Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for raising the pertinent and timely issue of the guaranteed income supplement. He pointed out that there could be as many as 250,000 senior citizens who would be eligible for the guaranteed income supplement, but who have never applied for whatever reason. It could be due to literacy or mental competency, or if they are very senior perhaps they have no family member to advocate for them.
When Revenue Canada realizes by a person's income tax form that he or she is a senior citizen who is eligible for the guaranteed income supplement, why does the Government of Canada not automatically issue it, just like it does with the GST rebate when a person is of an income level that is so low, and a person has to be really poor to be eligible for the guaranteed income supplement? Why not just give it retroactively? Would the hon. member agree with that?
The excuse we get from the Government of Canada is that even though Revenue Canada is aware of the senior's income situation, it would be a breach of that person's privacy under the Privacy Act to share that information with HRDC.
The inverse is not true. If individuals collecting EI leave the country to go cross-border shopping, Customs Canada turns them in to EI upon their return. So it is not a breach of privacy to rat them out when they are cheating by leaving the country when they are on EI, but it is a breach of privacy to tell senior citizens about this wonderful benefit that they are eligible for. Would the hon. member agree that it should be automatic when the tax form reveals that they are eligible?