“I have worked to help seniors for a long time. Our government has given seniors a lot of support. We increased benefits, matched payments to inflation, gave extra money during the pandemic, and raised pensions for people 75 and older.”

“Mr. Speaker, I have had a great deal of sympathy for and have worked with seniors virtually since being elected back in 1988 for the first time in the Manitoba legislature. In fact, during the by-election back in 2010, I remember going to the German-Canadian Congress, where there were seniors telling me that they had to make a difficult decision in terms of medication versus food. It is a challenge of all governments. As a government, we have seen substantial supports for seniors, whether it is a record percentage of increases to the GIS, the ongoing inflation matches for things like OAS, supporting the new horizons for seniors program to the degree that we have, or one-time payments during times like the pandemic. There are all sorts of ways we continue to support our seniors, not to mention the 10% increase for seniors 75 and above, those who rely more and more as they get older on medicine and so forth.”

“I want to ask my colleague if he thinks the Conservatives would cut pensions and income support for seniors. Those programs cost about $85 billion.”

“Mr. Speaker, talking about seniors, that is exactly what I would like to ask my colleague about, because we do have in Canada the program of old age security and the guaranteed income supplement. Together we are talking about something like $85 billion. Does my colleague think that the new, right Conservatives would probably put an axe to those programs?”

“The Conservatives raised the retirement age and did nothing to help public pensions. The Liberals lowered the retirement age back down and increased pension payments for seniors.”

“Mr. Speaker, I was here when the current leader of the Conservative Party worked with Stephen Harper. They raised OAS eligibility from age 65 to 67, and they did absolutely nothing on the CPP file for over a decade. It took Liberal administrations to not only reverse the 65 to 67 but also get an increase to CPP. We have also had ongoing support in terms of increases to the GIS and the OAS for our seniors.”

“Our government works hard for all Canadians. We are growing the economy, protecting the environment, and building better relations with Indigenous people at the same time.”

“Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that under this Prime Minister, we have seen a government that has recognized the value of building a strong Canada for all Canadians, to make it stronger and healthier. That is what those policies, as they have unfolded, have directed. We understand the importance of the economy, the environment and indigenous people, bringing them all together, knowing full well that we can work in collaboration and have a good environment, a good economy and better relations with indigenous people as we grow through things such as the major projects and export opportunities. It is an aggressive agenda that this Prime Minister and every Liberal member of Parliament has, to be there for Canadians.”

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