Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.
I would like to thank the members of the Standing Committee on Finance for inviting me to appear.
With over 535,000 members, the Réseau FADOQ is Canada's largest network of seniors. As the president of an organization that advocates for seniors' rights, I have to say that this crisis is tragic and certainly very alarming. The Réseau FADOQ believes that, sadly, many seniors have been left out of the government's measures.
As you know, people whose sole income consists of old age security benefits and the guaranteed income supplement have to live on barely $18,000 per year. Living on that amount was tough even before the pandemic.
The public health crisis is exacerbating people's financial distress because the cost of essential goods has gone up. In addition, isolation means that many older people have temporarily lost their support network, and that means added costs as well. Delivery services, for example, come at a price. In addition, many organizations have suspended their activities, forcing many seniors to use private services, also at an extra cost.
This is also the time of year when leases are renewed. That's another cost of living increase seniors have to absorb.
That's why the Réseau FADOQ is once again calling on the federal government to increase the financial support available to seniors through old age security or the guaranteed income supplement. Seniors should not have to choose between buying food and buying medicine.
When it comes to protecting people's financial assets, I have to say that reducing the minimum RRIF withdrawal by 25% has been given a lukewarm reception by our members. Not a day goes by that seniors don't contact us about this. Many investors feel that mandatory RRIF withdrawals should be abolished altogether for 2020. In addition, many are suggesting raising the age at which people must convert their RRSPs into RRIFs.
People are proposing these measures to minimize the impact of the stock market crash on the financial assets of many Canadian seniors.
Lastly, as president of the Réseau FADOQ, I see myself as the elephant in the room. A lot has been said about seniors' homes. The fact is that provinces are struggling because the federal government has been underfunding health care for a long time.
According to the Conference Board of Canada, in 2018-19, federal health transfers amounted to $38.5 billion while total spending for all Canadian provinces and territories was $174.5 billion. Health care costs eat up 40% of the provinces' and territories' budgets, but the Government of Canada covers just 22% of those expenses.
Also according to Conference Board of Canada data, the current rate of increase means that the federal share of health care costs will dip below 20% by 2026. That's why the Réseau FADOQ is calling on the federal government to reinstate pre-2017 indexation and increase the Canada health transfer by 6% annually.
The current Canada health transfer formula should also include a variable representing population aging by province and territory. Seniors deserve to be treated with dignity, and the provinces and territories must have the means to achieve that.
I'd like to thank the committee members for listening to our requests on behalf of seniors and taking them into consideration.