Our government is committed to ensuring the retirement security of Canadians.  In Canada, there are two important programs that provide financial support to older Canadians: CPP and OAS.  CPP is funded through premiums that working Canadians pay with each paycheque (matched by their employer) and the CPP fund has approximately $160B available for benefit payments to retirees.  The CPP principle is secure for at least 70 years.  The OAS is funded primarily through taxes on working people and is unsustainable in light of our aging demographics.

When OAS was implemented in 1966, the age for eligibility was 70. At that time, our life expectancy was 72 for women and 69 for men.  The age for eligibility was lowered to 65 in 1971.  Now, 40 years later, Canadians are living 15 to 20 years longer and the eligibility age for OAS is still set at 65. 

The monthly OAS is given to low-income seniors as a supplement to their Canada Pension Plan. A monthly Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) is also available for those earning less than $39,264.  Last July our government hiked GIS for seniors with little or no income, other than the Old Age Security, by up to $600 per year for single seniors and up to $840 per year for couples. 

No decision has been made on OAS, but if a decision is made to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67, it would have to be phased in.  The cost of the OAS program will increase from $36B per year in 2010 to $108B per year in 2030. Something has to be done.  Remember, all OAS benefits are paid by taxpayers!

I want to re-assure all seniors that they will continue to receive all the benefits they currently receive.  We will ensure any changes are done with substantial notice and adjustment period and in a way that does not affect current retirees or those close to retirement.  This gradual phasing-in of changes will give Canadians plenty of time to adjust and plan for their retirement.                  

Keeping our streets and communities safe has always been a priority of our government. Unfortunately, our minority government was not able to enact the legislation we needed to fulfill our commitment to Canadians. Now, with our majority government, we are able to move forward on our legislation without it being watered down by the opposition.

We have wrapped our former crime bills into Bill C-10 which includes: The Protecting Children from Sexual Predators Act; Penalties for Organized Drug Crime Act; Sebastiens Law (Protecting the Public from Violent Young Offenders); Ending House Arrest for Property and other Serious Crimes by Serious and Violent Offenders Act; Increasing Offender Accountability Act; Eliminating Pardons for Serious Crimes Act; Keeping Canadians Safe Act(International Transfer of Offenders); Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act; and, Preventing the Trafficking Abuse and Exploitation of Vulnerable Immigrants Act.

A Police official has said that if British Columbia’s 1,000 habitual repeat offenders were in prison, the work load of the province’s police would be 50% lower. Yes, there is a high dollar cost to keep an offender in prison, but it is also costly to have these repeat offenders on the streets of our communities.

One of the priorities for any civil government is to protect its citizens. These changes will assist the police in fulfilling these obligations on behalf of our government and hopefully assure citizens that they are safe in their communities.

Naturally, we need to consider and invest in the rehabilitation of offenders. Citizens and communities need to reach out to offenders and help by extending a hand to help offenders become productive and law abiding citizens.

Your government’s intent is evident: we are going to take hardened criminals off our streets.

A number of constituents have contacted my office expressing concerns arising from correspondence they have received from the United States Revenue Agency. The United States is one of few countries where income tax is based on citizenship; whereas most countries base income tax on residency. A Canadian working in a foreign country pays income tax in the country where the income was earned. Residency is based on six months plus a day in the country where the income is earned.

If you are born in the United States, even if you have immigrated to another country and taken up citizenship there, you are required by the US Revenue Agency to file income tax. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA was implemented to deter income tax evasion by those that move abroad to avoid paying taxes to the US government.

An example:  one of my constituent’s parents went from Saskatchewan to the US where his father played professional hockey. He was born in the US but his parents returned to Canada when he was only one.  Canada has provided his education, healthcare and other services for which he and his parents paid taxes to provide but now the US government wants him to file a tax return in the USA because he was born there. Penalties are outrageous and logic is wanting.

The Honourable James Flaherty, Minister of Finance, has submitted articles to several American papers expressing concerns over FATCA, making it very clear that Canada is not a tax haven for US citizens. In fact, our two jurisdictions co-operate to prevent it.

Most Canadian citizens, many with only distant links to the US, have very limited knowledge of their tax reporting obligation to the US. These honest and law-abiding people, including senior citizens, now find themselves caught in a nerve-wracking situation. Moreover, because they work and pay taxes in Canada, they generally do not owe taxes in the US. Their only transgression is failing to file the IRS paperwork they were never aware they were required to file.

But, as Minister Flaherty has said, and I agree, the threat of prohibitive fines for simply failing to file a return they were unaware they had to file, is a frightening prospect that is causing unnecessary stress and fear among law abiding hardworking dual citizens.

We support efforts to crack down on legitimate tax evasion.  These measures, however, do not achieve that goal. 

Colin Mayes, Member of Parliament for Okanagan-Shuswap is pleased to announce that the Government of Canada is once again accepting applications from local businesses to help kickstart their innovative ideas by moving their products and services from the lab to the marketplace.

Today, the latest call for proposals under the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program/Kickstart initiative was launched by the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women.

“I am pleased to tell you that the second call for proposals is now available to local businesses. Our Government is putting its support behind local innovations designed right here in the Okanagan-Shuswap,” said Colin Mayes. “The Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program was introduced because it’s an important way to kickstart innovative Canadian business ideas by helping them move from late-stage research and development into commercialization.”

This $40-million program was created to help Canadian businesses by testing their innovative products and services within the Government of Canada before taking them to the marketplace. Federal departments will test innovations that fall within four key areas: environment; health; safety and security; and technology.

The second call for proposals is now available on MERX, the Government of Canada’s electronic tendering service. Successful bidders will see their products and services tested within government departments, and will be given valuable feedback from users participating in the program.

For more information, please visit buyandsell.gc.ca/innovation or look for this opportunity on www.merx.ca.