Seniors worse off under Harper government

Statistics Canada data shows seniors’ income lower, poverty higher, & middle class stagnate

OTTAWA – New data from Statistics Canada compiled from 2007 to 2010 shows that Stephen Harper’s economic policies are leaving Canadians seniors and families further behind. The data not only shows that there are have no improvement in family incomes since the Conservatives formed government, what is shocking is that seniors’ incomes have actually declined, pushing more and more into poverty.

“The Conservatives claim that they’re taking care of seniors, but in reality, they’re making them far worse,,” said NDP Finance Critic, Peggy Nash (Parkdale—High Park). “Today’s statistics show what Canadians have known for some time. Since 2007 seniors’ incomes have declined and more seniors are living in poverty. This will only be made worse in the future when Conservative policies like pushing back Old Age Security to age 67 take effect. This is not only poor fiscal management – it’s reprehensible.”

Deputy Critic for Human Resources and Skills Development Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet (Hochelaga) further admonished the findings, saying that “we should be focused on reducing the unacceptable disparities in income levels, not making them worse. The middle-class incomes stagnate, while income inequality continues to grow.”

“It just shows that the Conservatives policies are not helping the vast majority of Canadians. That’s why they’re so quick to slash services like OAS that seniors rely on. Unfortunately, as we can see with their Trojan Horse budget, Conservatives are doubling down on bad economic policies that are leaving the middle class and seniors behind,” said Boutin-Sweet.