Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, seniors across this country know that they can rely on this Liberal government to support them and have their backs. While it is heartbreaking to read about what is happening to some of these seniors, including in Richmond, that party over there would do nothing for them. It would walk away from the problem and say, “Pull yourselves up by your bootstraps.” What we are doing is providi…
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Mr. Speaker, we have heard from seniors organizations across this country applauding the changes we have made to the New Horizons for Seniors program, which are ensuring that we have doubled the amount available to senior-servicing organizations but also ensuring the integrity of the program for years to come. This was one of the very few grants left in the Government of Canada that did not have t…
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Mr. Speaker, these changes are important to ensure the integrity of the program, but we also want to make sure that all of the wonderful senior-servicing organizations across Canada have the support they need. That is why Service Canada has provided additional resources to ensure that signing up for the business number is easy. There is a 15- to 30-minute process to make sure that this happens onl…
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Mr. Speaker, we announced these changes to the New Horizons for Seniors program almost a month before the applications opened up, and we made these changes, requiring the CRA business number, to ensure the integrity of the program. Here is what CanAge has to say about these changes. It has said that it is pleased to see this important step to ensure the integrity of the program. It believes that t…
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Mr. Speaker, in April, we introduced changes to the new horizons for seniors program, including requiring a CRA business number. For most seniors organizations, this change delivers clearer, fairer standards that increase the program's integrity. For organizations that do not have this number, Service Canada is available to assist all applicants. Members of Parliament are also available to assist …
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Mr. Speaker, prior to these changes, the new horizons for seniors program was the only grant within the Government of Canada that was not subject to these integrity measures. We are putting this program in line with all other grants and contributions across the Government of Canada. By looking at the clock, I can see that it is June 11. There is lots of time for organizations, and we are there to …
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Mr. Speaker, Vancouver Islanders in the member's riding and mine deserve facts. Labelling the economy without context does not help workers or businesses. There are 22 nation-building projects driving over $125 billion in capital investment. There were 88,000 new jobs in May, exceeding market expectations. Wages are growing almost twice as fast as in the United States. Disposable income rose 2.3%.…
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Mr. Speaker, young people know that this government is there for them. They know that because they have a majority of the new jobs that are being created. They also know that business investment has increased for the second consecutive quarter in Canada. They know that the IMF projects Canada will be the fastest-growing economy in the G7 in 2026-27. They know that this government has a plan that w…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that 76% of appellate-level challenges to Harper-era mandatory minimum sentences were successful. We also know that the Conservatives are saying that they will not support this bill without the addition of mandatory minimum sentences, but more than 217 challenges to the constitutionality of these since 2021 have been made. When the courts frequently strike down mandatory minim…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve facts, not Conservative fear. Labelling the economy without context does not help workers or businesses. The Bank of Canada has, in fact, cautioned against doing that. Economies around the world are facing global uncertainty, but Canada is weathering these global headwinds better than many of our peers. Our economy is stable, jobs are being created and we continue to…
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Mr. Speaker, this is very rich coming from the Conservatives, whose plan is to do nothing. Their plan is to absolutely ignore the needs of Canadians, and we see that when they vote against measures such as ensuring that there is old age security for seniors, and when they put forward measures that would ensure that seniors aged 65 to 67 cannot get old age security. When the Conservatives folks tal…
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Mr. Speaker, we hear no common sense from the other side, and perhaps that is because they do not speak to Canadians. Over here we are hearing from Canadians regularly, and they know that Canada faces a profound global economic uncertainty right now. That is why we are responding with responsible measures, like protecting seniors from fraud and making the social programs that they rely on efficien…
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Mr. Speaker, our government has said time and time again, and has shown through action, that we stand with the people of British Columbia, we stand with private title rights holders and we stand with indigenous people. We are taking the appropriate action, and we are appealing the decision in the courts. It is frightening how the Conservatives are attempting to whip up disinformation and scare pri…
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Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives voted against the budget, they voted against the OAS and the GIS. They also voted against the New Horizons for Seniors program, a tax credit for personal support workers and the dental care program. What are the Conservatives voting for? It is certainly not for seniors.
