In a letter to the prime minister, federal New Democrats are asking the Liberal government, before the house rises this week, to reverse the cut to the guaranteed income supplement (GIS) for low-income seniors who were eligible for pandemic benefits.
According to a media release, in addition, NDP seniors critic and North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney put forward a motion in the House of Commons asking all members of parliament for unanimous consent to vote in the house to correct the problem so working seniors could maintain their full GIS benefit. Consent was denied by several MPs, killing the motion, the release stated.
Many seniors who were working to supplement their GIS prior to the pandemic were eligible and applied for emergency benefits when the pandemic robbed them of their employment, and now the government is using this against them and cutting the support they get in GIS, according to Blaney. The NDP is urging the government to fix this cut in support for seniors before the end of the week when the house rises until January 31, 2022, the release stated.
In addition to the letter and motion on December 13, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has raised the issue directly in meetings with the prime minister, MPs have written multiple letters to the government since August, have asked for an emergency debate and have repeatedly stood in the house asking for this problem to be corrected, the release stated. Still, the Liberal government has yet to act while seniors across the country are facing evictions, according to the release.
“One senior wrote to us to say that not only was he failing to make ends meet with a drastic cut in his GIS payments, but he’s also dealing with a recent cancer diagnosis – and an upcoming eviction on December 23, that's two days before Christmas, if the Liberal government doesn’t reverse this cruel decision hurting him and some of our country’s poorest seniors,” stated Blaney. “The Liberal government promised to have people’s backs for as long as they needed help. Seniors helped build this country and they need us to have their backs now more than ever.
“If we fail to fix this, thousands of seniors might be out on the streets in the coldest time of the year. We can’t let that happen.”
