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Federal NPD call for emergency debate on GIS benefit

Emergency debate requested to ‘urgently find a solution to this problem’ — MP Rachel Blaney
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Seniors Critic Rachel Blaney is concerned about seniors losing their Guaranteed Income Supplement (File photo)

Only three days into the new parliamentary session in Ottawa, North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney is calling for an emergency debate on the cuts to the Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors.

Blaney, who is the NDP critic for Seniors as well as Employment and Workforce Development critic Daniel Blaikie requested the debate on “the urgent situation facing almost 90,000 of Canada’s poorest seniors.”

Blaney said that those seniors “are now at risk of homelessness and hunger (are) looking for answers from the government that promised to have their back, but instead cut their supports.

“The Liberal government cannot punish some of the most vulnerable members of our community for taking the help they needed,” she said. “We are calling for an emergency debate so we can come together and urgently find a solution to this problem.”

Emergency debates allow representatives to bring stories of people affected by policies to the attention of the government and to press ministers responsible to create a plan to assist those people.

“In many cases, GIS and CCB benefits were reduced as early as July 2021 and the negative impact of those cuts is already being felt,” says the letter.

“While Justin Trudeau was more than happy to hand out millions in subsidies to big corporations during the pandemic with no strings attached, he is punishing seniors who took the benefits they qualified for. How does that make any sense?” said Blaikie. “We have repeatedly asked the Liberal government to resolve the issue, but they have failed to act. Our seniors cannot afford to wait any longer.”

RELATED: Documents detail impacts of federal aid on benefits for seniors, families

Island MPs concerned about cuts to benefit programs



marc.kitteringham@campbellrivermirror.com

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