Debates of Feb. 11th, 2022

Ottawa Hospital

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for giving me a terrific idea. I ask for unanimous consent to return to earlier in Routine Proceedings so we can accept a report from a committee.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

All those opposed to the hon. member moving the motion will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand at this time.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Government Business No. 7—Proceedings on Bill C-12

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Brampton West, ON]

moved:

That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House, Bill C-12, An Act to amend the Old Age Security Act (Guaranteed Income Supplement), be disposed of as follows:

(a) the bill be ordered for consideration at the second reading stage immediately after the adoption of this order;

(b) when the House begins debate at the second reading stage of the bill, two members of each recognized party and a member of the Green Party may each speak at the said stage for not more than 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes for questions and comments, provided that members may be permitted to split their time with another member;

(c) at the conclusion of the time provided for the debate at the second reading stage or when no member rises to speak, whichever is earlier, all questions necessary to dispose of the second reading stage of the bill shall be put without further debate or amendment, provided that, if a recorded division is requested, it shall not be deferred;

(d) if the bill is adopted at the second reading stage, it shall be deemed referred to a committee of the whole, deemed considered in committee of the whole, deemed reported without amendment, deemed concurred in at report stage, and deemed read a third time and passed;

(e) during consideration of the bill, the House shall not adjourn, except pursuant to a motion moved by a minister of the Crown;

(f) no motion to adjourn the debate may be moved except by a minister of the Crown; and

(g) upon completion of proceedings on the said bill, the House shall adjourn to the next sitting day.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak virtually in the House from my constituency of Brampton West, which is situated on the traditional territory of the Anishinabe, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee, Ojibwa and Chippewa people, and the land that is home to the Métis and is the territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit.

I will be sharing my time with my colleague, friend and excellent Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors.

It is my pleasure to speak to the House today to discuss Bill C-12, an Act to amend the Old Age Security Act (Guaranteed Income Supplement), and why we should move quickly to adopt it.

The motion to expedite this matter reflects both the urgent nature of this bill to support the most in-need Canadians and the ongoing collaboration and agreement between parties on this, as well as the simplicity of the policy content.

On the day I was appointed minister, I began discussing this issue, recognizing there were low-income, working seniors who were having trouble making ends meet and that the pandemic benefits they received should not have been a penalty against them, especially not in the subsequent year as the system was set up.

Nothing about this pandemic has been normal, and I would argue that therefore neither should this be. They received CERB and CRB in 2020, but they spent it on things they needed at the time. It helped them to pay for their rent or the groceries or medicine they needed at the time.

I recognize that we cannot go back in time to exempt that income and that, at the time, we were 100% focused on moving quickly to set up benefits and save Canadians' livelihoods. We did that.

This bill would do one thing. It would exempt pandemic relief benefits from the calculation of guaranteed income supplement or allowance benefits beginning in July, 2022.

It is a very short bill. I could quickly read it out, and still have plenty of time in this speech. In fact, the bill is the product of much collaboration among parliamentarians and parties already. I want to take an opportunity to give credit to all the members who represented their constituents by raising the stories of seniors affected, both here in the House and with me directly through my office.

Further, I would like to also thank the stakeholders and the affected seniors themselves for raising this very important issue.

We all understand that this is an extraordinary situation. Working, low-income seniors deserve to be given a break from worrying if the pandemic benefit income they received will impact the low-income supplement they receive.

As mentioned, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit was put in place very quickly in 2020 to help people avoid catastrophic income loss during COVID. An unprecedented pandemic required an unprecedented response.

The CERB and the Canada Recovery Benefit did just that. They allowed Canadians who did not know what was next to not have to worry or choose between a roof over their heads or food on the table.

I will speak more about the merits of the bill during the second reading debate, which I hope we can get to quickly. Today, I am here to say that we need to adopt this motion to quickly move through the stages of the bill. I understand the importance of Parliament's time to scrutinize bills and debate ideas; however, this is one that we have all said we agree on. All parties have said they agree with the bill's content and intent. We all have limited time before officials would no longer be able to effectively implement this and ensure the best results for affected seniors.

Further, we have to consider our colleagues in the other chamber, who also have to consider this matter. We ask a lot of them when we send them emergency pieces of legislation, and I believe it is fair to try to give them adequate time as well.

However, it is clear from what has been said in this place that this matter is urgent. It is urgent that we remove the worry seniors have, and prevent this possible reduction of the guaranteed income supplement due to pandemic benefits.

