Seniors should also receive $250 cheques from Ottawa, say Bloc and NDP

Photo: Sean Kilpatrick The Canadian Press “The purchasing power of retirees aged 65 to 74 has been in a pitiful state for several years, and the government expressly excludes them from its measure,” denounced Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet.

Seniors, who have been left out of the Trudeau government’s $250 cheque program, should also receive this help, the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party (NDP) are demanding.

Last week, the federal government announced a two-month GST holiday and the Canada Workers Rebate — tax-free $250 cheques for all Canadians who earned less than $150,000 in net annual income in 2023.

However, people who did not work in 2023, such as retirees and welfare recipients, are not eligible.

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“The purchasing power of retirees aged 65 to 74 has been in a pitiful state for several years, and the government is expressly excluding them from its measure,” denounced Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet in the foyer of the House of Commons on Monday afternoon.

He stated that his party would not support the potential bill until seniors are included among those eligible. He also believes the measure is “inconsistent” because it favours the purchasing power of high-income workers.

If the threshold were lowered from $150,000 to $80,000, the funds recovered would allow the government to send the cheques to retirees and better target citizens who really need them, he suggested.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, for his part, made ambiguous comments. While he maintains that seniors, people with disabilities and students also need help, he simply repeated that the Liberals must “pay the cheques.”

“They say we have to start with the GST holiday, and then the Liberals have to pay the cheques,” he repeatedly responded despite requests for clarification from journalists.

He said he was ready to pass the temporary GST holiday as early as this week.

The $250 cheques are to be paid automatically in early spring 2025.

Retirees are “furious,” said the president of the Réseau FADOQ, Gisèle Tassé-Goodman, in a press release. She also denounces a “lack of consideration” on the part of the Trudeau government.

Last week, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called the announcements a “sleight of hand” by the prime minister just months before the next federal election. He has yet to indicate whether he will support the bill.

Debates on a question of privilege in the House of Commons, which have blocked most parliamentary proceedings for nearly two months, must be suspended for two days to allow the measures to be adopted.