Debates of Oct. 21st, 2016

[Some hon. members]

No.

Criminal Code

[Jody Wilson-Raybould, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-28, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (victim surcharge).

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Seniors

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am proud to present a petition signed by many Canadians regarding a national strategy for Canadian seniors.

I would like to table this today. I hope all members will look at this seriously as an important matter for all seniors in our growing economy.

Democratic Reform

[Raj Saini, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, I rise to present a petition signed by dozens of people from the Kitchener-Waterloo area.

The petitioners are calling on this House to ensure that we update the current voting system to ensure more fair representation so that the results of elections better reflect the will of the voters.

Palliative Care

[Jim Eglinski, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Madam Speaker, I would like to present a petition that states that it is impossible for a person to give informed consent to assisted suicide or euthanasia if appropriate palliative care is unavailable to them.

Therefore, the petitioners are calling on Parliament to establish a national strategy on palliative care.

The Environment

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Madam Speaker, I rise today to present a petition from residents of Nanaimo—Ladysmith opposing the establishment of new commercial bulk anchorages off the coastline of Gabriola Island.

They are intended to transport Wyoming coal to China, exacerbating climate change. The anchorages themselves have oil spill risks. The anchors will scour the sensitive seabed, interfering with commercial and recreational fishing in the region.

I am disappointed that the Prime Minister and the Minister of Transport have not replied to my call for them to urge the proponent to withdraw the application. We hope that this petition will urge the government to take leadership on this important economic and environmental issue.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I just want to remind members that when they are tabling petitions, they are tabling what it is in the petition and should not be giving their opinion on the issue.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-26, An Act to amend the Canada Pension Plan, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act and the Income Tax Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Canada Pension Plan

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, what a pleasure it is to rise today to talk about a bill that I think should receive overwhelming support from all members of this House, even though I realize that at least—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Excuse me. I believe I made an error. I am sorry. It was dark, and I did not see who the next speaker was, aside from the hon. member. He will get a second chance.

I would like to recognize the member for Hamilton Mountain.

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to rise today to speak to Bill C-26, an act to amend the Canada Pension Plan, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act and the Income Tax Act. Bill C-26 would amend the Canada Pension Plan Act to incorporate the recent agreement reached between the provinces to enhance CPP benefits.

While better was possible, and the full effect of the changes will not be felt for another 49 years, this CPP expansion is an important first step in improving retirement security for young Canadians, and we congratulate everyone, especially labour, who worked so hard to lay the groundwork for this agreement.

We must now see immediate action to help those seniors and Canadians on the cusp of retirement who will not benefit from these changes. Government must build on the momentum of this agreement and take steps to improve long-term retirement security for today's workers.

Retirement insecurity is reaching a crisis level in Canada, as many Canadians do not have adequate savings to maintain their lifestyle upon retirement. A large part of this problem is fuelled by the erosion of workplace pension plans, to the point that six in 10 working Canadians have no workplace pension.

During election 2015, the Liberals promised to enhance the CPP. Once elected, the Minister of Finance was directed in his mandate letter to:

Meet with your provincial and territorial colleagues at your earliest opportunity to begin a process to enhance the Canada Pension Plan to provide more income security to Canadians when they retire.

The Minister of Finance met with his provincial and territorial counterparts in June 2016 and on June 20 announced an agreement in principle on CPP enhancements.

On October 4, 2016, British Columbia was the final province, besides Quebec, to officially endorse this agreement. Bill C-26 was introduced on October 6. Quebec did not sign the agreement but promised to apply some of the changes to the Quebec pension plan, which is similar to the CPP but is managed independently.

The NDP will support the bill at this time, but we feel that the bill does not live up to the expectations Canadians had for CPP reform.

Changes to the plan have been a long time in the making. The last time the CPP was altered was in 1997, although those changes were largely administrative. The most significant change in the 1997 amendments was to move the plan from a pay-as-you-go system to fully funded. This change was done to help protect the financial viability of the plan, and a recent report by the Chief Actuary of Canada shows a healthy fund that will be solvent for at least the next 75 years.

