Hon. Alice Wong, P.C.

On October 3, 2011 Alice Wong spoke on the subject of Seniors in the House of Commons. The following is a transcript:

Ms. Irene Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, on Seniors Day, the government boasted about tax measures that would help seniors. The reality is that over 0.25 million–

Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

The Speaker:
Order, please. The hon. member for London—Fanshawe.

Ms. Irene Mathyssen:
Mr. Speaker, I am glad to see they are so busy patting themselves on the back but with over 0.25 million seniors living in poverty, tax measures are not the solution. Many seniors are so poor they do not even pay taxes.

When will the minister take action to address the real problems facing our seniors by boosting access to home care, eliminating seniors poverty and supporting caregivers?

Hon. Alice Wong (Minister of State (Seniors), CPC):
Mr. Speaker, our government was given a strong mandate. It is doing more for seniors than under any other government. It was our government that introduced pension income splitting and doubled the pension income credit. We lowered taxes and removed 380,000 seniors from the tax rolls completely. We also raised the guaranteed income supplement exemption, putting more money in the pockets of 1.6 million more seniors. What did the opposition do? It voted against all of these measures.

Filed under: Parliament