July 14, 2009
Report from the Hill - July 14
Complementing the elder abuse awareness advertising campaign are ongoing federal government New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) initiatives. These help ensure seniors can benefit from and contribute to the quality of life in their communities through social participation and active living. In connection with the newly announced Elder Abuse campaign, the Government of Canada launched a Federal Abuse Initiative Call for Proposals under the New Horizons for Seniors Program. The call for proposals will provide one-time funding of $200,000 per project over 24 months to national professional associations to develop elder abuse resource materials.
I am proud of our government's commitment to combat elder abuse. Our seniors have contributed so much to building this country, they deserve to live with dignity and respect. Elder abuse should not and will not be tolerated.
Our government is committed to helping seniors have a quality of life that is not tarnished by abuse of any kind. Since coming to office, our government has taken many steps to help seniors, such as:
Introducing pension income splitting, saving senior couples thousands of dollars in taxes;
Creating a Minister responsible for seniors to represent seniors at the Cabinet table;
Doubling the Pension Income Credit to $2,000;
Increasing the Age Tax Credit from $4,066 to $6,408;
Increasing the age limit for the maturation of a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) from 69 to 71;
Increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) exemption from $500 to $3500;
Passing legislation to make applying for benefits easier – such as establishing a one-time (rather than annual) application for GIS; and
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, in recognition of the impact of the deterioration in market conditions on retirement savings.
For more information about the Government of Canada’s elder abuse initiatives, and our continued support for seniors, please visit www.seniors.gc.ca.
Sincerely,
Leon Benoit, MP