However, during a time when workplace pensions cover fewer and fewer Canadians, when Canadians have been finding it harder and harder to put away money for retirement, and when the rates of seniors living in poverty have steadily increased, there have been no increases in benefits under the Canada pension plan.

Many Canadians held out great hope that the government would make substantial changes to the CPP. Sadly, as with many Liberal promises, we are offered a loaf of bread but receive only half a loaf.

Ken Neumann, national director of the Canadian Steelworkers, summed it up very well when he said that the Liberal government's plan for a modest CPP expansion falls well short of the doubling of CPP benefits advocated for by the United Steelworkers and the Canadian labour movement. The USW is nonetheless pleased that the provinces and the federal government have agreed to a universal expansion of the CPP that will help all workers, and it will continue to push for full doubling of CPP benefits.

New Democrats, along with many in the labour movement and groups working for the rights of seniors and retirees, have long advocated that benefits be increased from replacing 25% of a worker's pre-retirement income to 50% of pre-retirement income, but no, this legislation has offered up a very modest increase, from 25% to 33% of pre-retirement income.

Although we like to see an increase, we feel that the amount is wholly inadequate, especially in terms of ensuring that our seniors do not have to live in poverty and can retire with the dignity and quality of life they deserve.

While many would be happy to finally see some changes to the plan and some increases in benefits, there are many who will be very unhappy. Those are the people who will see very little or no benefit from the changes presented in this bill.

More and more, I am hearing a lot of confusion and misunderstanding concerning who would benefit from the changes being proposed. A recent Ipsos poll found that over 25% of those who are already retired believe they would see bigger CPP cheques as a result of the deal, and more than 70% of Canadians do not realize that current retirees get nothing from this CPP expansion. These findings are totally consistent with what I have been hearing. Many retirees in my riding have asked me when they will be receiving their increased benefits. I have to break the bad news to them that this new legislation will do nothing for current or soon-to-be retirees.

The enhanced expanded CPP is a plan that would benefit a new generation of workers entering the workforce, but does little to alleviate the retirement income crisis for those approaching retirement. Those who would be the first to benefit from the fully enhanced benefits under this plan are now 16 years old. It will take 49 years for this plan to fully kick in. After the increase in premiums are fully phased in, in 2025, a person would have to pay the increased premiums for 40 more years to be fully eligible for the new maximum benefits. Increased benefits will be prorated for those 40 years as people pay the increased premium, but any significant increase for retirees is years away.

Let me take some time to talk a bit more about the specifics of the plan. Currently, the CPP covers earnings up to a cap of $54,900. For earnings up to the cap, the CPP aims to replace about 25% of that income. The maximum pension comes in at about $1,092 a month, or $13,100 per year. Contributions are 4.9% each for the employer and employee, up to the same cap.

The expanded CPP is a new separate tier. This new tier is added on top of the existing CPP. The new CPP tier does two things, phased in over the next nine years to 2025. First, it takes the replacement rate of up to 33.3% from the current 25%; and, second, it expands the upper earnings cap from today's $54,900 up to $82,700.

When the plan is fully phased in, in 2065, a worker who earns $54,900 would receive a maximum annual pension of about $18,117 by the time he or she retires. For a worker at an $82,700 income level, CPP benefits would rise to a maximum of $20,352 a year. Once the phase-in period is reached in 2025, it would take 40 years for a person to receive the fully enhanced benefit. Therefore, the first worker who will be eligible for full benefits is currently 16 years old. A person who is 59 in 2019, pays six years of the enhanced premiums, and retires in 2025 at the age of 65, would receive no additional benefit, or maybe a dollar or two.

It is important to note that much of the discussion about pension benefits relates to maximum benefits, yet only 11.4% will actually receive the maximum CPP benefits. The average benefit announced as of July 2016 was $550. In order to pay for the increase in benefits, contributions from employees and employers will increase. This increase would be phased in between 2019 and 2025. There will be two tiers to the increase. Between 2019 and 2025, those earnings which are less than the yearly pensionable maximum earnings, currently $54,900, would see their premiums slowly rise to an additional 1%. Those workers and employers would then be paying at a rate of 5.9%, up from 4.9%. In real numbers, this means that a person whose rate is set at the maximum would pay an additional $43 per month, as would his or her employer.

