Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning, esteemed witnesses. Thank you for your testimony.
If our committee had the opportunity, we would certainly hear other testimony like that of Ms. Girard, which you referred to, Mr. Roy, and which constitutes what I would call a cry from the heart. It is aimed at getting people to recognize that in Canada, the old age security pension must be raised to ensure a predictable, sufficient income threshold for all those whose only income is public pension plans.
Ms. Cornellier, even though some of the questions you were asked did not relate to the purpose of the bill under consideration here, you did illustrate the poverty that can be experienced by seniors as early as age 65, as well as the disparity between women and men; this is consistent with the situation that can also be observed based on various other indicators.
The problem here is that we have discriminated against older people on the basis of age. The issue being debated here is the decision to increase Canada's old age security pension by 10% for people aged 75 or over, leaving those aged 65 to 74 out in the cold.
What impact does this discrimination have on people aged 65 to 74, particularly women?