Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
WHEREAS seniors are valued and respected members of our communities who have contributed throughout their lives and deserve our support;
AND WHEREAS the Government of Canada has announced its intent to reform the Old Age Security system;
AND WHEREAS reductions to Old Age Security benefits and/or increasing the age of eligibility would negatively impact future NWT seniors;
AND WHEREAS poverty, the lack of jobs and employer-sponsored pensions, and low incomes already impact many seniors in the Northwest Territories, creating the need for the GNWT’s current Senior Citizens Supplementary Benefit Program;
AND WHEREAS reductions to Old Age Security would put pressure on the GNWT to replace those benefits, putting additional strain on our government’s ability to deliver social programs;
AND WHEREAS research by the Parliamentary Budget Office shows that the current Old Age Security system is affordable and sustainable over the long term;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that this Legislative Assembly opposes any reductions to Canada’s Old Age Security benefits;
AND FURTHER, that this Legislative Assembly recommends the Premier of the Northwest Territories champion this issue to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada to ensure that Old Age Security benefits are not reduced for current or future NWT seniors;
AND FURTHERMORE, that the government provide a comprehensive response to this motion within 120 days.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are allowed to speak to this motion. I don’t think the intent was to have the motion speeded up in the House today, because of the seriousness of the issue that is before not only the NWT but all residents of Canada.
I know that the federal government had intended to change our Old Age Security system. Canadians want decent pensions, not more years of working. I know that the federal government said that it made plans for this budget, but they had indicated that now the changes will be in future years to come.
With that, I think our GNWT has to get on the right side of this issue. We have to be proactive. Our own government should be lobbying on behalf of the NWT seniors and advocating that changes to the Old Age Security system is not something that we need or want.
It is very serious in Canada. The budget is coming out. Hopefully there is nothing there, but I think that we have to be more proactive, like I said, and get out there to Ottawa and lobby. We are asking for our Premier to start those initiatives, working with the Minister of Health and Social Services and our Cabinet. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. To the motion. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First off, I would like to thank Member Menicoche for bringing forward this particular motion. He is quite right in the context of being concerned about our seniors. Of course, this motion speaks to the fact that we want to support and protect the seniors in future years to make sure that the Old Age Security benefit is there for them.
Mr. Speaker, doing a bit of research, I pulled up information that the parliamentary budget officer has done. He did a study called the Federal Fiscal Sustainability of Elderly Benefits. What he has noted here, in short, without quoting it at length, is the fact that he notes that, yes, it will increase in costs in the next few years, but it has a steep decline. He also points out that it is a sustainable benefit and the fact that changes don’t necessarily need to be made. He does highlight a few areas, most particular where he talks about, he says elderly benefits are financed from the Government of Canada’s general revenues. He points out that elderly benefits program should be assessed in a broader framework of fiscal sustainability, which requires the government debt cannot ultimately grow faster than the economy. He wants to tie these two particular things together to point this out. I think it is a very good, valid observation.
The elderly in our community and in the North as well as, of course, across Canada, have done so much for bringing this to where we are today. I think that this motion here reaffirms our commitment and support to our seniors community as well as our future community.
I will leave with this, which is the fact that if all goes well, every one of us will be a senior one day, if we are not there already. It is important that we always, again, stand committed and behind those who tread the path before us. I will support this motion.
Once again, I thank the Member for Nahendeh for bringing this initiative forward so we can empower our Premier to send a northern voice and a northern perspective to Ottawa to ensure that our views are heard. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. To the motion. Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank Member Menicoche for bringing this motion forward and Mr. Hawkins for seconding it.
I can’t believe that in this day and age we are creating a lot of fear-mongering. Why are we waging a war against our seniors and our elders? It is disheartening. We are not sure where the federal Minister or Finance is going with this, why the perceived crisis. One has to ask: Is there another agenda out there for the public pension system? We don’t know. Again, if you are going to look at savings of any plan, you have to look at the revenue on it. You have to look at program spending. That is for true sustainability and some management has prevailed. I am not sure if the federal system is looking at those areas. Raising the age of benefits is not one of those solutions.
People are living longer, Mr. Speaker. We know that from our statistics. This country of ours has survived a large economic crisis. I commend them for that, but if you look at the bigger picture, security benefits for seniors here is just a small piece of the overall economic situation to focus this attention on raising the age. It doesn’t make sense on the math. As Canadians and Northerners, we have other dire economic cobblestones on our pathway we should be focusing on, as I said earlier, sustainability, sound management and not raising this benefit. I will be speaking in favour of this motion for our government to be stewards for Northerners, seniors and our elders. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. To the motion. Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We appreciate the intent and concern voiced and articulated in the motion. However, we also want to be very clear to the people we represent, that there is nothing imminent here, that we know of, for Old Age Security. It is good to be proactive, but any changes contemplated could be as much as 20 or 25 years down the road. It behooves us all to look at how we are doing, managing for retirement, but we want to reassure the elders today that they can go to bed and wake up knowing that they are not under any imminent threat, that this will be some time coming. We want to be clear about how we manage ourselves. We want to protect the benefits to seniors, but we definitely want to be measured and careful not to cause concern to the people, the elders today that are here and that are going to be with us over the coming years. I thank the Member for the motion and deserves recommendation to government, and Cabinet will be abstaining.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. I will allow the mover of the motion to conclude with his closing comments. Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The intent of the motion is to be proactive. I am calling the government that we have to get down to Ottawa. We have to talk to the federal Ministers of Finance and Human Resources and Development to let them know that our government does not support their initiative at all. If we’re not heard, we will never be heard at all. It’s often been said that with Legislatures silence is assent. It means if we don’t say anything, we agree with it. So this motion is calling on our government to speak to our federal counterparts and let them know that our Northwest Territories, the MLAs on this side of the House do not agree with any changes to the Old Age Security system. As well, I would hope our Cabinet will develop a policy when they deal with the federal government. Thank you. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Menicoche.
