Bill to reduce residency requirement costly idea
[attach]4824[/attach]I am disappointed to see that NDP deputy leader Libby Davies recently introduced a private member’s proposal that would cost Canadian taxpayers a billion dollars and give expensive taxpayer-funded benefits to those who may have never paid any taxes in Canada and do not deserve them.
The NDP has now joined hands with the Liberals in asking the government to reduce the residency requirement to receive taxpayer-funded Old Age Security. The Liberals and NDP want us to reduce the residency requirement from 10 years to only a few short years.
This would mean that someone who only recently arrived in Canada would receive Old Age Security and a Guaranteed Income Supplement, just like someone who has worked hard for 10 years or more, paid taxes and contributed to Canadian society.
I want to be clear: our Conservative government is opposed to this costly and irresponsible Liberal-NDP scheme.
I have received an overwhelming amount of correspondence from constituents from all over Willowdale. I would like to thank the Canadians, including the high number of immigrants, who took the time to write in and express their opposition to the Liberal–NDP proposal. I have heard your opinion loud and clear and, like all of you, I am completely opposed to this irresponsible and costly scheme.
This scheme would cost a billion dollars at a time when Canadians can least afford it. It is offensive to Canadians who work hard and pay their taxes, and goes against Canadians’ deeply engrained sense of fairness and fiscal responsibility.
I would like to reassure everyone in Willowdale that our Conservative Government will vigorously oppose this costly and irresponsible Liberal–NDP scheme.
