Mr. Chair, it is a great honour to be here this evening to discuss how our government has lowered taxes for seniors and has strengthened Canada's retirement income system.

Since 2006, our government has delivered approximately $2.8 billion in annual targeted tax relief for seniors and pensioners. The opposition has fought tooth and nail against every initiative that we have attempted to bring in to lower taxes for Canadians and for seniors. I hope the opposition understands that the way to help seniors is not to raise taxes, beginning with a $21-billion carbon tax.

I hope that what I am about to say, and unfortunately I do not have the full ten minutes to say it, will be a learning experience for the NDP and the Liberals. I encourage them to listen very closely.

Why did we place such importance on tax relief for seniors? Canadians know that our government focuses on what matters most to them. We heard from seniors across Canada who said that they wanted to keep more of their hard-earned dollars in their wallets, where it belongs. That is why we cut the GST from 7% to 6% to 5%. We introduced pension income splitting. We increased the age credit amount by $2,000. We doubled the pension income credit to $2,000 and created the tax-free savings account.

The tax-free savings account is the most innovative and popular savings vehicle since the RRSP. Initially allowing Canadians to save up to $5,000 a year, the tax-free savings account was expanded by our government due to popular demand. We now allow Canadians to save up to $5,500 a year. Members may be wondering how many Canadians have taken advantage of the TFSA that our government created. I am pleased to tell the House that more than nine million Canadians have taken out a tax-free savings account. The NDP and the Liberals voted against it.

This has been particularly beneficial for seniors. Neither income earned in a TFSA nor withdrawals from a TFSA affect a senior's federal support, such as the guaranteed income supplement.

We have also increased the amount that GIS recipients can earn through employment without any reduction in their benefits. We have increased the amount that recipients can earn from $500 to $3,500. For instance, a single pensioner earning at least $3,500 will now be able to keep up to an additional $1,500 in annual GIS benefits. This is important. We even introduced the largest GIS increase in 25 years. This is helping more than 680,000 seniors across Canada.

Our government's low-tax plan has even helped remove 380,000 seniors from the tax rolls altogether. In 2014, a single senior can earn $20,000 and a senior couple can earn $40,000 before paying any federal income tax.

Under the strong leadership of our Prime Minister, not only have we lowered taxes for seniors, we have also succeeded in ensuring that Canada's retirement income system remains strong. Today, Canada's low-income rate for seniors is one of the lowest in the industrialized world.

Our government understands the importance of a secure and dignified retirement for Canadians who worked hard to build this great country. We want to ensure that Canadians have a secure retirement today and for future generations. Canada's retirement income system is renowned globally for preventing poverty among seniors and ensuring high levels of replacement income to retirees. Such high regard is based in no small part on the effectiveness of our government's actions. These actions have been effective because they are based on guiding principles of fiscal responsibility, sustainability, and innovation. We have applied these principles to strengthen the various pillars of Canada's retirement system with its balanced mix of private and public supports.

Mark Adler

Transcript

Government Orders

Discussions (0)