Rachel Blaney Urges New Minister of Seniors and Labour to Do Better for Seniors in Canada

Rachel Blaney (NDP MP for North Island – Powell River) has sent a letter to the Hon. Seamus O’Regan, recently appointed Minister of Seniors and Labour, pushing him to take steps to ensure seniors in Canada have the financial support they need to meet their cost of living.

In her letter, Blaney notes that there are more seniors living in Canada than ever before, but Canada’s public services and institutions are not prepared to meet their needs.

“Far too many seniors are living in poverty at risk of becoming unhoused or are already experiencing homelessness, the federal government is clawing back their benefits, or they are forced to make the difficult choice between buying their medication and buying food,” Blaney writes.

She urges Minister O’Regan to take steps now to ensure all seniors in Canada have a safe, accessible, and affordable place to live, including

●     Retroactively apply the 10% increase to Old Age Security for all seniors

●     Creating a Guaranteed Liveable Basic Income

●     Addressing the taxation imbalance for single seniors who rent

●     Amending the Old Age Security Act so seniors are not at risk of losing their Guaranteed Income Supplement because of daunting paperwork.

“The issues I’ve outlined are not difficult to fix but your government so far has refused to do so. My New Democrat colleagues and I will be pressing you to do better,” Blaney writes.

Blaney encourages anyone who would like to read the letter in full to access it on her website.

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