The new $13-million national Seniors' Secretariat announced in the 2005 federal budget should help to solve some of the flaws in the Guaranteed Income Supplement program, P.E.I. Senator Percy Downe said Wednesday.
The senator made the remarks at a meeting of Prince Edward Island presidents of senior citizens' clubs.

Downe said the ongoing problems with the program, and the number of eligible Canadians who are not receiving payments, would be an excellent first task for the new secretariat.

He said one of the principal responsibilities of the new secretariat is to co-ordinate government programs and services for seniors. The secretariat will also work with seniors' organizations, conduct research on areas of importance for seniors and work on policy development.

Thousands of eligible Canadians are not receiving the GIS, including several hundred Islanders. The recent federal budget significantly increased the level of support through the GIS, but Downe said far too many seniors are still not receiving benefits.

The government announced last week its intention of increasing the maximum yearly GIS benefit by $432 for a single senior and $796 for a couple. This increase will be phased in over two years at a cost of $2.7 billion.

"Any initiative that improves Canada's commitment to seniors is welcome," said Downe.

While applauding the increase, Downe said a much greater effort must be made to resolve the flaws in the program. He said he first learned about the problems of the GIS benefit in the fall of 2003 while attending a meeting of the Senate Committee of National Finance that was reviewing the estimates.

He said at that meeting he learned that GIS was assisting 39,000 fewer recipients than forecast.

However, Downe said he recently discovered another problem with the GIS.

In response to a newspaper story on problems with the GIS, Downe says he received an inquiry from a senior who found he was eligible for but not receiving the GIS for a number of years.

When he applied, he was surprised to be informed that he was only entitled to a retroactive payment of 11 months.

"However, if you compare that to someone who owes taxes to the government, the same citizen would be forced to pay back taxes for six years," the senator said.

He said government is being inconsistent and unfair in short-changing seniors for an unmet obligation on the government's part and at the same time insisting tax-owing citizens pay the government 49 months more than the government is prepared to pay.

Downe urged the seniors' club presidents to continue their efforts to identify deserving seniors in Prince Edward Island who are eligible but not collecting the GIS.