury. Each one per cent is between $4 and $6 billion, to be on the safe side. So the amount that the government is no longer collecting because of the two per cent reduction in the GST is between $8 and $12 billion. The government made the choice to reduce the GST by two per cent, costing the public purse between $8 and $12 billion per year. And yet it comes up with a plan, not announced or debated during the election campaign, that increases the age of eligibility for old age security, which will save $6 billion per year in today's dollars.
Governing means making choices, and the Conservative government has made its choices. With the harmonized sales tax, it chose to give tax reductions for which our retired Canadians are going to have to pay by working two years longer. Someone who is 53 today will receive $12,000 less in old age security than someone who is 54 today, given that the change goes into effect in 2023.
So please do not tell me that the current program cannot be paid for by Canadians as a whole. As has been mentioned, the OECD has shown that it can. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said so too. The chief actuary of the Canada Pension Plan, who also looks after the books of the old age security program, has also shown that things can be adjusted without resorting to such draconian measures.
We completely agree with the need to deal with the question of demographic change. But this measure alone does not address the situation and does not represent an overall assessment of the situation. It is just one action in one of the programs that provides economic security for our retired Canadians. It simply scratches the surface of the larger problem we have to come to grips with.
In those terms, the argument that we cannot afford the program at the moment and that we absolutely have to increase the age of eligibility makes no sense, given the choices the government has made in the past.
According to the Chief Actuary of Canada, the cost increase of the program, as a percentage of the GDP, is about 1%. And that 1% is being used to justify taking away $12,000 in income from people currently under 53, while those 54 or older can keep it.
Nothing has been done to convince the opposition, Canadians and Quebeckers that this scheme is fair and appropriate.
That's it.