Mr. Speaker, my riding likely has one of the fastest-aging populations in the country.
We just learned that groceries are going to cost even more next year and that the Bank of Canada increased its key interest rate for the seventh time. Given these circumstances, it seems to me that the economic update would have been the right time for the government to finally announce that it is increasing the old age security pension for all seniors.
Regardless of whether a person is 65 or 77, I think that it would have been good news for them to find out that seniors would be getting an increase in their OAS starting at age 65. One in four people in the Lower St. Lawrence region is 65 or older.
My question is simple. Why did the government not use the economic update as an opportunity to stop creating two classes of seniors and provide financial support to all of them, regardless of age?