Question Period Note: BUDGET MEASURES FOR SENIORS

What does Budget 2022 do for seniors?

• The Government of Canada recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact seniors across the country.

• With Budget 2022, the Government is taking concrete measures and making significant investments to help make life more affordable for seniors and ensure that their health and well-being are protected.

• That is why we are investing $5.3 billion over five years for dental care for Canadians, including seniors. We are also continuing our work towards implementing a universal national pharmacare program to make sure that no Canadians, including seniors, have to make a choice between their prescription drugs and basic necessities.

• The Government is also proposing $20 million for an expanded New Horizons for Seniors Program to support more projects.

If Pressed

• The Government is proposing initiatives to help seniors stay at home longer, including creating an expert panel to study the idea of an Aging at Home Benefit.

• Budget 2022 is proposing $50 million in investments that will ramp up efforts to learn more about dementia and brain health, and accelerate innovations in brain health and aging.

• The Government is also proposing investments to speed up housing construction and repairs for vulnerable Canadians, including seniors.

Supporting Our Seniors

• Budget 2022 proposes $20 million over two years, beginning in 2022-23, for an expanded New Horizons for Seniors Program to support more projects that improve the quality of life for seniors and help them continue to fully participate in their communities.

• Budget 2022 proposes the creation of an expert panel to study the idea of an Aging at Home Benefit. The panel will report to the Minister of Seniors and the Minister of Health. More details will be provided in the months to come.

Dental Care for Canadians

• Budget 2022 proposes to provide funding of $5.3 billion over five years, starting in 2022-23, and $1.7 billion ongoing, to Health Canada to provide dental care for Canadians. This will start with under 12-year-olds in 2022, and then expand to under 18-year-olds, seniors, and persons living with a disability in 2023, with full implementation by 2025. The program would be restricted to families with an income of less than $90,000 annually, with no co-pays for those under $70,000 annually in income.

Universal National Pharmacare

• The federal government will also continue its ongoing work towards a universal national pharmacare program. This will include tabling a Canada Pharmacare bill and working to have it passed by the end of 2023, and then tasking the Canadian Drug Agency to develop a national formulary of essential medicines and bulk purchasing plan.

Improving Canada’s Dementia and Brain Health Research

• Budget 2022 proposes to provide $20 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to ramp up efforts to learn more about dementia and brain health, to improve treatment and outcomes for persons living with dementia, and to evaluate and address mental health consequences for caregivers and different models of care.

Supporting the Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation
• Budget 2022 proposes to provide $30 million over three years, starting in 2022-23, to the Public Health Agency of Canada, for the Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation to help accelerate innovations in brain health and aging.

Speeding up housing construction and repairs for vulnerable Canadians

• Budget 2022 proposes to advance $2.9 billion in funding, on a cash basis, under the National Housing Co-Investment Fund, so that all remaining funds will be spent by 2025-26. This will accelerate the creation of up to 4,300 new units and the repair of up to 17,800 units for the Canadians who need them most.

Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit

• Budget 2022 proposes to introduce a Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit, which would provide up to $7,500 in support for constructing a secondary suite for a senior or an adult with a disability.

Connecting Workers to Good Jobs

• Budget 2022 notes that the government intends to engage with experts on the role that a Career Extension Tax Credit could play in boosting the labour force participation of seniors who want to continue to work later in life.

Doubling the Home Accessibility Tax Credit

• Budget 2022 proposes to double the qualifying expense limit of the Home Accessibility Tax Credit to $20,000 for the 2022 and subsequent tax years. This will mean a tax credit of up to $3,000—an increase from the previous tax credit of up to $1,500—for important accessibility renovations or alterations. Doubling the credit’s annual limit will help make more significant alterations and renovations more affordable, including:
o The purchase and installation of wheelchair ramps, walk-in bathtubs, and wheel-in showers;
o Widening doorways and hallways to allow for the passage of a wheelchair or walker;
o Building a bedroom or a bathroom to permit first-floor occupancy; and
o Installing non-slip flooring to help avoid falls.

COVID-19 Benefits and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), 2021 and Future Years

• [Budget 2022 provides] funding [of $456 million over 3 years, starting in 2022-23] to Employment and Social Development Canada pursuant to Bill C-12 (An Act to amend the Old Age Security Act), which received Royal Assent on March 3, 2022. These changes ensure that seniors who received pandemic benefits in 2021 or future years will not have their GIS or Allowance benefits affected.

Old Age Security 75+ One-Time Payment

• In Budget 2022, the government proposes to amend the Old Age Security Act to clarify that the one-time payment made in August 2021 to seniors age 75 and older will be exempted from the income test for the Guaranteed Income Supplement and Allowances. This amendment corrects a reference error resulting from the passage of the Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1.

Allowing Use of Canada Revenue Agency-collected Data for Canada Pension Plan Analysis and Evaluation

• In Budget 2022, the government proposes to make legislative amendments to the Canada Pension Plan legislation to allow the use of Canada Revenue Agency-collected data by Employment and Social Development Canada when performing policy analysis, reporting, and evaluation functions for the Canada Pension Plan. Access to this data would support the government’s commitment to evidence-based policy development and GBA Plus analysis.

Legislative Changes to Canada Pension Plan

• In Budget 2022, the government proposes to make technical changes to the Canada Pension Plan legislation to ensure the correct calculation of eligibility and benefits for a small number of individuals qualifying for the Post-Retirement Disability Benefit and the child-rearing and disability drop-ins. These changes will ensure that the eligibility and calculation of these benefits is consistently applied for all individuals.

Strengthening the Federal Pension Framework

• In Budget 2022, the government proposes to amend the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 and the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act to improve the sustainability and long-term security of federally regulated pensions for all plan members and retirees through improved governance and administration and new frameworks for solvency reserve accounts and variable payment life annuities.

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