Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Quebecois' information tour on the guaranteed income supplement allowed us to observe that the federal government's inaction is not simply limited to this flagrant robbery.
Indeed, seniors who live alone, mostly women, are subject to unjust discrimination that condemns them to a life of poverty. What is more, these seniors' purchasing power diminishes because the real increases in the cost of living for seniors is much greater than the average indexation that they are given.
The federal government must make seniors' quality of life a priority, and the Bloc Quebecois will act as a watchdog on this matter.
In the short term, it is clear that this government should make it a priority to provide a full retroactive refund to seniors who did not receive the benefits to which they were entitled. This most economically disadvantaged group deserves this money, some $3.2 billion, through the guaranteed income supplement, money that they were deprived of for several years.
It is quite simply unacceptable to save money on the backs of our senior citizens.