Good afternoon.
My name is Jean‑Guy Couillard, and I've been retired from the Desjardins Group since 2001. I'm 78 years old. I returned to the labour market in May 2019 to work at a grocery store after seeing my doctor, who suggested that I take part in an activity that could improve my health.
I began suffering from aches and pains. I chose to return to the labour market to improve my health and help the co‑op in my community, which was short of staff. After just three weeks, my physical and mental health began to improve.
At the grocery store where I work, we have a serious staffing shortage. Since I'm retired, I was quickly asked to help recruit new employees from among the retirees I know. Since then, I've approached several retirees to ask them to return to work. Out of 100 contacts, only three agreed to work. Almost all the others, over 75% of them, refused to return to the labour market because they would pay too much income tax.
Personally, I've just filed my income tax returns and had to pay $2,500 to the two levels of government for the year that just ended. Most people my age would have to pay the same amount if they worked. I had to pay that amount on top of what was deducted from each pay.
During that time, several studies were conducted to find solutions to the staffing shortage. In my opinion, there's one solution that could be quickly effective: not collecting income tax on employment income earned by retirees who remain on or return to the labour market. In addition to addressing the staffing shortage, having retirees on the labour market would keep them healthy longer, saving governments money on health care. Indeed, those savings could be much more significant for the government than the tax revenues it could collect from the incomes of retirees.
According to La Presse, one day in hospital costs $1,369. A day in intensive care costs $3,776. Few retirees have remained on or returned to the labour market, and if nothing is done, some of those can be expected to leave the labour market, finding that they pay too much tax. Many people are expected to retire soon, which will increase the labour shortage. Retirees can be a solution: they have experience, they are punctual and they have a strong work ethic.
It's also important that people receiving the old age security pension and the guaranteed income supplement not be penalized. Nor should those who have retirement plans.
In companies, employees who are approaching retirement would stay on after retirement if there were no taxes to pay on their employment income. Time's of the essence, and the solution I'm proposing could be applied quickly and provide access to a skilled workforce. That's why I feel that such an initiative would need to start in 2022. My employer entirely supports my proposal, believing that it would be good for them and for other businesses in Canada.
In closing, I'd add that not collecting taxes on the employment income of people 65 or older would benefit everyone.
Thank you for taking the time to listen. I'm very grateful for having been given this time. My employer supports my proposal and has sent a letter indicating that.