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Mr. Speaker, it is very odd hearing the Conservatives talk as if somehow we are not talking about Canadians. We are talking about Canadians here. We are talking about their dollars, and we are talking about where they want them invested. We know, loud and clear, that time and time again we have heard from Canadians that they want us to invest in them, and that means things like the groceries and e…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for highlighting the incredible contributions that she makes to her community for seniors. I have seen it first-hand. Just last week, I announced over $54 million in funding for the new horizons for seniors program, which will go to more than 2,600 grassroots programs across the country benefiting seniors. With this investment, organizations like S.E.A.S. Centre in …
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Mr. Speaker, the government is controlling what it can. We know there are a lot of factors outside our control, but what we can control is ensuring that youth get a head start with the Canada summer jobs program, that Canadians get help with the fuel excise tax, that apprenticeships get a $75‑million injection in training and that Canadians get a groceries and essentials benefit that gives them up…
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Mr. Speaker, as the Secretary of State for Seniors, I talk to seniors across this country and I talk to seniors in Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke on Vancouver Island. What they tell me is that they cannot trust these Conservatives. They cannot trust them because they have great memories. What they remember is that those Conservatives wanted to cut their old age security from them. They wanted to bring th…
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Mr. Speaker, when we went to the polls just about a year ago, I went door knocking in my riding of a Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, and I talked to this gentleman named Craig at the door. He said to me that what was really important to him was an income tax cut. Here is the thing, he wanted to know why it would be better to vote for me than for the Conservatives. I said that, if he voted for us, the tax…
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Mr. Speaker, let me be perfectly clear with the member. The government tabled a response at the public accounts committee in January. There were over 50 pages of documentation on the progress of the benefits delivery modernization program that are publicly available and can be found online, so what the member has asked for has already been conducted. Just this morning, he also participated in a te…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians elected a government they know they can rely on to support the social fabric of this country, including the support of our seniors. That is why we introduced legislation to reduce taxes for nearly 22 million Canadians. We made the national school food program permanent. We launched the Canada disability benefit. We ensured that old age security would continue for those who a…
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Mr. Speaker, the government is taking action on a critical software program. It is a program that was launched in 1966. Let us wrap our heads around that for a moment. My mother was 10 years old. Many of the members on the other side had not been born yet. That is what the Conservatives are suggesting the government move forward with: a system that the Auditor General flagged as a high risk for fa…
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Mr. Speaker, it would be nice to be asked a serious question, one rooted in facts or one rooted in numbers. To date, $1.5 billion has been spent. I do not know where the Conservatives' numbers are coming from. Perhaps it is la-la land. However, let us stay in reality here. This benefit system is modernizing something from 1966. We have 7.7 million seniors who are better serviced today. We are mode…
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Mr. Speaker, I just cannot tolerate the Conservatives talking down the good work of our public servants. Our public servants are overseeing the management of a specialized software program. I know that the Conservatives might not have any interest or desire to know about IT systems, but this requires specialized training and expertise. These are not jobs that last forever in the government. These …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to be perfectly clear. To date, $1.5 billion has been spent. This covers completion of the old age security transformation and initial development for employment insurance, and $6.6 billion is an upper ceiling for all the projects that this covers. This amount may never be spent. It would have been cheaper if it had been undertaken between 2005 and 2015, when the Conservatives …
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Mr. Speaker, the conversion to the new OAS payment system is complete. It came in under budget. More than seven million seniors are currently receiving their benefits on time thanks to a modern system. The total cost of Cúram is meant to cover separate projects. The $6.6 billion is the amount planned and approved for the lifespan of the project.
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Mr. Speaker, I am really happy to answer this question and remind the member opposite that years ago the Auditor General warned Harper's Conservatives that the old benefit payment system was outdated and at risk. That means that, under those Conservatives, people would not get their money at all. What did the Conservatives do? They did nothing. That is just their way. They get out of the way and d…
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Again, Mr. Speaker, my friends across the aisle know there are no cost overruns. This was a planned, phased project. Just over $1.4 billion has been spent and the OAS project is completed. If there are individuals who are having problems getting payments on time, we invite them to contact us, and we would like them to do so. Those numbers will go down as Canadians transition to an online system. W…
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Mr. Speaker, Bloc members say they do not know what the money is being used for, but they were on the committees that approved the spending. They know that this money has been used to complete the transformation of a 60-year-old system. If we had let that system stand, people would not be getting their benefits. This program is not costed in a cost-overrun situation, as they would assert. This has…
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Mr. Speaker, the OAS system transfer is complete and it came in under budget. More than seven million seniors are now receiving their benefits on time through a modern system. The total cost of Cúram will cover four separate projects. The amount that was planned and approved for the life of the project was $6.6 billion. Once again, I encourage the member opposite to give me the victims' names and …
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Mr. Speaker, we are modernizing a very old system. Doing nothing would have jeopardized payments for millions of seniors. The outstanding cases are complex. They are being assessed, and retroactive payments are guaranteed. Once again, I invite the member opposite to provide me with the names of those who are having problems, and we will assist them.
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Mr. Speaker, I will bite. Let us imagine what affordability would look like under the Conservatives in British Columbia. They would cut the industrial carbon tax, and nothing would happen, because it does not affect the price of groceries. Then they would follow their plan to get out of the way, a.k.a. do nothing, and there would be no national school food program, no OAS for 65- to 67-year-olds, …
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Mr. Speaker, we are modernizing a very old system. Doing nothing would have jeopardized the payments of millions of seniors. The backlog cases are complex. They are currently being dealt with, and retroactive payments are guaranteed. Again, I invite the member opposite to give me the names of the individuals and we will help them.
