Seniors Minister Kamal Khera rises during Question Period, Monday, December 6, 2021 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Republished December 10, 2021 - 12:57 PM
Original Publication Date December 10, 2021 - 9:26 AM
OTTAWA - The federal Liberals are under increasing pressure to fix an issue in the pandemic safety net that has rolled back or cut off benefits to low-income seniors.
About 83,000 seniors lost a key income support this year because they received emergency aid last year, money that bumped their earnings above the threshold to qualify for the guaranteed income supplement.
Thousands more have seen a cut in GIS payments for similar reasons.
The Canadian Labour Congress is calling on the government to use next week's economic update to end the clawback.
Congress president Bea Bruske says the update must do more than provide an accounting of government spending and instead include what she called a course correction on key issues.
"The most vital thing about a country’s balance sheet is the vision and values of the elected officials who control it," she said in a statement, calling on the government to "act swiftly to get help to people who were cut off when emergency benefits were cancelled."
The government has promised that a fix is coming. On Thursday, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland wouldn't say if seniors should look to Tuesday's spending update for a solution.
Opposition MPs peppered the government with questions in the House of Commons on Friday over the issue, demanding the Liberals detail how and when they'll address it.
Seniors Minister Kamal Khera didn't put a timeline to a resolution, but said the government is trying to find the best solution to help those affected.
The rollback in the income-tested benefits for seniors is a byproduct of a benefit system set up at what would be considered lightning speed for a government in response to the economic upheaval caused by COVID-19.
Federal officials have estimated that some lower-income families who received emergency aid were likely to see reduction in their Canada Child Benefit payments this year.
As well, some mothers have had hard time getting maternity and parental leave benefits through the employment insurance system because how the government structured income-support measures.
The concern is that similar holes in the safety net will emerge once the government rolls out its next round of aid, including a proposed $300-a-week benefit for workers subjected to a lockdown.
The measure is contained in a bill that is currently being scrutinized by the House of Commons finance committee.
The Opposition Conservatives on Friday moved to have the legislation split so parliamentarians could vote separately on aid for businesses and workers.
On Thursday, NDP finance critic Daniel Blaikie noted at the committee that there was nothing in the legislation to prevent the same kind of clawbacks seniors and families were seeing this year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2021.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2021