Madam Speaker, the issue being debated today is of great interest to this government, since it concerns our seniors.
Bill C-54 essentially aims to improve services to those who benefit from various old age security programs. These include basic benefits, spouse's allowances and, of course, the guaranteed income supplement. It must be noted that this bill does not change the content of those programs.
It does not change in any way the amount of the benefits received by seniors. The purpose of this legislation is essentially to make life easier for the recipients by reducing duplication and the paper burden, something we talked about during the last election campaign. I was very pleased to hear the Official Opposition critic recognize the improvements contained in this bill.
Like us, the hon. member realizes the importance of streamlining as much as possible the procedures and the paper work for seniors to be eligible for benefits. The amendments tabled today will allow some 1.4 million seniors to receive their pensions with a minimum of red tape.
This is a very concrete example which confirms the government's will to streamline the federal administration and make it more accessible for its clientele. The reorganization of income security programs is in response to a growing demand for government services during this period of budget constraints. It is expected that, by the turn of the century, the number of Canadians benefitting from the Canada Pension Plan, the Old Age Security Pension as well as other income security programs will have increased by 40 per cent. During the next three years, social security reform will offer new technologies and services. The main purpose is to provide an efficient response to the needs of Canada's aging population and the government's growing number of clients.
This new approach will make it easier for clients to deal with the bureaucracy. In our client-service centres, employees will be able to make decisions immediately, thanks to all the information that will be available to them. This will obviously cut down on the time needed to process applications, and we will be able to tell clients the date of their first payment.
Furthermore, seniors will be able to communicate information changes, including a change of address, by telephone, using the touch- tone key pad. In the case of clients who prefer more personalized service or do not have a touch tone telephone, employees will be available to answer their questions without delay.
Annually, nearly 1.4 million seniors, the majority of whom are women, have to reapply in order to continue to receive their guaranteed income supplement and spouse's allowance. The
department cannot authorize payments for the new fiscal year until an application for renewal has been filed and approved.
Every year in April, as many as 100,000 pensioners do not receive their benefits on time for various reasons, either because they applied late or because information on their applications had to be checked. Since only seniors on low or modest incomes are eligible for these benefits, any delay in benefit payments may cause problems for the recipients.
In the case of many seniors, income amounts hardly change from year to year. A substantial proportion of recipients of GIS and SPA have no source of income other than their pension. It would be possible to simplify the renewal process for a large number of pensioners. However, no exceptions can be made under the current provisions of the Old Age Security Act. All recipients must file a new application every year. From now on, however, in the case of certain recipients, the minister will be able to waive the obligation to file annual renewals of applications for GIS and SPA.
The minister could, for instance, waive the requirement for a full year. He could also extend payment of a benefit based on estimated income until updated information is available from Revenue Canada. In this way, there will be no need to interrupt payments of GIS and SPA to seniors. Individuals applying for the first time would, of course, have to file an application in any case.
The changes will be implemented gradually in order to prevent any disruption for pensioners and to ensure smooth management.
The present legislation allows the release of confidential information to some departments, provided that certain rules are adhered to. There is no doubt that the management of senior citizens' programs is getting more and more complex. Therefore, good management requires that relevant information be shared and circulated among departments, but according to a given set of rules. For example, if there were better access to information, Canada Post could make available to us its knowledge of new techniques which would accelerate the processing of cheques to clients. However, the present provisions on the sharing of information prevent us from buying services from Canada Post.
According to the new provisions, personal information will only be made available according to very strict procedures. Clearly, as a government, we will continue to protect all confidential information on our clients. To that end, the legislation contains very strict guidelines on the release of information to third parties.
We even have special provisions where criminal charges are involved. Information will only be made available under certain conditions, in this particular case if criminal charges have been laid against the person or if the government is under order from a court to produce documents.
Anyone making available personal information under circumstances not covered by the legislation will be guilty of an offence. This shows that the government is taking the protection of personal information very seriously. Moreover, the legislation provides for penalties for every violation of the rules.
As you can see, the government has been particularly attentive to the protection of personal information on our clients, which is only natural.
I sincerely believe that our opposition colleagues should trust the government in this matter. We live in a free and democratic society based on a fundamental principle which I respect, namely the rule of law.
It goes without saying that when lawmakers produce a bill, they should leave no room for discretionary powers which too often lead to arbitrary decisions. It is therefore very important to understand that even though this bill allows for some disclosure of information, it seeks first and foremost to protect senior citizens. When I say to protect senior citizens, I mean two things. First, to protect them against arbitrary decisions and, second, to protect them so that they have easier access to government services.
Indeed, this bill is aimed at making life easier for all senior pensioners. I repeat that neither the level of benefits nor the eligibility criteria have changed. The benefits these people are receiving now have not been touched. All we are doing is proceeding with an administrative reorganization in line with what I call the new evolutive federalism, a cost-effective federalism which tries to forge ahead and eliminate overlapping, in co-operation with the various stakeholders, namely the provinces, because we keep in mind that the overriding preoccupation of every government should be, first and foremost, the taxpayers' best interest.
I must tell you that in the particular context of this bill, the best interest of senior citizens, whom the party I belong to has always protected and will continue to do so, is taken into account. This bill illustrates the commitment of our party to this important segment of our society whom I call our builders. We are showing them that we care.
We believe that this bill is a fundamental piece of legislation and that it will provide senior citizens with the best protection possible.
As a matter of fact, we believe it is the only way to prove our gratitude for their great contribution to the well-being of the Canadian population as a whole.
I will conclude by saying again that, in the past, some governments have tried to reduce the deficits at the expense of that group in our society. Now, according to the basic principles established by the Liberal Party that I represent, I can tell you
that we will never touch the pensions of our seniors, we will never modify those pensions nor will we ever act in any way to reduce their incomes.
If there is a reform, I suppose it will affect more directly coming generations, people of my generation. Senior citizens who now receive benefits from the government, be it pensions or others, have earned them with their work. They have worked to build this country and it would be immoral to start cutting into what we owe them.
When I see members of Opposition acting as scarecrows and trying to scare those people by telling them that the government is trying to reduce the deficit at their expense, I think this is pure and effective demagogy. I repeat: We will not touch pensions. What we do, we do in the interest of taxpayers. We protect them and offer them better access by allowing information to circulate more freely.
On the other hand, of course, as in any bill allowing the release of information, we have established parameters that have been examined very closely. Certain parameters will allow the release of information if this serves the interest of taxpayers and other parameters will forbid such release. Those parameters will be rigorously enforced in cases where there is no need to release information.