Hurting poor seniors

January 25, 2002

Hurting Poor Seniors

Why should poor seniors pay the price of the Campbell government's tax giveaways? In addition to cuts to Pharmacare (with more to come), and cuts to bus passes, the "Service Plan Summary" for the Ministry of Human Resources says the Seniors Supplement will be eliminated.

The Black Thursday document engages in denial when it says:

"The Seniors Supplement, which provides financial support payments in addition to the federal government's OAS/GIS, will be phased out over time so that there is no net decrease to recipients."

Question: How you phase something out without having a decrease?

News of this impending change is causing anxiety for some of BC's poorest seniors.

A Ministry of Health website describes the Seniors Supplement as follows:

"The Seniors Supplement provides a guaranteed monthly income for B.C. residents who are receiving the federal Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) as well as Old Age Security (OAS), or those receiving the Spouse's Allowance.

You will automatically receive the Seniors Supplement from the Ministry of Finance if you qualify. The amount you receive depends on your income. For example, if you are a single person and have no income other than OAS/GIS, you may be eligible for the maximum Seniors Supplement for a single person.

The maximum monthly rate in July 1999 was $49.30 for a single person and $120.50 for a couple." (Note: hyperlinks added.)

People who receive the federal Guaranteed Supplement in addition to OAS are at the very bottom of the income scale. To receive any provincial money on top of the federal GIS money as of October 2001, a single person has to have less than $1,018.04 per month in income, or less than $1,691.16 per month for a married couple.

In BC the poorest seniors are now going to lose benefits to help pay for over $200 million per year in tax breaks going to just the top 8,000 income earners in BC. The Campbell gang never said anything about that during the election campaign.

February 14 , 2002

Note: During his February 13th paid television ad, Premier Campbell said that his government would back off from its previous announcement to cancel seniors bus passes. Tense negotiations with transit authorities are expected to follow.

January 20, 2002

Making Seniors Sick

There is something very sick about a government that eliminates mobility for very poor seniors! The Black Thursday announcements included the termination of the bus pass program for those receiving guaranteed income assistance - the very poor elderly.

A BC Government website used to say "To be eligible for the Bus Pass Program, you must be receiving basic Old Age Pension (OAP) and the Federal Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) or Federal Spouse's Allowance; B.C. Benefits (Income Assistance) for a disabled person; or B.C. Benefits (Income Assistance) for a person who is 60 years or older, receiving monthly support allowance or shelter allowance."

An elderly person has to be poor (roughly less than $1,000 per month income) in order to qualify for any guaranteed income supplement benefits.

For those poor seniors, getting a yearly bus pass for $45 meant the difference between getting out or being house bound. In the Lower Mainland, a round trip on a bus in a one fare zone costs $3.50 ($1.75 each way). Getting out four times a week would $728 a year which is a lot of money for someone who cannot put food on the table. The fare could be reduced to $480 per year with a $40 per month concession pass but that pass may not survive if 25,000 additional users are shifted to regional transit from the provincial program.

It takes over eight $728 annual bus fares to pay for the tax cut for one deputy minister (who gets an estimated tax savings of over $6,000 per year).

The bus pass program has been in effect for over 25 years. It has long been recognized that keeping seniors active is better than paying for health care, at least it was recognized until the New Era!