Thank you very much, Chair, and thank you to all of you for your presentations. It's a shame that we're running out of time.
I don't know if you're aware, but two years ago I had the privilege of introducing what we called the “Seniors Charter” on behalf of the NDP. One of the items we enumerated in that charter was the right to income security, and we didn't say income security for some seniors; we said the right to income security. That charter passed in this House and was unanimously supported by all the Conservative members in the House, as well as the Liberal members. I think this really is a test of what we meant when we voted that way. I really appreciate these presentations in that context.
I think it's important for us to be clear on what we're doing here. This bill is not going to make any senior rich. In fact, if seniors are eligible for the guaranteed income supplement, then by definition they're the neediest seniors in our community, so what we're really talking about here is alleviating poverty among some of the neediest seniors in our community.
I really appreciated the comments made by all of you in one way or another about the important contribution of seniors. You know, often we characterize seniors as feeble and fragile and don't appreciate the intergenerational learning, the contributions to stable family life, and the very vibrant contribution that seniors still make in our communities. I think it's in that context that we have to look at this bill.
Right now in Canada we've got a quarter of a million seniors living in poverty. Other than saying that I agree with you all and that I am proud to support this bill, my only question is to Mr. Chahal. I just want to give you an opportunity to clarify, because when you held up your citizenship card, I think you may have left the impression with some members of this committee that this bill would only apply to newcomers who are now citizens, and that's not my understanding of the bill; I think this bill applies to anyone who has landed immigrant status or who would otherwise be eligible for the OAS. If I'm right, I think it would be helpful if you would clarify that point for us.