To the Editor:
The furor over Old Age Pensions continues, triggered by Stephen Harper's worrisome speech recently in Switzerland.
Five key points stand out:
1. Until the very day of that speech (Jan. 26th), the Harper government repeatedly said the fight against their deficit would NOT result in ANY reduction in pensions. Not now, not ever. So this new threat is another broken promise, like Equalization and Income Trusts.
2. The Conservative justification is contradictory. On the one hand, they say Old Age Pensions are too expensive and must be curtailed. But on the other hand, they claim no one's benefits will be affected. They can't have it both ways.
3. From the global Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to independent actuarial experts and the government's own financial advisors, there is a clear consensus that Canada's Old Age Pension is already fundamentally sustainable and does NOT need changing - even with the imminent arrival of all those Baby Boomers.
4. At $540/month, this pension is not extravagant. It goes primarily to those of modest means, including many elderly widows - 76 per cent of recipients have incomes below $40,000. Without it, poverty among seniors could rise by one-third.
5. Additional benefits for low-income seniors, like the federal Guaranteed Income Supplement and several provincial income and health programs, are contingent upon a person qualifying for the Old Age Pension first. If that pension is reduced or delayed, those "other benefits" will be similarly affected.
Provinces will have to find ways to run their own programs independently, while also making up for lost federal support. The Harper government has already off-loaded prison and healthcare costs onto the provinces. Now, add pension costs to the burdens the Conservatives are dumping on Saskatchewan and others.
Only a strenuous public outcry will keep Old Age Pensions intact. Join thousands of Canadians who are signing this petition, today: http://lpc.ca/pension.
Ralph Goodale, MP, Wascana, SK.
