Increase in the Old Age Security pension | The Bloc motion adopted despite the opposition of Liberal ministers

(Ottawa) Liberal ministers did not give in to the ultimatum launched by the Bloc Québécois. They voted against his motion to improve the Old Age Security (PSV) pension for 65 to 74 year olds, which means that the bill risks dying on the order paper even if the motion was adopted thanks to the support Conservatives and New Democrats.

“We have the will of Parliament,” rejoiced Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet, all smiles.

Former minister Pablo Rodriguez, who has become an independent MP since he launched the race for leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party, voted for the motion, as did four Liberal MPs from the Atlantic caucus. The party line had not been imposed. The Bloc motion was adopted with 181 votes for and 143 against. It is not binding, but since the Council of Ministers has decided against it, the progress of the bill in the House of Commons risks coming to an end.

Far from throwing in the towel, the Bloc leader believes that the government could change its mind in light of the vote and choose to grant the royal recommendation next week to allow Bill C-319 to move forward. Before. This recommendation is essential to its advancement, since it is a bill from an opposition party which incurs government expenses.

“It’s still totally possible,” he said. They didn’t say they didn’t want to do it. They said they weren’t doing it for procedural reasons… and we’re going to let people have a free vote… with all the sluggishness of that famous Prime Minister’s column. »

An “inappropriate” maneuver

The Bloc motion aimed to force the government to take a position on Bill C-319 to grant a 10% PSV increase to seniors aged 65 to 74. Only those aged 75 and over have been entitled to it since it came into force in 2022. It also increases the exemption from $5,000 to $6,500 for a person’s employment income in calculating the amount of the Guaranteed Income Supplement. (GRS).

“The government is going to vote,” said the leader of the government in the House, Karina Gould, earlier in the day. She made it a question of parliamentary procedure, explaining that the Bloc Québécois maneuver is “inappropriate”.

Liberal ministers believe that using a motion to force the government to move forward with an opposition bill that would commit $16 billion in spending over five years would create “a terrible precedent.”

The Conservatives, who had kept the suspense going, finally supported the Bloc motion. “The government has created a very difficult situation for seniors, seniors who have difficulty finding housing and seniors who have difficulty paying their bills at the end of the month, finding food,” said the leader. deputy in the conservative chamber, Luc Berthold, before the vote.

The Bloc Québécois remains firm on its October 29 deadline. He issued an ultimatum to the Trudeau government last week so that two of his bills – on improving the PSV and on protecting supply management – ​​be adopted by then, otherwise he would launch discussions with other opposition parties to bring down the government.

If the government does not change its mind, the Bloc members will begin these talks next week, said Mr. Blanchet. He recalled that the New Democrats had voted for the motion and that if they supported the government, they would have to assume the consequences.

“We will see if Mr. Blanchet’s project is really the one best suited to helping the most vulnerable,” said Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, Justin Trudeau’s political lieutenant in Quebec.

He argued that a senior with an annual retirement income of $25,000 could receive less than a retired couple with an annual income of $150,000. “So is this the best way to help the most vulnerable seniors? This is an important question. »

He said he was willing to discuss it “intelligently and correctly”, but not under threat. He did not want to indicate whether the government was considering making a counter-proposal to increase the GIS intended for the least well-off seniors.

No compromise

The leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, repeated Wednesday that he would not compromise. “We will not sacrifice clarity for uncertain measures,” he said.

But a Liberal counter-proposal could tempt the New Democrats and ensure the government’s survival. “I am ready to discuss how we can help seniors,” said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. This is always something that is a priority for us. »

Professor Luc Godbout, from the Research Chair in Taxation and Public Finance at the University of Sherbrooke, believes that it would be time to begin thinking about the way in which federal aid to seniors is distributed, which will reach nearly 100 billion in 2028.

“If we launched into a Canada seniors benefit, there would probably be a way with all the money in place to create something more structuring for the standard of living of seniors,” he explains.

The experiment was tried by former Prime Minister Paul Martin, when he held the position of Minister of Finance in the government of Jean Chrétien. He wanted to replace the PSV and the SRG with a new benefit intended for the most deprived. His proposal caused an uproar and he finally backed down.

The PSV provides an amount of approximately $8,700 per year for people aged 65 and 74 and a little over $9,600 for those aged 75 and over provided that they have a net income of less than approximately 150,000 $. The GIS can reach up to $13,000 for a single senior whose annual retirement income is less than $22,000.