In Celebration of the Signing into Law of Bill C-36, an Act to Amend the Canada Pension Plan and the Old Age Security Act, and the Announcement of Members of the National Seniors Council

Check against delivery

Thank you very much, Monte. Good afternoon, everyone, on this beautiful, sunny Ottawa day. And thank you to my colleagues: Daryl, Betty, Joy, Lynn and Dean. I’ve singled you out before because, in Opposition, you did a lot of the heavy work that was necessary to get these seniors’ issues to the forefront of our party, when we were running to form the government.

I would also like to join Monte in saying what a wonderful day it is to celebrate the passing into law of Bill C-36 and to announce the new members of the National Seniors Council.

Canada’s public pensions are a source of pride for all Canadians. Over the past 40 years, seniors built the Canada Pension Plan from the ground up and worked hard to make our public pension system a world leader. And, indeed, it is a world leader.

To keep our public pension system among the world’s best, we must always look for ways to improve the Canada Pension Plan to continue to meet the needs of Canadians. Bill C-36 is an important step in our continuing efforts to improve the quality of life for seniors and pensioners.

Seniors’ issues are taking on an increasing importance in Canada. With the number of seniors set to double over the next 25 years, I think we all appreciate that the nature of Canadian society is changing and will be changing drastically in the future. As our government prepares for those changes, we need to tap into the knowledge, experience and views of the senior population.

In March, I was pleased to announce the creation of the National Seniors Council to advise the government on issues of national importance to seniors. Seniors asked us for a National Seniors Council to study and deliver on issues that matter to them. We’ve listened to seniors and seniors’ groups, and this is the result. That is why I am very pleased to stand here today with Minister Solberg and the chair of the Seniors Council whom we chose last March, Jean-Guy Soulière, to announce the following new members of the National Seniors Council.

They are Sandra Hirst of Calgary, Alberta; Marilyn Loveless of Victoria, British Columbia; Daphne Nahmiash of Montréal, Quebec; Cécile Plourde of Montréal, Quebec; Rémi Plourde of Chicoutimi, Quebec; the Reverend Canon Derwyn Shea of Toronto, Ontario; Joan Tufts of Saulnierville, Nova Scotia; and Beverly Ola Weeks of Harvey, New Brunswick.

These members of the National Seniors Council represent the voices of experts, seniors and seniors’ groups from across the country. I very much look forward to getting to know them at the Seniors Council’s inaugural meeting, which we’ll be holding later this month. At that meeting, we will start the process of looking at the issues that matter most to Canadian seniors—issues such as health care, financial and social well-being, and the overall quality of life of Canada’s seniors. This is a proud moment for us and for seniors across the country.

Before I conclude, I’d also like to thank Parliamentary Secretary Steven Fletcher, who’s in the audience. He has done a lot of work and was at the announcement in March, and has contributed greatly to this file. So thank you, Steven. And thank you again, Monte.

Hon. Monte Solberg: Now we’re going to invite some of our stakeholder groups, who’ve been so supportive in helping us pass Bill C-36 and have been a voice for making these changes, to come forward. We have a copy of the bill that Marjory and I have signed. It’s pretty small recompense for the hard work these people have done. But it’s just a small demonstration of how appreciative we are for the support that we’ve seen from the various groups. So if you’d like to come forward.

Hon. Monte Solberg: All right, that concludes the official ceremony. Thanks again, everyone, for being here. Now, we’ll take a few questions from the media. Any questions? Thank you again. Thank you.

In Celebration of the Signing into Law of Bill C-36, An Act to Amend the Canada Pension Plan and the Old Age Security Act, and the Announcement of Members of the National Seniors Council — The Honourable Monte Solberg.