Monday December 13, 2021 | NATIONAL [Last updated 3:45 pm Pacific]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
First thing this Monday morning in Ottawa, two NDP MPs once again confirmed the immovable position of their 25-seat party that the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) clawback must be cancelled and reversed.
Seniors Critic Rachel Blaney (North Island – Powell River) and Finance Critic Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood-Transcona) addressed the media on this topic, at 9:15 am Eastern Time (6:15 am Pacific), from Ottawa.
They suggested it would not only be the right thing to do to end the GIS clawback, but to do so this week, ahead of the Christmas season. The House of Commons only sits until this Friday December 17, before going on a long winter break.
Today Blaney confirmed that not acting on reversing the GIS clawback is a deal-breaker for the NDP, when it comes to whether or not the NDP will support Bill C-2 (extension of pandemic supports) which will be voted on this week in the House of Commons. She said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh “has made that very clear” in recent weeks.
Blaikie said on December 10 that C-2 does not represent the same spirit of ‘all in this together’ that Canadians saw in their elected representatives in the House in the early phases of the pandemic in 2020.
As NDP Finance Critic, Blaikie delivered a lengthy (almost 20-minute) eloquent analysis of how people are continuing to be “squashed” by the political decision-making of the Liberal and Conservative governments, with increasing less taxation being paid by the wealthiest Canadians.
Today Blaney put forward a motion in the House of Commons asking all Members of Parliament for Unanimous Consent to fix the problem so working seniors can maintain their full GIS benefit. Consent was denied by several MPs, killing the motion.
- Blaney proposes Unanimous Consent motion (Dec 13) : https://youtu.be/tZhAdbPDZ54
- Blaney and MP Peter Julian question Minister of Seniors (Dec 13): https://youtu.be/xcCkzS0-G7w
- Letter from MP Blaikie (Aug 3)
- Letter from MP Duvall (Aug 12)
- Letter from MPs Blaney & Blaikie (Nov 2)
A letter was issued from NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, to the Prime Minister today, requesting that the Liberal government “reverse the cut to the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) for low-income seniors who were eligible for pandemic benefits, before the House rises this week”.
“If you’re going to do the right thing, now is the time to show us,” said Blaney about the Liberal government, in the morning media session.
Number of votes:
The Bloc Quebecois (with 32 seats) has also recently demanded that the GIS clawback be reversed. Asking for the clawback reversal since August, the NDP has 25 seats. The Liberals only need 11 votes to bring their 159 votes up to the 170 majority required to pass legislation.
The bill would still need to be reviewed and passed by the Senate before any pandemic support-related funds could be issued. Given the upcoming Christmas break in the House of Commons calendar (December 18, 2021 through January 30, 2022), the timeline is tight to near-impossible.
Imbalance in the system:
“The Liberal government stood by and said their hands were tied when the richest companies took pandemic support to pay bonuses to wealthy executives or to pay dividends to rich shareholders. Instead of making the wealthiest pay back the help they took and didn’t need, the Liberal government is going after our country’s poorest seniors and putting them in an impossible situation,” said Blaikie today.
“Working seniors already struggle to make ends meet. Denying them the GIS, or severely reducing it, as a result of last year’s emergency benefits, is not only unfair but will make it impossible for some of them to make rent. The point of the emergency benefits was to prevent evictions and keep food on the table, not to merely delay homelessness and hunger,” the Finance Critic said.
Blaikie sat through a four-hour House of Commons Finance Committee meeting last week about Bill C-2, to outline some of these points.
In the House of Commons on December 10, Blaikie said: “We’d like the government to take responsibility for ensuring they have a guaranteed livable income at a rate that is above the poverty line, something we haven’t yet seen.”
Some of the extraordinary benefits that have helped businesses make significant financial gains as a result of the pandemic include the CEBA loan of $40,000 to $60,000 (where $10,000 to $20,000 can retained), and wage subsidies which weren’t necessarily executed as outlined.
Almost 90,000 seniors impacted:
As many as 88,000 low-income seniors have had their GIS payments reduced or eliminated since August 2021, for having legitimately taken CERB in 2020 (they earned at least $5,000 in 2019, and their income in 2020 was impacted by CERB).
