Finance committee  The drop-out provisions are really an important part of the basic plan at this time. Our understanding, of course, is that with the enhancement, those drop-out provisions were left out. They are still important, because if we're going to increase the benefits for everyone, especi

Finance committee  It depends how far you go with the drop-outs. If you have the regular seven-year drop-out, which we have in the basic plan, that's one part of it and it goes across the board. If you start adding it for child-rearing, that's another seven years. For people with disabilities, that

Finance committee  Thank you. The one thing I think we have to remember around this table is that the amount each individual is being asked to contribute, both employer and employee, is a very modest amount. The reason it can be modest is that everybody has to do it. The workforce is 17 million pe

Finance committee  Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. I reviewed parts of the debate in the House during second reading, and there were a number of positions that I wish to address here. One of the comments made in the debates was that voluntary savings vehicles such a

Finance committee  There are a number of issues. Over the longer term, of course, increasing pension availability is going to help everybody. Women are now in the workforce, and their CPP is a major source of income. The OAS was considered the women's pension for the longest time, because it is t

Finance committee  Yes, Mr. Caron, there is an absolute need now, immediately, for home care, palliative care, and mental health care. Some $3 billion has already been promised to be spent in this category. None of it has been spent and none of it was proposed in the last budget. We surmise it wa

Finance committee  Thank you. Mr. Chair and members of the committee, while seniors today need several measures to help them with their health and financial concerns, they are also concerned about the financial security of tomorrow's seniors. Without reservation, the National Pensioners Federation

Finance committee  Absolutely. Thank you for the question. Today, using the low-income measure, there are about 600,000 Canadian seniors living in poverty. The poverty line is different for each geographic region. It's not to say that all those who are living in poverty are just under the poverty

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. As Herb John has already indicated, the changes in the budget and in the budget bill will go a long way to making sure that no senior ages into poverty. However, a lot more can be done. For the immediate purposes of this commit