Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, the hon. minister, for splitting her time with me tonight.
It is with tremendous pleasure that I virtually rise in the House this evening to talk about Bill C-12, an act to amend the Old Age Security Act, guaranteed income supplement, at this very important second reading stage. Before I do so, I would like to acknowledge that I am joining the debate from the traditional territory of the Mi'kmaq people.
To echo the words of the hon. Minister of Seniors, the purpose of Bill C-12 is very simple. This bill would permanently exempt pandemic benefits from the calculation of the guaranteed income supplement, the GIS, or allowance benefits starting as of July 2022. As we have heard discussed by my hon. colleagues today during a very thorough debate, our government has a plan in place to get direct compensation to seniors who experienced reductions in their GIS previously. This is not enough, however. We know that we will find ourselves back in the same position four months from now if further action is not taken immediately. We have heard agreement on this from all parties who share our concern in preventing this problem from ever happening again.
The Canada emergency recovery benefit and the Canada recovery benefit continue to play an important role in supporting Canadians who were unable to work throughout 2021 and protecting so many from crippling income loss. To allow pandemic benefits like this to continue being effective and to avoid negative impacts on seniors, Bill C-12 would provide the reassurance seniors need to continue collecting the financial support they need, if they need to do so.
Our government has also helped seniors in many ways beyond direct emergency benefit payments and tax relief. We invested $100 million to improve access to food for Canadians, including seniors facing social, economic and health impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We created a $350-million emergency community support fund to support charities and non-profit organizations to adapt the services that they provide to vulnerable groups, including seniors, in response to COVID-19.
When COVID hit, we had already approved many New Horizons for Seniors projects. As the pandemic's effects became clearer, we gave organizations the flexibility to adapt previously approved projects and use their funding to provide support for seniors' needs specific to COVID-19. In addition, in March of 2020, we invested an additional $9 million via the New Horizons for Seniors program to support projects by community organizations serving seniors. In May of 2020, we invested a further $20 million to expand the New Horizons for Seniors program to support organizations that offer community-based projects that reduce isolation, improve the quality of life of seniors and help them maintain a very important social support network.
It is a sad reality that the COVID pandemic has brought isolation to the lives of so many of our most vulnerable senior citizens. With isolation to stay safe at home, seniors have had challenges maintaining their physical and mental health. Seniors built the Canada that we know and love today and they deserve our support to live with dignity. That sense of vulnerability is real and cannot be overstated. It is why our government has dug deep and continues to dig deep to find ways to address those fears and bring some element of comfort to those deprived of basic securities that most of us take for granted.
To support seniors to live in their homes for longer as they age, we committed to providing $90 million for the age well at home initiative. The initiative would assist senior-serving organizations in providing practical support that helps low-income and otherwise vulnerable seniors age in their homes. It would match seniors with volunteers who can help with meal preparations, home maintenance, daily errands, yardwork, transportation, just name it. It would also help seniors access local services such as shovelling snow, cutting grass, picking up medicine and taking care of other practical non-medical tasks that they are no longer able to manage.
In budget 2021, we provided $3 billion to Health Canada to support provinces and territories in ensuring standards for long-term care are applied and permanent changes are made so that seniors who live in care live in safe and dignified conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted long-standing challenges in Canada's long-term care homes, as the Minister of Seniors knows all too well.
Gaps have been exposed in infection prevention and control, staffing and infrastructure, with tragic effects on residents, their families and those working in long-term care facilities. That is why, in the 2020 fall economic statement, the Government of Canada committed up to $1 billion for the safe long-term care fund to help provinces and territories support infection prevention and control, through making improvements to ventilation, hiring additional staff and topping up wages.
We are also committed to affordable housing. We plan to build, repair and support an additional 35,000 affordable housing units for vulnerable Canadians, including seniors. This is part of the national housing strategy, which is on track to invest $70 billion by 2027-28 to help more Canadians find an affordable place to call home.
We are working to improve access to palliative care and end-of-life care, including culturally sensitive care by providing $29.8 million over six years to Health Canada to advance the government's palliative care strategy and lay a better foundation for coordinated action on long-term care and supportive care needs.
We are also supporting seniors and Canadians' mental health by providing $100 million to the Public Health Agency of Canada to support projects for innovative mental health interventions for populations disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, including seniors. We have invested $50 million for the Public Health Agency of Canada to design and deliver interventions that promote safe relationships and prevent family violence, including elder abuse.
These are just some of the supports that our government has provided to improve the lives and financial situation of our Canadian seniors. We will continue to look at ways, in co-operation with all members in the House, to improve our supports and services for seniors.
Our government has been there time and again for seniors across Canada. The pandemic has highlighted the many challenges facing our most vulnerable seniors. We have done a lot, but here is an area where we still have a bit more to do. It is time for all members of the House to put aside politics and focus on why we are here as members of Parliament, delivering for Canadians in need of help.
I am hoping that all hon. colleagues in this House will join with us to pass this bill when it comes to a second reading vote.