CERB was clearly stated as taxable (GIS is calculated based on income), but the reduction or removal of GIS for 12 months is forcing some harsh decisions upon seniors.
Some impacted seniors are in danger of losing their homes (i.e. can’t cover the rent), or are making serious cuts to their purchases of groceries, medications and local transportation.
Local MP Alistair MacGregor (Cowichan-Malahat-Langford) brought forward an account of one instance where a man who usually receives the GIS benefit has not been able to afford his rent and now has a diagnosis of cancer (medication for which he cannot now afford since the GIS was clawed back).
Working on ‘the right solution’:
For several weeks now, the Liberal government has indicated that they are working ‘to find the right solution’ to the GIS clawback situation (statements by the Seniors Minister, a Liberal MP backbencher, the Finance Minister, and the Prime Minister himself).
That sort of repeated commentary strongly implies that responsibility for taking the CERB/CRB benefits in 2020 must rest upon the seniors.
The government evidently doesn’t want to be seen to be ‘allowing’ seniors to get away with a break on funds that were called taxable. Even though many businesses have been allowed to retain overpayments that they didn’t need during the pandemic, including the wage benefit in some cases.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has said to just repay all the clawed-back amounts to these low-income seniors in need. Otherwise, it’s just seniors (and also families who have lost portions of their Canada Child Benefit) who are carrying the brunt of economic impacts this year, because of the Liberal government approach to pandemic management.
Seniors losing basic sustainability:
Today Blaney said that seniors should not be forced “to lose their basic sustainability”. She adds that “poverty costs all of us”, of course referring to the impacts on health and livability that become socioeconomic costs to governments when people fall ill or become less healthy.
GIS funding in budget:
The GIS funding is already in the federal budget. Spending that money will avoid all the other costs associated with short-changing Canada’s hard-working low-income seniors, Blaney pointed out to media today.
The Federal Fiscal Update by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be delivered tomorrow in the House of Commons (at 4 pm Eastern / 1 pm Pacific), attended by the Prime Minister.
Benefits of seniors working:
In BC in recent weeks, the BC Finance Minister Selina Robinson heard from one economist that seniors working past the age of 65 could be offered a tax credit, given that their experience and skill-transfer to young workers is of socioeconomic benefit to the economy.
Robinson was seeking ideas for adapting and refining the 2022 BC Budget.
Seniors who continue to work are generally contributing to their own health and well-being, which is of benefit to the overall social and economic systems.
===== ARCHIVE of GIS LETTERS & ARTICLES:
NDP: GIS clawback must end before Xmas (December 13, 2021)
NDP: federal government could restore GIS & CCB arrears in full (December 8, 2021)
Bloc adds voice to GIS clawback issue, puts C-2 under threat (December 8, 2021)
Liberals again acknowledge GIS clawback issue as NDP keeps pushing (November 30, 2021)
NDP calls for emergency debate around low-income family & seniors clawbacks (November 24, 2021)
NDP rolls into 44th Parliament with priorities to help people (November 22, 2021)
Restoring GIS & Canada Child Benefit important for low-income islanders (November 18, 2021)
LETTER: Losing GIS means needing help to pay the rent (November 17, 2021)
44th parliament: NDP to take on housing, GIS & CERB amnesty within affordability, also climate crisis (November 9, 2021)
Seniors Minister weighs in on what NDP calls GIS clawback (November 8, 2021)
NDP requests immediate government action to reverse GIS clawback (November 3, 2021)
LETTER: senior faces potential eviction due to GIS clawback (Oct 27, 2021)
LETTER: GIS clawback continues after election (October 19, 2021)
LETTER: GIS clawback means food vs rent (September 19, 2021)
NDP candidate mojo: we fight for you (September 19, 2021)
LETTER: GIS clawback means no bus pass (September 13, 2021)
LETTER: Hurting seniors with GIS clawback (September 5, 2021)
LETTER: Retired & depending on GIS (August 19, 2021)
LETTER: Suddenly losing Guaranteed Income Supplement by receiving CERB (August 10, 2021)
LETTER: Seniors suddenly losing Guaranteed Income Supplement if they took CERB (August 7, 2021)
Seniors who took CERB now losing GIS supplement & other benefits (August 4, 2021)
