Finance committee  Mr. Chair and members of Parliament, my name is Gisèle Tassé-Goodman. I'm the president of the Réseau FADOQ. I want to thank the committee members for this invitation to provide the Réseau FADOQ's perspective on its budget priorities. The Réseau FADOQ has over 535,000 members a

Finance committee  I'll start by telling you, Mr. Ste-Marie, that last December, a senior who received the guaranteed income supplement, along with old age security and Quebec pension plan benefits, obtained $18,000 a year. That's really not enough. We know very well that they're in a precarious fi

Finance committee  Exactly. However, it has been demonstrated that a single hearing aid is useless. As a result of all the ambient noise, seniors tend to take their hearing aids out. They need two hearing aids to keep up with everything happening around them and, ultimately, to socialize.

Finance committee  As I mentioned earlier, there was an election promise to that effect. When an election promise is made, we're confident that it will be fulfilled. We're asking that, after the death of a spouse, old age security benefits be extended for three months and transferred to the survivi

Finance committee  Exactly. I would also point out that the deceased spouse's pension benefits stop being deposited into their bank account in the month of their death, while the surviving spouse is grieving. Any money paid after that must be paid back. We're asking for this three-month extension t

Finance committee  Informal caregivers are often retired people aged 65 and over. We're asking that the tax credit be refundable. It's currently not refundable. The FADOQ is also asking for assistance for family caregivers who provide additional support. They're often close family members. Workers

Finance committee  There's currently a clear shortage of experienced workers. The caregivers who make up for the shortage of these workers are a huge help. In many cases, informal caregivers are women and retired people who don't have the type of income that a worker earns on the labour market. Th

Finance committee  Exactly. It improves the quality of life and helps to prevent isolation. Often, family caregivers or informal caregivers are family members.

Finance committee  It depends on the deceased person's contribution. That's how the calculation is made. The survivor's distress must be taken into consideration. I want to make sure that I'm giving you an accurate answer. Are you referring to the three-month extension for the survivor or the bere

Finance committee  We're asking for a $50 increase in the guaranteed income supplement for the people who receive it. These are the disadvantaged people in society, since they receive roughly $18,000 a year. As I said earlier, they face a number of costs. Some seniors go without medication because

Finance committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chair. I would like to thank the members of the Standing Committee on Finance for inviting me to appear. With over 535,000 members, the Réseau FADOQ is Canada's largest network of seniors. As the president of an organization that advocates for seniors' right

Finance committee  Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, and well before, we've been saying that there's a critical need. This government promised to raise old age security by 10%. People are expecting that. We want higher pensions, be it the guaranteed income supplement or old age security. A

Finance committee  Seniors' portfolios are losing value. The investments they spent years building up are shrinking before their very eyes. They want it abolished for this year. Also, as I said, seniors want the age limit for converting RRSPs into RRIFs raised to 75. Seniors who enjoy good health

Finance committee  According to Statistics Canada, 5.1 million people in Canada will turn 65 over the next 10 years, which is a significant number. We're not experts, but we believe the Canada health transfer should be increased by 6%. It was reduced in 2017, which we know full well has had an impa

Finance committee  It is absolutely critical, Ms. Larouche. The Government of Canada must do more to connect all Quebeckers and all seniors to the Internet. They must have Internet access, and it must be quality access. In some regions, it's much more difficult to access the Internet, and it's al