Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, I come somewhat with of a feeling of cynicism to appear in front of this committee. As an advocate of many years, I've appeared in front of committees similar to yours time and time again. As a matter of fact, as president of the National Pensioners and Senior Citizens Federation, I know that over the last three years you must have been in receipt of briefs we've submitted, briefs in which we've talked in great detail about the question of poverty.
Poverty among seniors is increasing. It's quite true that when you look at the statistics in terms of seniors' income, it's at a historical high, but, as they say, figures sometimes hide the truth. Seniors' poverty is increasing, especially among women.
I don't have to tell you--it's no great secret, and you know it yourself--that if a spouse passes away and the couple lived on guaranteed income supplements, the income is reduced to half, but the expenses remain very close to the same. Therefore it's no great secret why you'll find that the largest percentage increase in homelessness is now among seniors. I don't have to tell you that if you look at how a nation is judged, it's really judged on how it treats the most vulnerable people in its society.
As I said, we come in front of the committees and we know what has to be done. Basically, what has to be done is that you have to provide sufficient resources for people to meet their obligations to live a relatively normal life. How that is done is very simple: you have to increase income. The way you increase income is basically by increasing the guaranteed income supplement to a level that gives people enough resources to be able to function properly.
We know that every time the government is asked to increase income for people in the lower income bracket, they say, “Well, look at the cost”. But I also don't have to tell you that when you look at federal income as part of the GNP, it's been declining.
If you look at the question of the distribution of taxes, you will find that at one time, in the days of Minister Benson as finance minister, we saw a situation in which taxes were raised on the basis of approximately 44% from individual taxpayers, 44% from business, and the rest from fees and duties. You have given up the value of the federal finances to the extent that you can no longer meet the obligations to the most vulnerable people in our society, and it's just about time for that to stop. It has to be reversed.
Our organization, because we are concerned with seniors, feels that what is necessary is, in the first instance, an increase in the GIS to make sure that between the GIS and the OAS you have sufficient income to meet the necessities of life. Second, we feel that the time has come for a doubling of the CPP, because we have seen a great number of seniors finding themselves in poverty because of the meltdown that has taken place.
We also found out that the seniors who have gone into the market in terms of RRSPs are finding out that the accrued savings they get are only half what they expected, because the other half is used by service fees charged by the operators of these funds. In comparison, the cost of administering the CPP is less than half what it costs to administer RSPs and other securities. Therefore, I really think it's important to do these things.
On the other hand, when we talk about poverty, a lot of people talk about child poverty. Well, you know, when you talk about child poverty, you should be talking about family poverty. For instance, we found out among seniors that the only place the trickle-down theory really works in economics is from grandparents to grandchildren and children. We seniors are being called on more and more, because family incomes have either been static or declining. The pressure on seniors' incomes is becoming greater and greater.
Now, these are some of the difficulties, but let me tell you, I think these things can be overcome. I think what has to also stop is poor people being maligned. The difference between being poor and rich, in most instances, is just plain luck. Therefore, I think we shouldn't look upon it as welfare; it should be looked upon as assisting people who weren't quite as lucky as we were.
Again, I would refer you back to the brief we submitted. It's in your office. It describes in great detail how we feel poverty should be addressed and what is necessary to again bring some humanity into the process.
We go to church on Sunday, or we go to the mosque, or we go to the temple on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday we forget all about it. We forget that we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers. I'm sorry--maybe I'm the oldest here in this room--but I'd better remind you of it.
Mr. Chairman, I'm open to questions.