Mr. Speaker, I would also like to point out that half of our seniors receive income security benefits and are caught in a cycle where all they do is keep waiting for their cheques. Removing programs for the elderly, eliminating current services or lowering pension costs would not improve the lot of the elderly.
The elderly are not rich people. According to Statistics Canada, 1991 data show that almost half of retired seniors, 43.8 per cent of them, are living below the poverty line. This is a serious problem, and let us not forget that the seniors want to be a part of Canadian society.
Therefore, the government must ask one of its members to resolve that sensitive issue, because previous government measures only succeeded in keeping seniors inactive, isolating them and making them feel financially insecure.
So, to improve the quality of life of our seniors, we must make sure their living quarters suit their needs and allow them to stay at home, and lower the outrageous costs of seniors' residences, hospitals, et cetera, by providing, for example, home support, transportation services, recreational programs, and more.
We need to set up a 24 hours a day, seven days a week information system and to promote it. The federal government has released $3 million for the installation of new telephone equipment needed to answer inquiries about old age pensions. Seniors also need to be informed of the existence of such services and to be provided with other similar services related to their health, lodging, et cetera.
Additional resources are needed to reach incapacitated seniors, if necessary. As recommended by a Canadian seniors association, a standing national commission must be set up to protect the rights of seniors who want to keep on working.
Finally, I would like to remind you, Mr. Speaker, that every year seniors represent a higher percentage of our population and
that the government must take into account their active presence when it puts forward its new policies.