The second tier increase would be phased in over two years, starting in 2024. For anyone earning above the yearly pensionable maximum, theirs and their employer's contributions will rise by 4% above the current.

I know this is all very confusing, and it is going to take some time for Canadians to understand the complexities.

The bill also would make some changes to the Income Tax Act, which is supposed to help minimize the impact of the premium increases on Canadians. The CPP premiums that a worker currently pays are treated as a tax credit. An individual is able to claim a percentage of premiums paid as a non-refundable tax, which is then deducted from total federal tax payable. This would not change. These contributions would now be considered as base contributions but will still be treated the same for income tax purposes.

The increased benefits that a worker would be paying in 2019 and thereafter will be considered as additional contributions and will be treated differently for tax purposes. A worker will be able to deduct the amount of the additional contribution directly off their taxable income instead of applying for it as a credit.

The government has also included changes to the Income Tax Act in the bill that would increase the working tax benefit by 14%. The intention is to minimize the impact of increased CPP premiums on low income workers. Employers would be able to write off the increases on the CPP as a business expense, as they do now with the base contributions.

Now I would like to talk briefly about Canada's retirement income system, which is based on three pillars. These pillars are also supposed to interact or work together and are intended to enable seniors to maintain a reasonable standard of living in retirement. The first pillar includes standardized and universal public benefits, such as old age security and the guaranteed income supplement.

The second pillar includes mandatory public workplace coverage, the Canada pension plan and the Quebec pension plan. Almost all working Canadians over the age of 18, earning more than the minimum amount of $3,500 per year, must pay into this. It is mandatory for employees and employers, as deemed by legislation. Contributions are split evenly between the employee and the employer, or borne fully by someone who is self-employed. The amount depends on a person's income.

The third pillar consists of an employer or a union-sponsored plan, known as the registered retirement plan. They are registered with the Canadian Revenue Agency and one of the pension's regulatory authorities, because they are subject to government support in the form of special tax measures and regulatory oversight. This pillar also includes registered retirement savings plans and other personal savings.

The problem for today's seniors is that these pillars are falling behind in terms of enabling seniors to maintain an adequate standard of living. Dramatic increases in the costs of things like electricity and housing are causing great strain on seniors' fixed incomes. Failing to take action now will have a great social cost, forcing many seniors into poverty. The number of seniors being forced to use food banks will rise dramatically.

Studies point to a looming crisis in the retirement income security of Canadians. A recent study by Richard Shillington, done for the Broadbent Institute, shows a large percentage of older working Canadians are heading into retirement without adequate savings to keep them out of poverty. The report goes on to say that half of Canadian couples between 55 and 64 have no employer pension plan between them. Of those, less than 20% of middle-income families have saved enough to adequately supplement government benefits and the Canada or Quebec pension plan. Income trends suggest that the percentage of Canadian seniors living in poverty will increase in the coming years, especially for single women who already face a higher than average rate. The poverty rate for seniors will climb at the same time as a sharply rising number of Canadians hit retirement in the next two decades. More than 20% of the population will be older than 65 within 10 years.

When releasing the report for the Broadbent Institute, Rick Smith, executive director said, “This new data on retirement savings and gaps in support makes one thing perfectly clear - we have a retirement income crisis on our hands that requires requires urgent government action now..”.

Increases in the guaranteed income supplement and these eventual increases in CPP benefits will certainly help, but much more needs to be done to help our seniors live with the dignity they deserve.

The high cost of housing and drugs, the clawback of the GIS, and the indexing of pensions are just a few immediate issues. The government needs to keep its promise to introduce a new seniors price index to make sure that the old age security and the guaranteed income supplement keep up with rising costs.

