Madam Speaker, when I meet seniors on the doorsteps in Courtenay—Alberni, they tell me that it was not enough, that we have not collected enough and people have not had an opportunity to save enough, and because of the increased cost of living, people cannot afford to pay for their much needed medicine. We are seeing record numbers of seniors at our food banks and in homeless shelters.
I ask the member, how can we mitigate this and help it from happening in the future if we do not invest in CPP? I see contributions to CPP as an investment in our pension fund. It is exactly that, not as an expense and not as a cost. Small business employers are matching and investing in CPP and EI to make sure employees get benefits when they are unemployed and have savings for their future and they can retire in dignity. We know that is not happening today.
Conservatives tell us that fewer than 3% of seniors are living in poverty. That is not what we are hearing from people on the doorsteps. We know that 30% of single senior females are living in poverty.
Can the member come up with some real solutions so we do not end up here again?