Newmarket-Aurora candidates pledge lower retirement age during Facebook debate

Yorkregion.com
Oct. 5, 2015
By Chris Simon

The retirement age should be lowered to 65, according to several Newmarket-Aurora federal election candidates.

During The Era and Banner's all-candidates’ debate, which was held online on The Era's Facebook page Friday, four local hopefuls laid out their plans to help seniors.

Other issues, including heritage preservation, affordable housing, marijuana laws and the role of the Canadian military were also discussed.

"Seniors have woven the fabric of our magnificent country," Progressive Canadian candidate Dorian Baxter said, noting seniors and their families face a variety of challenges, including pension reform, wage stagnation and an increased cost of living. "I will immediately lobby to restore the original 65 years ... and seek to address each and every one of the current maladies with a very strong and persistent voice."

NDP candidate Yvonne Kelly says her party will keep income splitting for seniors in place, raise the Guaranteed Income Supplement and increase the government's investment in the Canada Pension Plan.

"We are witnessing and experiencing a growing number of seniors that have slipped into poverty over the past 10 years because tax breaks are not helping them in the slightest," she said.

"The NDP was the first to announce that we would return the age of retirement and eligibility for pensions to 65 from 67. I’d like (Conservative incumbent MP Lois) Brown to tell us why she believes that raising the age of eligibility for retirement pensions was in the best interests of seniors anywhere. When you are really on the margins of not having enough to afford to live, to pay for your housing and the increased costs of living, no amount of tax breaks are going to bring you any relief."

A national seniors strategy and long-term and home care program expansion will also be priorities of the NDP, Kelly said.

Brown pushed tax cuts, the Pooled Registered Retirement Plans program, income splitting and tax-free savings accounts - which have all been introduced under the Conservatives - as keys to helping seniors.

"A PRPP enables its members to benefit from lower administration costs that result from participating in a large, pooled pension plan. It's also portable, so it moves with its members from job to job," she said. "Overall, seniors and pensioners are paying about $3 billion less this year in tax than in 2006. I will continue to support any initiative that reduces taxes for our seniors and helps to allow them to live safely and securely in their retirement."

The Conservatives will introduce a tax credit for single seniors, if re-elected, Brown said.

Liberal candidate Kyle Peterson promised his party will restore the eligibility age for Old Age Security and the GIS to 65, if they are voted into office Oct. 19. They will also boost the GIS for single low-income seniors by 10 per cent, introduce a Seniors Price Index to help OAS and GIS keep up with the rising cost of living, create a more flexible and accessible Employment Insurance Compassionate Care Benefit and invest in affordable housing and senior care facilities, among other initiatives.

On average, a retired person receives $618 per month from the CPP - hardly enough to live on, he said.

"Canadians are finding themselves falling into the so-called 'sandwich generation', looking after parents and their children while trying to make ends meet now and in the future as they look toward their own retirement," Peterson said. "A (Justin) Trudeau-led Liberal government will make sure that Canadian seniors get the secure and dignified retirement they deserve. With record levels of household debt and an economy in recession, it's no wonder why residents in Newmarket-Aurora are worried about their retirement."