Thank you, Chair.
Thank you again, Minister. I have a question.
In 2015 and 2017, the Liberal government promised CAF personnel and veterans that it would eliminate the archaic and sexist marriage after 60 clause from the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act.
Six years ago, in 2015, DND reported to the REGS committee that it was amending legislation and regulations to remove the marriage after 60 clause and that it was on their to-do list. In 2020, the previous minister of defence wrote to the REGS committee stating that a legislative change to repeal the gold digger clause was needed, but didn't offer any commentary on how to move forward with that.
It is clear that DND knows how to fix the problem, but the department is not putting forward any amendments to do so until this government directs the officials to work on it.
I want to be really clear. There are some cases where couples have been together for well over 15 years. It means that they are either living in poverty, because this military service person is giving up a significant part of their pension so that their loved one can have something when they're gone, or they're predicting a poverty-stricken future for their partner. It is ridiculous, in my mind, because it puts mostly elderly women at risk of homelessness and poverty, and insults them by labelling them a gold digger.
I'm wondering, Minister, if you plan to eliminate this clause from the pension legislation, or will the government continue, as it has since 2015, to just drag its feet?