This has been an extremely challenging time to navigate. Seniors, especially low-income ones, need the security and surety to know that the government will not be counting these pandemic benefits as income when it comes to their GIS calculations. It is simply not a normal time still.

Every July, entitlement to the GIS or the allowance is reassessed based on an individual's income, or the combined income of a couple as reported on the tax return. However, the CRA and ESDC have a lot of work to do together in the months leading up to July. We need to give them the time to make major system changes to make this exemption possible.

The Income Tax Act technically defines pandemic relief benefits as taxable income, which has meant that they are also considered as income when determining entitlement to the GIS or allowance benefits. In order to exempt that income, and to prevent lower benefit payments to some guaranteed income supplement and allowance recipients because of the income they received from these pandemic benefits, Parliament has to pass this bill by early March. Every day thereafter causes immense challenges for the system, and will have an impact on seniors' files. We need to move quickly to rectify the situation.

This is the unprecedented aftermath of an unprecedented response to certainly an unprecedented crisis. During my speech at second reading, I will further discuss our government's one-time payment that would help seniors affected by 2020 benefits as announced in the economic fiscal update. I recognize—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

Order. If I could interrupt the minister for a moment, I know you had wanted to share time with the parliamentary secretary. Since this is the opening round, you have unlimited time, plus you cannot not actually share that unless there is unanimous consent to allow the parliamentary secretary to take his time as well. The hon. parliamentary secretary may make that ask.

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, as a custom of the chamber, we often allow members to split their time. I would ask for the unanimous consent of the House to allow the minister to share her time.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

Is there unanimous consent for the minister to share her time with the parliamentary secretary?

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

There is no consent.

What we can do is try to bump the parliamentary secretary down into the next sequence for the Liberal Party.

The hon. minister.

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Brampton West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, I think we all recognize, and all members have agreed with me, that we should do this payment as quickly as possible. We are supporting Canadians through an automatic, one-time payment to compensate the full amount of the loss of their GIS as soon as possible through the same one-time payment system that we have used in the past for seniors. I am happy to continue speaking to hon. members who want to support their constituents quickly, as we can all agree it is an extremely important issue. I have certainly had many conversations with hon. members on all sides on this extremely important point.

However, that is not what this bill is about. Bill C-12 would permanently exempt federal pandemic benefits from the calculation of GIS or allowance benefits beginning in July 2022, preventing this from happening again on a go forward basis. We are rectifying the previous situation and now, through this bill, we would make sure that it does not repeat itself. I think we can all agree that this bill would ensure a consistent approach for low-income seniors throughout this pandemic. We can continue to discuss the one-time payment for seniors, but we truly have a chance to expedite this bill over to the other chamber for further scrutiny.

As I mentioned, Bill C-12 is a very short, simple and clear bill, and something that I have spoken to members in other parties about. It is a simple exemption that would help seniors who really, truly need it. I certainly respect Parliament, and I am happy to make myself available to speak to parliamentarians on this.

We have to think about Canadians and those affected seniors. Our officials have certainly made immense strides towards making it possible for us to support these tens of thousands of seniors across the country. We should take this opportunity to show Canadians how this minority Parliament can work quickly, collaboratively and positively to achieve real results, and the motion today truly helps us do just that.

I am hopeful that hon. members will agree that Parliament has many important matters to discuss but should not belabour a point that we all agree on. In fact, I am appearing at the human resources, skills development and persons with disability committee on Monday about my mandate letter. This mandate letter commits me to, “Ensure seniors’ eligibility for the Guaranteed Income Supplement is not negatively impacted by receipt of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit...and the Canada Recovery Benefit....” I will certainly be discussing this with committee members during that meeting, and they can pose questions to me and my officials on this extremely important bill during that appearance.

As I have said, I have had conversations with members from all parties on this, and all have agreed that it is something we need to move forward on. We know that seniors are looking forward to all of us doing the right thing, and by working collaboratively, we can really show Canadians how, in a minority Parliament, we can all come together and do the right thing.

We are constantly working hard to find permanent solutions that will bring ongoing comfort and relief to the men and women whose hard work has contributed to the Canada we are so proud and privileged to call home. Seniors deserve nothing less than the best. We acted very fast to resolve this issue, and I truly hope that my hon. colleagues agree that this bill deserves a swift passage.

