Human Resources committee  We coordinate Canada's public pension system, which is a two-tier system, old age security and the Canada Pension Plan, with whatever type of system the other country has. Very few countries have residence-based schemes--I mentioned a few--and most of them are contributory. Yes,

Human Resources committee  No, it applies to anybody who resides in Canada and does not have 10 years of residence in Canada.

Human Resources committee  That's correct.

Human Resources committee  If the act were amended to lower the required number of years from 10 to 3, that would have no impact on other countries. They each have their own acts. To be eligible, you need 25 years in certain cases, and 10 years in others. A minimum is established, and many factors are take

Human Resources committee  There are various ways to calculate pensions, but, in fact, you're right. The amount of the benefit is usually directly related to the number of years the person has contributed to the plan. There may be minimums and maximums, but you're nevertheless right.

Human Resources committee  Pardon me, but I'm having trouble understanding you, as a result of the echo. I don't have any earphones. Could you repeat your question?

Human Resources committee  We can pay benefits outside the country. One agreement enables people who are in Canada to meet the minimum requirements to receive an old age security pension, but we can transfer the pension outside the country under an agreement. So that works on both sides. The idea is to pr

Human Resources committee  Yes, that's the case. However, I'm going to let Mr. Montambeault address the cost issue. I believe it's equivalent to the old age pension payment inside Canada. If the number of years is reduced to three, that will change nothing for the people who leave the country. People will

Human Resources committee  Yes. In 2006, we paid approximately $110 million outside the country, either in respect of old age pension or under the Canada Pension Plan. The other countries paid approximately $550 million in Canada. That amount came directly under the agreements. So it appears that, for ever

Human Resources committee  The 10-year rule presently applies to anybody. We're looking at 10 years after the age of 18, so it applies to somebody who enters the country, a new immigrant. It equally applies to someone who may have left the country at an early age and returns perhaps to Canada to retire. So

Human Resources committee  Thank you. As you see, we have agreements signed with 51 countries. We're limited to agreements with countries that have social security systems like Canada's so we can coordinate and we can add periods in the two countries to meet minimum requirements for a benefit. Currently

Human Resources committee  I don't have that information. Perhaps I didn't understand your question correctly. You're saying that if this bill were to pass and we reduced the minimum residence period to three years, what would be the cost related to...?

Human Resources committee  There is the issue that we have 51 agreements. There's a question as to whether we would have to renegotiate some or review them to determine if there are any changes required. The agreements, though, go beyond old age security. They also affect the Canada Pension Plan and Canad

Human Resources committee  You would need an agreement to meet the three-year minimum for the very small number of individuals who perhaps reached 65 years of age with only one or two years of residence, but otherwise the agreements would not affect the payment of old age security benefits in Canada. Howe