Industry committee  Thank you.

Industry committee  Only the employment income should be taxed for seniors who return to work after retiring. If they only receive old age security and the guaranteed income supplement, those amounts should not be affected by their employment income. The person's pay should not affect their other sources of retirement income, such as their pension plan.

Industry committee  Yes, because when seniors work, they stay healthier. That generates savings for the government. For example, if a senior spends three days in the hospital, it costs $1,369 per day. It would therefore cost the government over $4,000 for the hospital care. If seniors work, probably 10 to 20 hours per week, they'll earn $12,000 per year—they won't be paid $25 per hour, they'll be paid minimum wage.

Industry committee  Yes, I train young employees, but there aren't many who work there or who want to work there, either because they're too young or because they find the pay to be too low. We're trying to recruit retirees, but they don't want to pay income taxes on the work they do.

Industry committee  What I'm proposing is to stop collecting income tax on income that people earn when they return to the labour market. Taxes would still be collected on income earned before retirement. This measure would only apply to employment income earned after retirement. Is that clear?

Industry committee  This measure would take effect when the person retires. At that point, any income earned when the person returns to the labour market would be non-taxable.

Industry committee  As I said, this measure is only for retirees 65 or older. Once a person retires, at age 65, any employment income earned would not be taxed. If the person returns to work at age 70, the same thing would apply. That person would not pay income tax on their employment income.

Industry committee  I worked for the Desjardins Group. After I retired, I was self-employed for 15 years. I stopped for two years, but found that I wasn't doing well and my doctor said that I needed to exercise. The co‑op where I work now didn't have enough employees, so I began working there to help out.

Industry committee  I didn't hear the question. Could you repeat it?

Industry committee  Yes, Mr. Chair. It's only about the work that the retiree does after retiring. The taxes collected before retirement remain the same. To attract retirees, they wouldn't be required to pay income tax on the income earned when they return to the labour market.

Industry committee  Thank you very much.

Industry committee  Good afternoon. My name is Jean‑Guy Couillard, and I've been retired from the Desjardins Group since 2001. I'm 78 years old. I returned to the labour market in May 2019 to work at a grocery store after seeing my doctor, who suggested that I take part in an activity that could improve my health.