The NDP will fight for further increases to the GIS and the OAS, a national pharmacare program, and, as well, programs to enhance home care and palliative care. Much work needs to be done to ensure that workers can retire with adequate incomes and access to the services they need to meet their quality of life.

The NDP will continue to work with our labour allies, and others, to improve the lives of Canadian seniors and retirees.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the comments and the support coming forward for Bill C-26. I think, in good part, the New Democrats are recognizing something which we have recognized in many ways—and which I hope to be able to talk about it—and that is the issue of how we can assist seniors, whether it is from getting out of poverty or being able to continue to be a part of Canada's middle class, and those aspiring to become a part of the middle class. One of the ways that we can deal with that is through the CPP.

I wonder if the member would comment in terms of the process of trying to achieve an agreement with the different provinces and Ottawa. It is not a simple one. That is why many would argue it is somewhat historical to achieve this agreement, which will ultimately see seniors receiving more money as a direct result. Would the member provide his thoughts or his understanding, in terms of what needs to take place in order to get the bill to this level at this point in time?

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Madam Speaker, I believe we all have to go Canada-wide and have consultations with the public. I believe that this is an important matter.

If what is going to happen is not addressed, with not only our retirees going into the future, but those who will be coming forward in the next 10 or 15 years, we are going to be in a crisis. Social costs will increase dramatically. This will be downloaded to the provinces, and from the provinces to the municipalities. We all have to work together to show the importance.

As I said before, I do not think this goes far enough. It has to go further. However, I know there are issues with respect to the actual costs of this program. It is very delicate. We have to make sure we do this in a manner that everybody can agree with it.

[Jim Eglinski, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Madam Speaker, the new generation of people joining the workforce is very attuned to self-funding their pension funds and their future.

It was mentioned earlier that our government did nothing for workers, but we did have the tax-free savings account. I wonder if the member could tell me if he thinks a person working for 40 years, having to possibly pay an additional $2,200 a year during that period, would be better off taking that $2,200 a year and putting it into a tax-free savings account, versus being forced to pay that through a pension plan? When they receive it later on in life, they are going to be paying taxes on the CPP, but they are not going to be paying taxes on their tax-free savings account.

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Madam Speaker, if I have it right, the question is whether it would be better for a person to put the money he or she is contributing now into his or her own retirement savings plan, a TFSA, or something that would be there in the future.

From my experience, there is nothing better than a defined benefit plan. There are pros and cons in a defined contribution versus a defined benefit. One is that the money is put in up front, but it only lasts for so long, especially when people invest it and hope their investments come out strong. A defined benefit plan lasts a lot longer because the money stays there and is guaranteed to be there.

What I have noticed throughout my working life is that the younger generation does not have enough money, and basically, they really do not care about retirement at an early age. They are looking for money to keep their heads above water and it is only after 40 to 45 years of age that those workers then decide they had better do something about their retirement, but it is too late.

By investing for 40 years, yes, there are going to be increases, just like there are with a private plan. The money should not be left stagnant because then those dollars do not help. People have to look at the future and the money we are going to need.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Madam Speaker, I sincerely thank my colleague for simplifying such a complex issue, which will take us to 2065, when I will no longer be a member of the House and will likely no longer even be walking this earth.

There is one thing that concerns me. The government spoke about taking into account maximum contributions. I do not have a percentage, but the reality is that some people cannot contribute the maximum amount to their plan.

Should the government not also be working on other issues, for example, introducing a $15-per-hour minimum wage, which would at least allow people to have a bit more money to pay into the CPP?

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Madam Speaker, that is a very good point. One of the problems with the way CPP is set up now is that people have to work those years at the maximum levels and get the maximum benefit as long as they pay the maximum contributions. Unfortunately, because many plants have now been dissolved and people are losing their jobs or could be hurt, there is a gap in that area, which affects the benefits they will receive later on in life. The member makes a good point.