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Mr. Speaker, the switch for OAS has been completed. It came in under budget. More than seven million seniors are now receiving their benefits on time through a modern system. The total cost of Cúram will cover four separate projects. The amount that was planned and approved for the life of the project was $6.6 billion. I encourage the member opposite to give me their names and we will help them.
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Mr. Speaker, the OAS modernization is now complete and it came in under budget. More than seven million seniors are receiving their benefits on time through a modern system. The total cost of Cúram will cover four separate projects. The $6.6 billion is the amount planned and approved for the life of the project. I invite the members opposite to give me the names of the seniors affected, and we wil…
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Mr. Speaker, our government is protecting seniors. We have increased old age security. We are providing dental care, and we are building housing for seniors. We are now modernizing the digital benefits system in order to provide seniors with better service. I invite the member opposite to give me their names, and we will help them.
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Mr. Speaker, the OAS transition is complete, and it came in under budget. More than seven million seniors are now receiving their benefits on time thanks to a modern system. The total cost of Cúram covers four separate projects. The $6.6 billion is the amount that was allocated and approved for the project's life cycle.
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Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives want to know why we are not adopting their plan, the answer is simple: The only person who thinks it is going to work is their leader. We are following the advice of Food Banks Canada. We are following the advice of experts. Let me tell the other side what seniors are saying. Dava Houston says, “Seeing a lot of talk about the Grocery Rebate helping ‘no one.’ As a …
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Mr. Speaker, what will make a real difference in fighting food insecurity is ensuring that seniors have the money in their pockets that they need in order to be able to buy groceries and to buy toilet paper, coffee and these kinds of items over which the government has no control. We are controlling what we can, and that is ensuring that seniors have the money they need in order to afford the esse…
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Mr. Speaker, it is funny that on the one hand the Conservatives chide the groceries and essentials benefit, but on the other hand they are upset that it is not for everyone. When I was the Minister of Service Alberta and had just had my new baby, I suddenly started getting child care benefit cheques that I did not need, but families that did need the money were not getting as much. We are ensuring…
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Mr. Speaker, yes, these delays are too long, but more than 98% of all claimants received their benefits without delay. The department is actively working to quickly resolve any issues clients may encounter. We continue to improve the benefit delivery process.
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Mr. Speaker, one delay is one too many, but over 98% of applicants have received their benefits promptly. The department is working hard to quickly resolve any issues that users might encounter. We will continue to improve the benefit payment process.
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Mr. Speaker, our government protects seniors. We increased the old age security pension. We are providing dental care and building housing for seniors. Now, we are modernizing the digital benefits system so that seniors can enjoy better services. I invite the member opposite to share their names with me, and we will assist them.
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Mr. Speaker, I am a millennial and my friends are millennials. What millennials want is for homes to be built. We want this plan to go forward, our plan to build hundreds of thousands of homes, in my riding and in that member's riding. I just do not know why the member wants to take the hammers and nails out of construction workers' hands and the electrical wires out of the hands of electrical wor…
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Mr. Speaker, like many of my constituents in Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, I grew up in a single-parent household. I had a single mother and a handicapped sister, and making ends meet was really challenging. It is families like this that we have in mind, like the one I grew up in, like the ones that exist in my riding and in that member's riding. They are the ones we want to feed, and Food Banks Canada…
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, our actions are compassionate. Our actions show compassion for seniors. We increased OAS for seniors over age 75 when the Conservatives wanted to bring it down to below age 65. We have protected OAS, ensuring that it is indexed to inflation, and we just guaranteed that low-income seniors will get the help they need to fight rising food costs, which is somethi…
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Mr. Speaker, the National Institute on Ageing's fourth annual report was just released, and it commends the actions the government is taking. It agrees with us, and its data shows that reducing expenditures in one area can result in an overall reduction in hardship as money is freed up for other household needs. That is why organizations like Food Banks Canada agree that the groceries and essentia…
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Mr. Speaker, low-income seniors in Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke have been asking their government to take action to help fight the rising cost of groceries, and we listened. We are helping with up to $950 of food and goods for low-income single seniors with the groceries and essentials benefit. We are also tackling the root causes by developing a national food security strategy to improve seniors' acce…
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Mr. Speaker, we are controlling what we can, and we are helping Canadians where they are. We have increased OAS for seniors who are over 75 years old. We have protected OAS, ensuring that it is indexed to inflation, and we just guaranteed that low-income seniors will get the help they need to fight rising food costs with the new groceries and essentials benefit. It would buy up to 950 dollars' wor…
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Mr. Speaker, I was in Rachel Notley's New Democrat government when, in partnership with the federal Liberals, we got the first pipeline to tidewater built in generations. This is a pipeline that helps pay for schools, hospitals and environmental investments and supports good union jobs. Now, as a Vancouver Island MP, I support our Prime Minister's vision to build Canada strong with indigenous peop…
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