moved for leave to introduce Bill C-353, An Act to amend the Old Age Security Act (Canada Pension Plan payments).
Mr. Speaker, I want to first thank my colleague the member for Hamilton Mountain for being the seconder of the bill. Not only is he our party's pension critic, but the bill was also introduced in the last Parliament by his predecessor, Chris Charlton.
Sadly, there is still a dire need for a bill that would preserve the cost of living increase on the Canada pension plan for seniors living in poverty and the many more at risk of falling into poverty.
The indexation of the Canada pension plan was meant to be a safeguard against the cost of living outstripping a senior's income, yet even a marginal increase in the CPP often means that the same amount is clawed back on the GIS, leaving many seniors no further ahead.
The bill I am introducing today would prohibit any reduction in the guaranteed income supplement if the only change to one's income is as a result of CPP indexing.
If the government is truly interested in bringing about real change for seniors, it will immediately adopt this bill into law, thereby allowing seniors' net income to keep pace with inflation. I hope that all members of the House will agree that this is the very least we can do.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)