When U.S. Steelworkers were forced into retirement, they lost the big benefits of those jobs and their CPP going into the future. They are now looking at jobs at minimum wage and it will affect their payments when they reach age 60 or 65. A $15-an-hour starting point would be very helpful in increasing their CPP benefits when they retire.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Madam Speaker, I appreciated very much the member's comments about seniors, because there are a lot of seniors in my riding. I thought he might find it interesting to hear what the finance minister said in his book about seniors. He stated that whatever the reason might be to expand the CPP, it's not to eliminate poverty, and also that the poverty rate among seniors is now as close to zero as we can get. That is what the finance minister's book says.

I do not agree with that at all. Seniors are struggling, as the member has said, and I believe that the current program we are discussing is not going to do anything for the next 40 years. The seniors in my community right now need something else. This is not going to do anything to address their needs. I wonder if the member could comment.

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Madam Speaker, that is a great point and I said that in my speech.

Current retirees are living in poverty, especially because of the lack of affordable housing. They are forced to pay market prices for rent on very limited retirement security, so it is causing a real problem. We have to make sure we do not fall into the same trap as we are in now. We have to do something for the next generation, that is for sure, to make sure it is not put in the same spot.

At the same time, we must improve what we are doing now for the people who are currently retired or on the cusp of retiring. I said in my speech that we must work together on this. Whether it's that the old age security is raised or the GIS is further increased, or making sure none of it gets clawed back, we have to do something now, today. I certainly agree with the member on that.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, I want to indicate what a privilege it is to be able to stand in my place and talk about one of those fundamental issues that I believe Canadians as a whole are very supportive of. If we look at what would ultimately happen through Bill C-26, I would encourage all members of all political parties to recognize the historic agreement that was achieved by the Minister of Finance and the government, and to recognize that by voting in favour of Bill C-26.

The previous Conservative member posed a question in regard to the Minister of Finance by saying that the Minister of Finance wrote a book and in that book he said that raising CPP is not going to get rid of poverty for seniors. What the member does not make reference to is that the very same Minister of Finance brought forward a 10% increase to those poorest seniors in Canada by increasing the guaranteed income supplement. That will have a profound positive impact for seniors in the most significant way.

In fact, I would challenge future Conservative speakers on this issue to give me an example of a Conservative policy where they have seen such a substantial increase to Canada's poorest seniors. They would be challenged to find that. That is one of the reasons why, when we look at a policy announcement such as what we are seeing today in a very formal way in the House of Commons, we should always look at it as just one component in terms of dealing with seniors.

Let me now start with something that needs to be said. We campaigned about real change, primarily because one of the things we realized with the former Harper government was that it had lost touch with Canadians. The Conservatives in that government did not understand what Canadians wanted and expected of the government. There are a number of things that we could talk about. I could talk about the outstanding performance by our Minister of Health fighting for health care here in Canada, something which the former government did not do. Canadians see that as a positive. The Conservatives did not understand that. They did not understand what Canadians wanted.

The same principle applies here, where I can clearly demonstrate that of the Conservative Party, not only of the past but of what appears today. Now I will wait to see what happens when the vote actually takes place, but if the Conservatives want to demonstrate that they are listening to Canadians, I would suggest that they really need to support the bill.

Bill C-26 is something that is of a historic nature. It is not easy to get all the different stakeholders together and get an agreement of this nature that would see more money going into the pockets of seniors when they retire. Once implemented, it would be a significant amount of money.

Decisions of this nature do not happen overnight. I was pleased that my New Democratic colleague made reference to others, and how they actually participated in achieving what we have achieved. This is not solely a Liberal initiative. We know different stakeholders not only from labour but also from business have presented and commented on the importance of a Canada pension program. It actually reaches out to the individual, to the corporate body, to our union body, to political entities, and to many different stakeholders.

I said in the past how much I appreciate the fine work that many unions do in terms of advocating far beyond what their core responsibilities are. They think ahead not only for the individuals they represent within the unions, but often way beyond those individuals by talking about the importance of increasing CPP. I have heard presentations of that nature from members of union executives for many years. That is why when I stand up today I say that this is really good stuff.

