Good morning, honourable members of the House of Commons. Thank you for inviting me to participate in these hearings.
My name is Ben Catenaccio. I'm appearing here as an individual. I am a 78-year-old senior who came to Canada from Italy in 1967 at the age of 22, looking for a better life. My father passed away when I was seven years old. I became responsible for taking care of my mother and sister.
I began working in Canada right after my arrival. Although I have only a grade 10 education, I fulfilled my promise to work hard and contribute to Canada, the country that allowed me to raise a family. I was a mechanic by trade and worked hard to become a small business owner. I retired in 2007 at the age of 62, due to medical issues. My wife, also an Italian immigrant, arrived in Canada in 1972. She worked at several different jobs until her retirement in 2013 at the age of 65.
During our careers in Canada, we worked hard and tried to save money to provide for our family and have some money for our retirement. Neither my wife nor I have a company pension plan, so we depend on our government pension, some money we invested in RSPs and our personal savings.
My wife and I are both retired and are trying to enjoy our golden years together after working in Canada for over 40 years. Unfortunately, my wife and I are not enjoying our retirement, as the cost of living is out of control and we can't afford to enjoy our retirement as we should. The government has made life unaffordable for Canadians, but even more for the seniors who have worked to help build this country and should now be enjoying their retirement.
The cost of everything has gone up, including heating my home, groceries and gas. I am able to reduce the amount I pay for heating and air conditioning by lowering the temperature so that I can save money. Just as an example, my car insurance has increased this year from $1,690 to $2,149. That is an increase of almost $460 per year. When I called the insurance company, they told me it was because of all the cars being stolen.
Just last week I received a letter from the government, saying I was eligible for the new dental care program, but they would cover only 40% of the expense because of our income from last year. My wife and I had just under $80,000 in total income. However, only about $35,000 of it was from our pensions. The rest of the income was from my RSPs and other things, such as interest on a few investments I made many years ago. The biggest part of the extra money was from withdrawing from my RSPs.
I understand that I have to pay tax when I withdraw from my RSPs, but it is now affecting the benefits I would receive from this dental program. Why is the government punishing seniors who were able to save some money in their RSPs but are losing their benefits, such as the dental program?
Once my RSPs are finished, I don't know how we will be able to afford such basic things as groceries and gas. I receive $926 from CPP and $784 from OAS. My wife receives $873 from CPP and $784 from OAS. That equals just over $40,000 per year. How can two people live on $40,000 per year? If this continues, we may have to sell our home in order to survive. Canada should be a place where seniors can age with dignity and in their own homes, after being the ones who helped build this country.
My RSPs and my savings are almost gone because of the high prices we have to pay in Canada because of the carbon tax and inflation from all the debt. Imagine having to wear a sweater in your home in winter in order to save money. Imagine having to shop at discount grocery stores because you can't afford to pay full price for food. Imagine feeling terrible for not seeing your granddaughter as much as you would like in order to save money on gas for your car. Imagine not being able to take a short vacation because you can't afford it.
Well, I don't have to imagine it, because that is what our lives have become.
Thank you.