Less than a week after she was given the critic role about seniors affairs, North Island - Powell River MP Rachel Blaney is asking the Liberal government to help seniors who have lost their Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) because they received pandemic supports.
“There are a lot of seniors in our country and in our riding who are going to be losing their Guaranteed Income Supplement very soon if they have not lost it already. They’re very worried about not having a place to live and being able to afford basic necessities,” Blaney said.
“We have a lot of working seniors who applied for the CRB or the CERB. They went through the Candian Revenue Agency and are having challenges that people who applied through Service Canada are not,” she said.
Blaney and employment and workforce development critic Daniel Blaikie sent a letter to ministers Kamal Khera (Seniors Minister), Diane Lebouthillier (Minister of National Revenue) and Carla Qualtrough (Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion) asking for immediate action on this issue.
The NDP also called on the government to address this issue back in August, but “Instead of taking action to help low-income seniors and support Canadians through a pandemic, Justin Trudeau chose to call an early election for the government’s own political gain,” the NDP press release said.
“Was it not enough for Liberals to drag their heels getting financial support to seniors in the early days of the pandemic? Now they’re trying to claw back some of the support that actually made it to seniors in need,” said Blaikie. “While the Liberals rush to give money to the richest corporations without any strings attached, they are nickel and dime-ing seniors. It’s just not good enough.”
“Seniors have had to endure a lot during this pandemic, whether it’s been poor living conditions in long-term care homes or being more vulnerable to COVID-19. Now, some of Canada’s most vulnerable low-income seniors have lost the GIS help they relied on simply for following the government’s advice,” said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. “The Liberal government can’t abandon our seniors like this. We’re urging Justin Trudeau to act immediately and ensure Canadian seniors have the help they need.”
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marc.kitteringham@campbellrivermirror.com
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