Hon. Catherine S. Callbeck:

Honourable senators, I am pleased to rise today to speak on Bill C-31, which will prevent incarcerated persons from receiving any benefits under the OASA. I thank Senator Seidman for her excellent outline last Thursday on this legislation.

As many honourable senators are aware, this legislation was introduced in response to reports that serial child murderer, Clifford Olson, was receiving approximately $1,100 per month in OAS and GIS benefits. There is no question that such a thing is appalling; it is an insult to many seniors and to all Canadians across the country who are struggling to make ends meet.

I firmly support the principle of withholding OAS benefits for people who are incarcerated. Under this legislation, OAS benefits will not be paid to any person incarcerated in a federal, provincial or territorial institution if the sentence of imprisonment is more than 90 days. However, information-sharing agreements must be signed with the provinces before this can take effect.

There are four types of benefits that can be paid under the Old Age Security Act. The first is the Old Age Security Pension, which is a monthly payment available to Canadians 65 years of age or older. There is also the Guaranteed Income Supplement, which is additional money meant for low-income seniors living in Canada. To be eligible, a senior must be receiving an OAS Pension and meet the income requirements.

The third type is the Allowance, an income-tested benefit for low-income seniors who are between the age of 60 and 64 years old and whose spouses or common-law partners are OAS and GIS recipients. Finally, there is the Allowance for the Survivor Program, which is an income-tested benefit for low-income seniors between the age of 60 and 64 whose spouse or common-law partner has died.

While incarcerated, an individual will not be eligible for any of those benefits. That person must notify the minister in writing of a release in order to resume their benefits, which will begin during the month of their release.

The original legislation stated that the senior could not write to the minister until after he or she were released; however, the other place has amended the legislation so that the notification can be made before release.

This bill is expected to affect approximately 400 federal inmates and some 600 more in provincial or territorial facilities. As I said, information-sharing agreements need to be signed with the provinces and territories in order to implement this legislation. Unless the provinces and territories identify their inmates, there is no way for the federal government to know who is incarcerated at the provincial and territorial correctional facilities.

Honourable senators, OAS benefits are supposed to assist seniors cover the costs of living, which are things like housing, food and clothing. When a person is incarcerated, that person receives for free these necessities of life from the correctional facility. It is reasonable that if the government is already providing housing and food for inmates, there is no need for it to also provide monthly OAS benefits that are meant to cover these living costs. Suspending these OAS benefits also means the federal government will be saving millions of dollars while not paying out these benefits.

A concern has been expressed that these changes may cause undue hardship for the low-income spouses of those incarcerated. The government has attempted to address this concern. A spouse over the age of 65 will still receive his or her OAS Pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement benefit. However, the GIS amount will be calculated as if the person were single, because a maximum amount for a single person is more than for a couple: $658.40 compared to $434.78.

A spouse who is 60 to 64 years old will still receive their Allowance. Generally, the Allowance will be paid only if common-law partners have applied for it. This legislation provides that the spouse or common-law partner of an incarcerated person may present an application individually in order to receive the Allowance. The application will then be considered as if the applicant were presented jointly by the couple. However, the Allowance amount would be based on the individual's income, not the couple's income. The Allowance amount will go up because it is income tested.

It has also been suggested by others that by denying a particular group of Old Age Security benefits, the legislation discriminates against Canadians who are incarcerated. I know Senator Seidman has already mentioned various provinces that do not pay social assistance to incarcerated people and some countries that do not pay pensions. I am sure the committee will want to examine this issue in more detail.

In the end, honourable senators, I support sending this legislation to committee for further debate and more comprehensive examination.

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