Now here is something us older folks should be taking a look at. For myself I think it shouldn’t be made law as I believe our old age pension has to be earned not just given away. Just crazy thinking in my eyes. My opinion only.
Dear Ms. Consul:
I am pleased to respond to your electronic message, which was forwarded to me by the Office of the Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, regarding private member’s Bill C-428.
As you know, Bill C-428 proposes to amend the Old Age Security Act to reduce the residence requirement for entitlement to a monthly pension
from ten years to three years. This private member’s bill was introduced in the House of Commons by M..P. Ruby Dhalla, a Liberal Opposition
Member.
As the Minister responsible, I have been very clear that when this Bill
comes forward we will strongly oppose it.
The Old Age Security (OAS) pension is paid to seniors in recognition of the contribution that they have made to Canadian society, the economy,
and their community. The OAS program is non-contributory and is based solely on age and residence in Canada after the age of 18. The ten-year
residence rule is consistent with many other countries that have residence or contribution requirements associated with their national
pensions to ensure that benefits are given in proportion to years of residence or affiliation with their pension programs. With this in mind,
it is felt that the current ten-year residence requirement represents a balance between a reasonable contribution to Canadian society and the
right to receive a lifelong pension.
It is estimated that reducing the ten-year eligibility requirement to three years would cost over $700 million annually in additional OAS and
Guaranteed Income Supplement benefits. Given that the OAS program is funded entirely from general tax revenues, this would be costly and place
an additional burden on the Canadian taxpayer..
Yours sincerely,
The Hon. Diane Finley, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development