Tories attack Tony over his comments about seniors

NEWS RELEASE

SAULT STE. MARIE CONSERVATIVE ELECTORAL DISTRICT ASSOCIATION

************************* Tony Martin blames government and civil servants for his responsibilities to constituents

Last week, Tony Martin staged another infamous “information session” with MP Wayne Marston.

This session as reported was full of misinformation directed at skewing the perception of how government employees serve seniors.

Mr. Martin owes an apology to Canada’s dedicated civil servants.

Also an apology is owed to constituents for not fulfilling his duties as MP in communicating the benefits Canada’s government have put in place regarding seniors since 2006.

This lack of communication is for no other reason than the fact that such productive benefits were brought in by the Conservative government in the budgets he voted against every time.

It is the role of an MP to communicate programs and social benefits that affect the lives of those in their community.

Seniors should be asking why Mr. Martin doesn’t communicate these developments.

MPs have a mail budget to keep constituents informed. Unfortunately instead of using this form of communication to inform constituents of the programs and benefits available, Mr. Martin chooses to fill his news letters with partisan attacks on the Conservative government, putting his party above the average citizen.

Why is it only now that Mr. Martin is telling seniors that they should contact him or Service Canada?

Where was the communication from Mr. Martin highlighting beneficial advancements such as:

- Putting money back into the pockets of seniors who choose to remain in the workforce by increasing the GIS exemption by seven times its former amount, from $500 to $3,500.

- Investing $13 million to fight elder abuse. - Introducing pension income splitting, saving some senior couples thousands of dollars in taxes. - Increasing the guaranteed income supplement two years in a row by hundreds of dollars each year per senior.

- Creating a minister responsible for seniors to represent seniors at the cabinet table. - Supporting over 1,700 seniors projects in communities across Canada that help seniors remain active through the New Horizons for Seniors Program.

- Creating a national seniors council to give seniors a say in the issues that matter to them.

- Doubling the pension income credit from $1,000 to $2,000, helping 2.7 million seniors and taking 85,000 pensioners off the tax rolls.

- Increasing the age credit by $1,000, from $4,066 to $5,066, saving seniors hundreds of dollars per year in additional tax relief.

- Passing legislation to improve the process of applying for benefits; now seniors need only apply once – not year after year – to receive the GIS. - Increasing the refundable medical expense supplement tax credit by more than 30 percent.

- Increasing the age from 69 to 71 for converting RRSPs to RIFs.

- Expanding the Employment Insurance Compassionate Caregivers Benefit. - Expanding the New Horizons for Seniors Program by $10 million in Budget 2007, from $25 to $35 million.

- Launching a comprehensive outreach campaign to make seniors aware of their retirement benefits. - Increasing Service Canada points of service and partnerships with the voluntary sector to include outreach and mobile services to visit seniors at home, including nursing homes.

- Introducing a targeted initiative for older workers to help older Canadians contribute to their communities, and expanding the program to $50 million/year.

Mr. Martin also never mentioned the Conservative government's commitment to seniors reinforced in Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2009 and other federal initiatives that address the needs of Canada’s seniors through a series of important measures that include:

- Establishing an independent task force to make recommendations on a national financial literacy strategy.

- Increasing the age credit a second time by $1,000 to allow modest-income seniors to receive up to an additional $150 in annual tax savings, for a total of up to $961 in tax relief.

- Providing an additional $60 million over three years to help older workers in vulnerable communities stay in the workforce through the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers.

- Providing $400 million over two years, through the Affordable Housing Initiative, for the construction of housing units for low-income seniors.

- Budget 2009 introduced a tax-free savings account (TFSA) and Canadians – including seniors – now have a new place to save.

- Providing seniors with $200 million in tax relief by reducing the required minimum withdrawal amount for 2008 from Registered Retirement Income Funds by 25 percent, recognizing the impact of weak market conditions on retirement savings.

We could debate Tony Martin’s tirade against the Conservative government and we look forward to doing so during the next election.

************************* Earlier SooToday.com coverage of this story

Shameful secrets: How Service Canada treats seniors