Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to talk about our seniors, a growing segment of our population. Seniors worked hard to build our economy and secure the social benefits that we enjoy today.
Our current social security system was designed at a time when seniors represented just a small part of the population and is no longer equipped to respond to today's challenges. In 2035, 25% of our constituents will be seniors. We must take action today to prepare for the future.
In my riding, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, many organizations are already working together daily to improve living conditions for our seniors. I am thinking about the many seniors' federations in Quebec that allow our constituents to remain social and active and that combat isolation. Some 17,000 seniors are part of this network.
In my riding, volunteers at volunteer centres in Saint-Hyacinthe and Acton Vale also do tremendous work by helping meals on wheels deliver food to those who are unable to cook or get around.
Seniors are an incredible resource for our society. They are among those who most often become involved in non-profit organizations and associations. Their dedication commands our respect, and many organizations would not be able to function properly without the volunteer contributions of our seniors. In fact, I do not know what will happen to some of these organizations when that generation is no longer here.
It is our responsibility, as MPs, to promote this kind of community engagement. It is so valuable. Having worked for years in the community sector, I know just how important our seniors are in creating and strengthening social ties.
According to the Institut de la statistique du Québec, volunteers aged 65 and over devote 190 hours a year to volunteer work. That is huge. There are programs to help our seniors get involved in their communities. Take for example the new horizons for seniors program, which provides funding to promote volunteerism among seniors, engage seniors in the community, expand awareness of elder abuse, support the social participation and inclusion of seniors, and provide capital assistance for new and existing community projects and programs for seniors.
The deadline for submitting a funding application is June 23. I invite all organizations and municipalities in my riding to submit an application in order to maintain their involvement in the community.
Most of our seniors live in difficult circumstances today. As members of Parliament, it is our duty to do our best to help them cope with the difficulties they may face. That is why in March I organized an information day on the tax credits that older Canadians and those with disabilities may be eligible for. More than 200 people came to the meeting in Saint-Hyacinthe. Last year, 300 attended. These numbers are evidence of our constituents' need for information.
In fact, due to a lack of information, quite a few of them are missing out on many tax credits and subsidies they could be receiving. In order to address the federal government's failure to provide this information, I prepared a guide for seniors that lists all benefits and supports. This guide will be mailed to all seniors in the riding of Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot.
Although I am happy to help our seniors, I would like to point out that this is the government's job. What about those who live in ridings where MPs do not provide such services? How many of our constituents live in difficult circumstances and are missing out on all these tax credits and benefits for lack of information?
Not everyone can afford to pay an accountant to do their taxes for them. Once again, those living in the most vulnerable situations are the first victims.
However, there are other ways this government's policies have failed our seniors. We know that between 75% and 80% of seniors report suffering from one or more chronic health problems. For quite some time now, the NDP has been calling for a national pharmacare program that would allow the federal government to save billions of dollars every year and would make drugs far more accessible to Canadians living in the most precarious situations.
What about the guaranteed income supplement? How many people cannot collect benefits every year because registration is not automatic? This is a simple measure that the government needs to implement immediately.
This government also got rid of the office of the minister responsible for seniors as soon as it announced its first cabinet. The responsibility to establish policies specifically for seniors is now divided among a number of departments, which is not conducive to the development of the national strategy we so desperately need.
There are solutions right in front of us. In October, the NDP put forward a motion to create a national seniors strategy. My colleague from London—Fanshawe did a remarkable job on that and worked with stakeholders to define a national strategy with health, affordable housing, income security, and quality of life components, and to create a seniors' advocate position to make sure those things actually see the light of day.
We are wasting time and money while we wait, yet again, for the government to act. My colleague opposite moved a motion calling for the creation of a national seniors strategy, but I am worried that the government will see this as just another public relations exercise and will not take the motion seriously enough to come up with a meaningful policy that will really make a difference in the day-to-day lives of our seniors.
I am not trying to impugn the government's motives. I am only considering its record since it came into power. Canadians are seeing the Liberals break their promises yet again. The government's policies fall short of meeting their needs and expectations.
The Liberals like to highlight the changes they recently made to old age security and the fact that they increased the guaranteed income supplement for seniors living alone. Those measures are a drop in the bucket. They are bandaids, not real, effective policies developed as part of a national strategy on care and quality of life for seniors.
We do not want the government's smokescreens. It is time for a real and lasting strategy that sets out to address the needs of our seniors. That is what the NDP proposed in the fall. In my opinion, my Liberal colleague's motion is vague. I want clear commitments from the Liberals on what they plan to do and how they plan to implement this national strategy.
I would also like to point out another problem that was overlooked in the motion, namely the vulnerability of senior women. In fact, senior women are twice as likely as men of the same age to live in poverty. Living below the poverty line is the lot of 30% of senior women. A national seniors strategy must include a specific strategy for senior women living in precarious situations.
In my riding, I met with seniors who live below the poverty line. They expect the federal government to show leadership and take action on a national level to ensure that people from coast to coast can have access to the support they need to continue to have a decent life in their community.
In closing, we need to look after this generation, which built our communities, and the seniors of tomorrow.
Every time the Liberals take a step back, more and more people suffer. The NDP has a long-standing commitment to providing support for our seniors. It is now time for this government to step up to the plate and to take action as quickly as possible.