Federal Budget -What Seniors Want

Posted on by CARP

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 2, 2015

Federal Budget -What Seniors Want: nation-wide collaboration of retiree groups call for CPP increase, OAS at age 65, anti-poverty, pharmacare, home care and caregiver support, affordable housing –pre-conditions to the Seniors’ Vote: Open Letter, Poll

Toronto, ON: Seniors Vote/ Le Vote Des Aînés is a collaboration of seniors groups calling for action on issues of particular concern to older Canadians – retirement security and healthcare reform and has released an open letter to the Finance Ministers ahead of the upcoming federal budget. Click here to view Joint letter in both French and English.

Seniors Vote/Le Vote des Aînés is endorsed by a nation-wide group of national and regional seniors and retirees, advocacy and professional associations including the National Pensioners Federation, CARP, Réseau FADOQ, Congress of Union Retirees of Canada, International Federation on Ageing, College of Family Physicians of Canada, retired teachers, university and college professors, public servants, police and health care workers.[a full list is attached to the letter]

Seniors Vote/Le Vote des Aînés will be looking for action in the upcoming Federal Budget to address the issues that individual groups in Seniors Vote/Le Vote des Aînés have already made in pre-budget submissions. The joint letter compiles the issues common to those submissions.

This year’s federal election will be another opportunity for candidates to ask: “what do seniors want?” Seniors Vote/Le Vote des Aînés offers some answers – seniors are the most avid voters, this is what seniors will vote for and this is how you get the seniors’ vote.

According to a recent CARP Poll™, every one of the recommendations has the almost unanimous support (90%) of the nearly 2,000 respondents, most of whom will not benefit from them, since any changes will happen well into the future.

Seniors Vote/Le Vote des Aînés calls on the federal government to:

  • Work with provinces to increase the CPP
  • Strengthen income support by
    • Restoring the OAS eligibility age to 65 from 67
    • Increase the exempt earnings band for GIS
    • Increasing the amount of OAS and GIS for low income seniors
  • Increase income supports for low-income single older Canadians not yet eligible for OAS by creating an equivalent to the OAS spousal allowance
  • Prohibit retroactive erosion of earned pension benefits
  • Work with the provinces to create a national pharmacare plan, with an ultimate goal of first dollar coverage for all Canadians
  • Work with the provinces to fund and set national home care standards to improve access, affordability, and quality of post-acute and chronic care, in the home and in the community, with particular focus on dementia care
  • Increase financial support and provide workplace protection for caregivers
  • Work with the provinces to ensure every Canadian has access to housing appropriate to need, including affordable and supportive housing, and assisted living services
  • Address growing income inequality which affects Canadians of all ages

For Seniors Vote/Le Vote des Aînés:

Pat Kerwin 613-236-1326
President, CURC
[email protected]

Susan Eng 416-607-2475
Vice President, Advocacy CARP
[email protected]

Herb John 519-350-3221
President, National Pensioners Federation
[email protected]

Danis Prud’homme 514-252-3017
Executive Director, Réseau FADOQ
[email protected]

For media inquiries, please contact:

Sarah Park   416-607-2471
[email protected]

Michael Nicin   416-607-2479
[email protected]

Anna Sotnykova  416-607-2475
[email protected]