BC Housing Advocates say new SAFER Guidelines Flawed
Why B.C.’s rent subsidy program for low-income seniors is flawed: Advocates A Postmedia News review of a decade of B.C. Housing reports found that tens of millions of dollars in provincial rent subsidies haven’t been spent Vancouver Sun: Nathan Griffiths Published Feb 20, 2024 • Last updated Feb 20, 2024 Find out the facts in the 2022 study by the Office of the Seniors Advocate British Columbia Burnaby’s Jing Lei Xiang is facing eviction this year because the Metrotown building she lives in, which houses a number of lower-income seniors, is being demolished. It’s the second time in two years that Xiang, 70, a cancer survivor who spent years working in B.C.’s long-term care…
SAFER Top Up in British Columbia: Tokenism?
B.C. increases monthly rent supplements for low-income seniors, offers one-time top up B.C. seniors who qualify for the government’s rental assistance program will get a one-time top up of $430 plus an additional $110 a month in subsidies. Amid concerns from seniors that the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER) program hasn’t kept up with rising rents, B.C. is boosting the monthly rent supplement and allowing more seniors to qualify. However, one rental advocate said without meaningful action by the B.C. NDP to rein in out of control rent, the subsidies amount to a “game of catch-up that the government loses every time.” Seniors who qualify for SAFER will get…
Tax Fairness for Seniors, Basic Needs and more
Let’s Make This an Election Issue Single Seniors for Tax Fairness Single Seniors for Tax Fairness is working for fairness for single seniors in Canada. A compelling webinar was held at the end of February. This site is well worth a read. The numbers are quite shocking and I’m sure most would be interested. Note that the purpose of this group is not to take anything away from couples but make the same tax benefits available to single seniors as well. There’s some powerful women on these committees and they have lobbied many MP’s and Cabinet Ministers. They submitted presentations for the upcoming budget. (submitted by WST) Women and Seniors…
Thank you for joining us on March 21 – Let’s get Ready for June!
Marches for Fair Senior’s Pensions were held in several different communities across British Columbia on March 21 – Vernon, Kamloops, Prince George, Terrace, Ladysmith, White Rock and Vancouver – But our work has just begun – Let’s keep pushing for fair pensions for seniors – join the Senior’s Tin Cup movement – We are already planning for a Rally (rather than a march) in June.IF YOU CAN ORGANIZE A RALLY IN YOUR COMMUNITY please contact Carole Fawcett. Spread the word – over 80 people showed up in Vernon alone Let’s Make This an Election Issue – Seniors VOTEThere is Strength in Numbers – In Solidarity! We will not be silent…
Boomer Talk: Help Seniors Tin Cup Bring Change
Carole Fawcett, Vernon Morning Star, She was 71 years old and lived on Old Age Security. She was divorced and the money she was getting from her former partner ended when he turned 65. She tried to get GIS (Guaranteed Income Supplement), but the bureaucratic process was ridiculously slow. She lived in Vancouver and was destitute, barely able to exist on the pittance she was getting. She committed suicide to end the angst and the pain of living in such a pinched and desperately unhappy manner. I’ve heard other seniors say that if they could get MAID they might consider it – due to the fact that their pension does…
Response to MP pension levels
MPs COULD SHARE THEIR WEALTH WITH SENIOR CITIZENS Opinion by Joyce Walters, Moose Jaw Today, When I picked my career after high school, I didn’t know until much later that I had selected one of the lowest paying industries of any available. I was so excited to be hired at the newspaper and to receive $1.05 an hour before deductions that I didn’t see the need to check out other job opportunities. I can honestly say money wasn’t terribly high on my radar at the tender age of 18. My rent was paid on time, bills were paid, I bought groceries and often joined colleagues for a restaurant meal and…
Members of Parliament ensure inflated pension levels for themselves while ordinary Canadian seniors struggle
Taxpayers Federation releases pension and severance figures for 2021 federal election Author: Franco Terrazzano 2021/09/27 Federal News Release OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation released its calculations of estimated pension or severance payments paid to the 51 members of Parliament who were either defeated in the federal election or did not seek re-election. “Taxpayers shouldn’t feel too bad for the politicians who lost the election because they’ll be cashing big severance or pension cheques,” said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director with the CTF. “Thanks to past pension reforms, taxpayers will not have to shoulder as much of the burden as they used to. But there’s more work to do to make politician pay affordable for taxpayers.”…
Response from the Ministry Office
RESPONSE FROM THE MINISTER’S OFFICEThe following is a response to a letter sent to the federal Ministry for Seniors: On behalf of the Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr., Minister of Labour and Seniors, I am responding to your email, which was forwarded by the office of the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, on February 14, 2024. You wrote about support for seniors. Canada’s public pensions, namely the Old Age Security (OAS) program and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) assist in providing income security to seniors. OAS benefits are intended to provide partial income security for seniors in recognition of the contributions that they have made to…
‘Can’t afford to live’: Vernon senior helping to organize pension reform protest
Thompson Okanagan Info News Shannon Ainslie Vernon resident Carole Fawcett is a freelance writer and retired councillor behind the Seniors Tin Cup Movement. Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Seniors Tin Cup Movement February 10, 2024 – 6:00 PM A senior in Vernon is fed up with living on the financial brink trying to make ends meet on a fixed retirement income, and she’s not alone. Like so many seniors, Carole Fawcett can’t afford to go out much or buy anything. She doesn’t drive as often as she used to because she can’t afford the fuel and she has eliminated eating out with friends, among many other sacrifices. “You have to be very…
Guaranteed Income Supplements Need Adjustment to Liveable Income Levels
SubmittedMost seniors don’t need to watch the news to know that times are increasingly hard; they can see the evidence in their own lives. So perhaps it’s no surprise that older adults are leading the charge toward change. After her retirement at age 74, Vancouver resident Sharon Elliott had spinal surgery. In the days following, she quickly saw that help from the public purse was far from adequate to meet her needs. “I found that I was having to choose between health treatments and basics like food and housing.” Since then, Sharon has been actively working to persuade governments to make more resources available to older adults. Specifically, she says, Guaranteed Income…
