The big concern here is that when individuals while working are making contributions as low-income individuals, they're not going to reap the same rewards as a higher-income senior when they start to pick up their CPP. This was the interaction with the GIS that Richard was pointing to as well. What was done in negotiating with the provinces was to slightly raise the wage subsidy that comes with the working income tax benefit in order to balance this out.
In concept, I think this is a good idea. We're basically prepaying future pensions with today's tax dollars rather than passing that cost on to the next generation. I think this makes a lot of sense.
The problem, of course, is that our working income tax benefit has a very small base. If you work full time at the minimum wage, you are going to be ineligible for that support. You would be someone who is likely to end up using the GIS down the road.
Generally, I suggest moving away from the working income tax benefit and thinking about how to support that type of contribution to CPP now, or perhaps further expand the working income tax benefit so that more low-income workers will be eligible for the subsidy.