I will speak to the bill itself, and to start, I would like to remind hon. members that GIS is an income-tested benefit payable to low-income seniors who receive the old age security pension. The allowances are income-tested benefits payable to those aged 60 to 64 who are spouses, common-law partners, widows or widowers of GIS recipients, and every July an individual's entitlement for these income-tested benefits is reassessed based on individuals' income or the combined income of a couple. Therefore, the GIS and allowance benefits would be able to increase, decrease, stay the same or be seized, according to the changes in a person's annual net income.

The Income Tax Act defines pandemic relief benefits as taxable income, which has meant that they also are considered as income in determining entitlement to the GIS or allowance benefits. Unfortunately, that meant that some GIS and allowance recipients may now be facing lower benefit payments because of the income they received from these pandemic benefits.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, we are requesting for unanimous consent to allow the parliamentary secretary for seniors to also speak for no more than 10 minutes.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

There is a request for unanimous consent to allow the parliamentary secretary to speak for 10 minutes, with questions and comments for five minutes after. Any members opposed to the motion will please say nay.

It is agreed.

I will go back to the minister to finish her speech.

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Brampton West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will conclude, so my parliamentary secretary can continue this conversation.

We are constantly working hard to find permanent solutions to bring ongoing comfort and relief to those seniors who have contributed to making Canada what it is today. I think this motion truly showcases that we can all come together in all parties, and I think Canadians are looking at all of us to do the right thing. It is a very simple bill, and I am happy to chat about this more, as I will with my hon. colleagues at the HUMA committee on Monday.

This is really an opportunity for us to come together, and I hope my hon. colleagues will agree that this bill deserves to move swiftly through its passage.

Notice of Closure Motion

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Minister of Rural Economic Development]

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that, with respect to the consideration of Government Business No. 8, at the end of the next sitting day of the House, a minister of the Crown shall move, pursuant to Standing Order 57, that debate not be further adjourned.

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Minister of Rural Economic Development]

Mr. Speaker, furthermore, I give notice that, with respect to the consideration of Government Business No. 7, at the next sitting of the House a minister of the Crown shall move, pursuant to Standing Order 57, that debate not be further adjourned.

The House resumed consideration of the motion.

Government Business No. 7—Proceedings on Bill C-12

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the minister suggested today that she is looking at moving quickly and collaboratively. It is a brilliant notion, but my concern is that we have been looking to move quickly and collaboratively since I became a member in September.

If the idea is to move as quickly and collaboratively as we and our stakeholders would like to, what has taken so long?

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Minister of Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, I think we all agree why the quick passage of this bill is so important. We know how difficult this pandemic has been for those most vulnerable seniors. The bill is short, concise and clear. Bill C-12 would do what I said. It would exempt pandemic relief benefits for the calculation of GIS or allowance benefits, so that seniors who took pandemic benefits last year would have the security that their GIS will not be impacted.

It is something that the hon. member and I have chatted about. This is on top of the work that was announced in the fall economic statement. I think all parties agree on the merits of the contents of the bill. Let us get it passed.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is saying that we need to move quickly with this bill. However, even if we were to pass the bill today, nothing would change for seniors until the summer.

I remind members that we have been sounding the alarm on this issue since August. Could the minister tell me at least one other thing, aside from the bill being debated today, that she has considered to address the situation?

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Brampton West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have had conversations with the hon. member's party. I know we all agree. I also understand why there is urgency with this bill and of course, I share her concerns when moving quickly on the one-time payments we announced.

When I was appointed to this role, we moved very quickly and worked extremely hard with our officials and the Minister of Finance to make a major investment in the fiscal and economic update. My colleagues from all parties have received briefings on this. I assure them we will work quickly on that front. This bill will ensure that this does not happen again. That is what Bill C-12 is all about. I hope we can put aside our partisanship and move forward to ensure those—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

We will continue with questions and comments.

The hon. member for North Island—Powell River.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, back in May 2021 the NDP sent a letter to the government outlining very clearly that we saw this as a huge risk and that action needed to be taken immediately.

When the minister talks about the government moving quickly, I simply do not buy it. We were very clear. We knew that the poorest people in our country, seniors who receive GIS and parents who were receiving the child tax benefit, would potentially lose a significant portion, if not all, of those benefits. We alerted the government to this and asked for rapid action. This is ridiculous, in my opinion.

Why is the government choosing not to listen to Campaign 2000, which called out for an advanced payment? Waiting until May is simply too long for people who have been waiting since July.