Madam Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to reply to the remarks of the hon. member concerning the portion of Bill C-54 which removes the time bar on the recovery of overpayments made under the old age security program.
Let us begin by laying out the facts of the current provisions which have led the government to bring the changes contained in Bill C-54.
The fairness of our current system of income security for senior citizens is marred slightly by the fact that the programs within this policy area often deal with overpayments somewhat differently. This results in a situation which can be confusing and therefore not all together equitable.
For instance, restrictions placed on the recovery of old age security overpayments have resulted in some clients retaining benefits to which they were not legally entitled.
One such restriction is the time bar which limits the government's ability to recover overpayments to amounts received by clients in the current or immediately preceding fiscal years.