Our Prime Minister mandated our members of Parliament on this side, even when he was leader of the third party in opposition, to represent their constituencies here in Ottawa, and it was a change. It was part of that real change, because under the Harper government, more often than not, what we saw was Ottawa being represented inside the constituencies. However, we want to see MPs representing the interests and thoughts of their constituents in this chamber, in the committee rooms, in subcommittees, when talking within caucus walls, and so forth. Bill C-26 is a reflection of that.

In essence, Bill C-26 is saying that we believe the workforce in Canada today is going to require additional money when it comes time for pensions. It is no surprise to me, personally, and I suspect that the vast majority of members of Parliament will not be surprised by that.

I remember sitting on the opposition bench arguing that we needed to do more with regard to supporting our seniors. I introduced petition after petition on this very issue, that Canadians expected us to do more. Many, if not most, probably even all of those petitions on the issue of CPP, GIS, and OAS came from residents that I represent in Winnipeg North. They wanted to see a government take action, support those pensions, and expand those pension programs where we could.

The Prime Minister gave a clear indication to the Minister of Finance that we wanted to achieve an agreement on expanding the CPP. I am forever grateful that our Minister of Finance was so successful at achieving that agreement, because it is something the government alone cannot do. We needed the co-operation and the understanding of provinces in order to make that happen.

I remember sitting on the opposition bench and feeling somewhat frustrated, because I would hear, for example, the Province of Ontario saying that it wanted CPP to be increased, but the feds were not interested. The feds at that time, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said that they were not interested. The former prime minister had no interest in increasing the CPP. In fact, he was quite prepared to see individual provinces go alone on that.

Members will remember that I said “losing touch with Canadians”. Had the then-prime minister, Stephen Harper, listened to what Canadians wanted on the CPP file, he would have found that Canadians were concerned about their ability to be able to retire and the earnings that they were going to be receiving, and that they supported en masse the need for that increase. However, the then-prime minister did not recognize that.

At the end of day, this is why I talked about the issue of real change at the beginning of my speech. It is because that is what we are seeing in the legislation before us, and members have the opportunity to participate in that real change,

There was a different attitude with the former Conservative government with regard to the CPP. We have taken a complete 180°. The Government of Canada is now saying that it wants to increase CPP and we have taken the necessary action by presenting the bill today.

I have provided some comment in terms of the number of consultations just the Department of Finance alone had. However, individual members of Parliament have also listened to many stakeholders, whether from labour, business, or indigenous people. Some individuals have taken the time to write or correspond through the Internet, or had face-to-face discussions at free meetings throughout this country on important taxation and policy ideas. I suspect members will find that many of those discussions were about the CPP, as I know that I have had many discussions on that particular issue.

Those discussions were then presented to the provinces in Vancouver on June 20, where the agreement was actually accepted. Because of that agreement, we now have Bill C-26.

In the bill's summary, we find that it would do the following:

(a) increase the amount of the retirement pension, as well as the survivor’s and disability pensions and the post-retirement benefit, subject to the amount of additional contributions made and the number of years over which those contributions are made;

(b) increase the maximum level of pensionable earnings by 14% as of 2025;

That is a significant increase.

(c) provide for the making of additional contributions, beginning in 2019;

That was accepted primarily because there needs to be an adjustment period so that businesses and other stakeholders are able to adjust.

(d) provide for the creation of the Additional Canada Pension Plan Account and the accounting of funds in relation to it; and

(e) include the additional contributions and increased benefits in the financial review provisions of the Act and authorize the Governor in Council to make regulations in relation to those provisions.

Why is it such an important issue for all of us to address? I would like to reflect on some issues from my constituency, and I believe that those issues can be mirrored across Canada.

In my constituency are a healthy number of seniors. It is debatable at what age being a senior begins. I was told, as I am approaching age 55 in January, that I will be eligible for some store discounts.

I have had the privilege of knocking on thousands and thousands of doors. I can think of one 94-year-old who one would think was in her sixties. She was very spry and active. Age in good part is how one feels. There are many seniors in Winnipeg North who still feel great and want to have a decent standard of living.

