VAUGHAN-WOODBRIDGE: Candidates address seniors' concerns

YorkRegion.com
Oct. 9, 2015

The Vaughan Citizen has posed a set of questions covering a wide range of matters to candidates running in the riding of Vaughan-Woodbridge for the Oct. 19 federal election to help local voters better understand their positions.

Responses received from candidates by The Citizen’s publication deadline will be published in the newspaper, and online at yrmg.com.

NDP candidate Adriana Zichy and Green Party candidate Elise Boulanger did not respond by publication deadline.

Q: Many senior citizens in Vaughan are struggling financially and face the prospect of having to sell their house and leave the community because they can no longer afford to live here. How would your party address this issue and how much would your party’s solution cost?

Conservative Julian Fantino
In my five years as a member of parliament, I have heard from seniors continually about the rising cost of living - especially municipal property taxes and energy costs. Federally, our Conservative government is helping. First, the Guaranteed Income Supplement was increased by the highest rate in over 25 years (annually up to $600 for single seniors / $840 for couples). Second, we introduced major tax cuts for seniors. In 2015, because of tax cuts like pension splitting, a single senior can earn about $20,000 and a senior couple $40,000 before paying any federal income tax. But we must do more. I know many seniors want to stay in their homes as long as possible, but need extra support to make their homes safer as they age. That is why our recent federal budget included a $1,500 Home Accessibility Tax Credit to allow seniors to make improvements to their homes.

Libertarian Anthony Gualtieri
Under our plan, we would raise the tax exemption limit to $17,300 from the current $11,500. Additionally, we would add tax exemptions which would allow a senior couple to have a total tax exemption of $42,600 per year. Real, sensible relief achieved through less government intervention, less taxes, more freedom.

Liberal Francesco Sorbara
Seniors have overwhelmingly told us at the doors that they’re concerned about not having the means to remain in their homes and we believe, more than anything, that they deserve to stay in their homes where they belong.

The Liberal Party of Canada has committed to a variety of measures to improve seniors’ quality of life, starting with restoring the eligibility age for Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) to 65. To ensure OAS and GIS keep up with rising costs, we’ll introduce a new Seniors Price Index.

Additionally, we’ll immediately boost the Guaranteed Income Supplement for single, low-income seniors by 10 per cent, lifting hundreds of thousands of seniors out of poverty. Finally, in the first three months, we’ll work with the province and other partners to discuss how to enhance the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).

These measures will help more than 1.25 million seniors.