Thank you for your e-mail and for taking the time to write to me on the important issue of a seniors’ housing. Advocating for more affordable housing units and for more family-friendly buildings was a central concern of mine as a City Councillor, and one I continue to work towards at the Federal level. Developing a national housing strategy to improve access to affordable, appropriate housing for all Canadians is a Liberal party policy and one that I would be excited to tackle on your behalf if I have the honour of serving again in the next parliament.
I am proud that Justin Trudeau announced a strong housing strategy that I worked to create which invests $20 billion dollars over 10 years into housing that will arrive immediately. We will prioritize significant new investment in affordable housing and seniors facilities. This investment will renew federal leadership in housing, help build more housing units and refurbish existing ones, renew current co-operative agreements, and provide operational funding support for municipalities, including renewing support for Housing First initiatives that help homeless Canadians find stable housing. This investment is designed to be flexible so that the provinces and municipalities can stream this money directly into the programs most needed in their jurisdiction, which for many areas will be specifically seniors housing.
Additionally, the Liberal Party has a number of policies to address the various facets of seniors’ lives, including retirement security, compassionate care, and affordable housing. Here are a few highlights that may be of interest:
- We will restore the eligibility age for Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement to 65, putting an average of $13,000 annually into the pockets of the lowest income Canadians as they become seniors.
- We will immediately increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement for single, lower income seniors by ten percent, providing up to an additional $920 per year for Canada’s lowest income seniors.
- We will develop a new measure for the cost of living faced by seniors: the Seniors Price Index. OAS and GIS will be indexed to this new, more accurate, and more generous measure, rather than to the Consumer Price Index that reflects the wider population. In periods when the Consumer Price Index grows faster than the Seniors Price Index, the traditional Consumer Price Index will be used. We will not cut pension income splitting for seniors.
- We will work with the provinces and territories, workers, employers, and retiree organizations to enhance the Canada Pension Plan. Within three months of the election, the new federal Finance Minister will convene provincial and territorial counterparts to begin this work. We will work with the Quebec government and respect the close collaboration that exists between the Canada Pension Plan and the Quebec Pension Plan.
- We will also introduce a more flexible and accessible Employment Insurance Compassionate Care Benefit so that six months of benefits are available to those who are providing care to a seriously ill family member, rather than only those caring for a loved one at risk of death.
- Finally, as part of a Liberal government’s commitment to a new, ten-year investment of nearly $20 billion in social infrastructure, we will prioritize significant new investment in affordable housing and seniors’ facilities.
There are further details online here:
https://www.liberal.ca/realchange/retirement-security-for-our-seniors/
Thanks again for your interest and for getting in touch with me. I hope that we can count on your support on October 19.
Best regards,
Adam Vaughan