Mr. Speaker, I am here because in the spring I asked about the 18,000 low-income seniors, largely in Atlantic Canada who did their job, filed their taxes on time and expected that the government would do its job and make sure they would receive their GIS on time. This did not happen. Many seniors were left without their guaranteed income supplement and struggled to come up with the money they did not have to pay for things like rent, medication and food.
The response from the Minister of National Revenue was that their government was “improving the services provided by the Canada Revenue Agency to make it easier for Canadians to file their taxes and give them access to the benefits they are entitled to”. Obviously, that did not work. The result was 18,000 seniors were seriously delayed in getting their GIS payment.
As a spokesperson on seniors issues for the NDP, I am regularly disappointed at how often it feels I am explaining poverty to the government. These are real issues, with real people behind them. These are seniors calling my office because they did not get their GIS and they are scared they will have to tell their landlord that they cannot pay the rent. These are men and women in their 80s and 90s facing homelessness because the government cannot get the services running smoothly.
It is important that we take a moment to thank the amazing people in the public sector who are doing their jobs every day, doing the best that they can for Canadians. I have to point out, though, it is the government's job to work with these hard-working people and identify where the gaps are so these incidents do not happen.
I am thinking of my own constituents. For example, an elderly man of 70 came to see us because he received a significantly lower amount of OAS and did not receive his guaranteed income supplement. Upon looking into his case we realized he had not filled in his 2016 tax return. He told our office that he had moved and did not have the T4s that were necessary. What we uncovered was that in fact he had moved to a seniors housing facility. He had significant health issues that made him unable to come into the office to sign the required form for CRA and Service Canada. My amazing staff did their work, and they went to his home. It was absolutely heartbreaking. He was in a very small room, with a bed that he also used as a couch. There was a tiny kitchen attached to his living area and a bathroom. He was very grateful for having that home. The reality was that this facility did not have a common area that provided meals, so he was eating very little, as he had extremely limited income.
It took us a few months to get it all sorted out for him, but during that time he could not afford to buy his medication. Costs, like food costs, were also beyond his means. Thankfully, the facility he lived in was very flexible with him about payment for the rent.
I also think of another senior in Powell River, whose GIS is on hold while CRA figures out what his new combined income is going to be now that his wife is going off disability and is retiring on CPP and OAS. He has not received a GIS cheque since last May, which is causing him concern. Right now, we are just ending summer, and he talked to us about how he is feeding himself with a small garden. He asked, “How long do they expect us to wait? Even our diet is being compromised right now, and if we didn't have a garden we wouldn't be eating very well. Does the government not realize that those few hundreds of dollars a month mean a lot to seniors on a fixed income?”
Withholding money from seniors who are eligible for GIS is terrible. As people age, we must make sure that the most vulnerable get the services they need. When will these services be fast-tracked so that the most vulnerable do not go hungry or without medication?