One of the saddest things I often run into when knocking on doors is meeting seniors who talk about having such a difficult time making ends meet. Often they will say that they have an issue of medication versus food. Their budget does not allow them to afford both. This is not just a comment I heard at one or two doors. I have heard it at numerous doors. Seniors in many ways are challenged and have to make difficult decisions related to affordability for basic needs.

We have far too many seniors who opt for buying medication, and as a result, they go hungry, which is not good for their health, or they end up going to food banks. Thank God for the food banks and the huge number of volunteers who make them happen and especially those who contribute to them. They are helping many seniors who are living in poverty. That is a real issue that we hear at the door.

I can recall one incident when knocking on doors with my daughter, Cindy. One lady answered who was virtually in tears, because she had just been hit with an ambulance bill of more than $500. She had no idea how she was going to pay that bill.

I am glad that my daughter went on to ultimately become a local MLA and has raised this issue in the Manitoba legislature.

If someone has a heart attack at home and has to get to a hospital, the person does not have much choice. That is why we need to advocate for our seniors. Situations like this are taking place every day throughout our country.

When we have the opportunity to look at the issue of pensions, we should be supportive. Constituents tell us that they have a great desire that we support our three pension programs and feel that where we can, we should expand them. An increase to the GIS will help them immensely. Some of those single seniors will receive $900 plus more a month than they received last year. That will go a long way for seniors living in poverty in getting some of the things they need.

We are talking about Bill C-26 today, but it is about the social safety net that Canadians truly believe in. If we ask our constituents what makes them feel good about being a Canadian, some common responses are related to our social safety net. What is that social safety net? It is our CPP, which is what we are voting on today. It is also our OAS, our GIS, our health care system, and our employment insurance system. These programs provide peace of mind and comfort to Canadians. These are the things we should be speaking about more, and not just inside the chamber. We should be speaking more about them within our caucuses and within our committees.

We have fantastic standing committees that have the ability to set an agenda to look at progressive and positive social ideas. We could better utilize those committees. I have argued in the past that they are the backbone of our parliamentary process.

I realize that my time is quickly running out, but I want to emphasize how important Bill C-26 is. This is a piece of legislation that should be supported by all members. If we reflect on past debates in the House on this important issue, if one believed in expanding CPP, one would have been disappointed. However, with the change in government and the commitment from the current Prime Minister, we now have a change in attitude, and the CPP will be increased. This will prevent many seniors in the future from having to make difficult decisions. It will even prevent some seniors from going into poverty.

I highly recommend that all members of the House support this legislation.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Madam Speaker, the member opposite was speaking about visiting many seniors. We all have seniors we visited. We all knocked on many doors.

However, the way his minister and his government have handled this, it does not seem that they knocked on any doors or visited and spoke to any seniors. Those seniors the member is talking about are not going to benefit at all from this tax hike. This is a tax hike on businesses first and on people next. This is going to be very costly.

True stories are not being told to those seniors, because if they were really knocking on doors and were hearing true stories, they would know that this will be a tax burden on them, on future generations, and on small businesses. This is not going to help them.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, that is just not true.

I just finished talking about the GIS. That is real. It is tangible. Hundreds, if not thousands, of seniors are going to benefit from that program this year in Winnipeg North alone. All constituencies have seniors. All seniors who receive GIS will in fact benefit this year.

The Prime Minister indicated that he wanted us to talk to real Canadians and understand the issues and bring them back to Ottawa. The individuals I met with, whether they work as firefighters, in hospitals, or in different industries understand and appreciate it.

If they are 40 or 35 years old, now is the time to ensure that when it comes time to retire, there is going to be a substantial amount of money in that Canada pension program. That is what I mean when I say that in the future we will be preventing those people from possibly being on the borderline of poverty so that they will be able to afford the things they need to afford.

It is thinking forward. That is something the government has clearly demonstrated, whether it is on issues related to our environment or seniors. We think about people who are coming into the system as well.