Hon. Alice Wong, P.C.

On December 9, 2019, Alice Wong asked a question in the House of Commons in response to the Speech to the Throne:

The following is a transcript:

Hon. Alice Wong (Richmond Centre, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, congratulations on your election as our Deputy Speaker.

Since this is the first time I rise to speak in this 43rd Parliament, I would like to take the opportunity to thank my campaign team and all the volunteers. I thank the Richmond Centre voters for sending me back here for the fourth time; I am going into my 12th year of serving them.

There are a lot of issues that have not been dealt with in the throne speech. First of all, when I looked at the word count, the word “seniors” only came up once. Of course pensions were mentioned, but those areas are probably very complicated and not all seniors are looking at that.

The first issue is about affordability for our seniors. When they go to the grocery store, all the prices have gone up because of the carbon tax. Also, the Liberal government took away their transit credit and there is no protection against fraud to seniors. Some seniors become lost physically and mentally, and the government has done nothing to help them so far.

There is also nothing for family caregivers who have to look after their kids, their grandparents and often their own parents. This is something we should look at.

Why are the Liberals forsaking seniors?

Mr. Kody Blois:
Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member opposite on her fourth election to this House and of course 12 years in service. That certainly speaks for itself in terms of her ability to provide for her constituents.

The question was on seniors, and Liberals have committed to increasing old age security by 10% for those who are 75 years and over. Over the last four years, we have invested in the guaranteed income supplement to make life easier for all seniors. This is an issue that resonates for me because there are many senior residents in Kings—Hants and this is an issue I heard about on people’s doorsteps.

I ask the member opposite to look at the government’s record. Some 250,000 seniors were helped across this country in the last four years. We will continue that work, and we will continue to fight for seniors and to make sure they have a sustainable living.

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