Seniors  Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to improving the lives of seniors, and we have been working very hard to do this. We have enacted a number of measures. We have restored the age of eligibility for OAS and GIS from 67 to 65, which has prevented 100,000 seniors from going into poverty.

Seniors  Mr. Speaker, as I have said, with respect to the two measures, rolling back the OAS and the GIS and increasing the GIS, we have lifted or prevented over 150,000 seniors from going into poverty, but it does not stop there. We have also created the first-ever national housing strategy, with a $55-billion investment to create safe, secure, affordable housing for seniors.

Seniors  Madam Speaker, I am happy to have the opportunity to speak about the strong work our government has been doing for seniors. The member mentioned OAS and GIS. We restored the age of eligibility for OAS and GIS. We moved it from 67 to 65. This prevented 100,000 seniors from going into poverty.

Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act  moved that the bill be concurred in.

Criminal Records Act  moved: That Bill C-93, in Clause 4, be amended by replacing line 26 on page 3 with the following: (4.11) For the purpose of an application referred to in subsection (3.1), the Board may not require a person who makes the application to provide a certified copy of information contained in court records in support of the application unless the certified verification of the applicant’s criminal records and information contained in the police records or Canadian Armed Forces records provided in support of the application are not sufficient to demonstrate that the person has been convicted only of an offence referred to in Schedule 3 and that the only sentence imposed for that offence was payment of a fine or victim surcharge or both

Human Resources committee  Do I have only 10 seconds?

Human Resources committee  I had a great visit to your riding. It was fantastic to see the new horizons for seniors program at work and the amazing work that organizations in your community are doing to help provide healthy food for seniors. The dementia strategy is something that the Minister of Health has the lead on.

Human Resources committee  Thank you for that question, MP Ruimy. I know you've had strong advocacy with the seniors in your riding, and I deeply appreciate that. Before I answer your question, I want to respond to MP Sansoucy, who acknowledged a figure that I gave. For clarification, the estimated 40,000 is not OAS or GIS recipients.

Human Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, for inviting me to contribute to the important HUMA committee study on the Government of Canada's main estimates for the 2019-20 fiscal year. I'd like to thank and congratulate all members of this committee. As a number of you know, it was a committee I served on.

Pensions  Mr. Speaker, we know that workplace pension security is a decades old problem. It is our government that committed the resources, the time and the energy to get this right. We are taking an evidence-based approach. We had consultations. As a result of those consultations, budget 2019 has introduced measures that will help our pensioners.

Seniors  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his work on the pension security file. Our government takes pension security for seniors very seriously. It is our government that, after decades, has invested the time, energy and effort to get this right. That was included in the budget as well as my mandate letter.

Human Resources committee  Thanks, MP Long, for that question. I have very fond memories of visiting your riding. I really appreciate the leadership that was shown there. I am very optimistic. It's reflected in a number of parts of the country as I travel and see groups coming together and taking proactive action in order to better serve the needs of seniors in their communities.

Human Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to begin by thanking all the committee members for the invitation to be with you here today. It's really nice to be back at HUMA. It was the committee at which I first started after being elected as a member of Parliament. I'm very aware of the great work that takes place at this committee.

Pensions  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his passion and work on this file. Pension security is very important to our government. We made a commitment in the 2018 budget, as well as in my mandate letter, to consult with Canadians, and that is exactly what we have done. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have submitted contributions to this consultation process.

Seniors  Mr. Speaker, our government has been working hard for seniors from the day we were elected. Last week I was very pleased to announce that the call for proposals for the pan-Canadian new horizons for seniors program is now open. This year, we have increased the funding to $5 million, and increased the length of time for the projects to five years.