Mr. Speaker, there are a number of changes proposed in Bill C-51 to the Canada pension plan. My understanding is that some of these changes are, for example, to remove the work cessation test in 2012 so that a person may take his or her retirement pension as early as age 60 without the requirement of a work interruption or earnings reduction, and to increase the general drop-out from 15% to 16% in 2012, allowing a maximum of almost 7.5 years of low or zero earnings to be dropped from the contributory period and to 17% in 2014, allowing a maximum of eight years, and so on.
The member referred to a couple of very technical aspects. New Democrats have called for taking a step back and having a much broader look at CPP and OAS. We know that many seniors are living in poverty and simply do not have the kinds of funds that lead to a dignified retirement.
We will be examining this bill in much further detail and making some recommendations.