The NDP will try to foment a new "rocking-chair revolution" this week-end with a cross-Canada tour to rally seniors outraged at talk of changes to Old Age Security.
Three New Democrat MPs - pension critic Wayne Marston, seniors critic Irene Mathyssen, and deputy seniors critic Lysane Blanchette-Lam-othe - will fan out across the country between Saturday and Wednesday, the party said Tuesday.
The MPs said they will meet with groups of seniors at locations of their convenience, and hear their concerns and suggestions about how Old Age Security should be managed.
The three MPs say their offices have been flooded with emails and letters from concerned seniors. The outrage prompted them to launch the tour, Mathyssen said.
Mathyssen said seniors are a force to be reckoned with, as former prime minister Brian Mulroney learned when he cut benefits to the elderly.
"I think this government, by virtue of its back-pedalling and pussyfooting around, realizes it has made a serious mistake," she said. "This is the rocking-chair revolution."
In 1985, Mulroney was confronted by 63-year-old Solange Denis, who accused Mulroney of backtracking on an election promise to leave the pension regime alone, famously quipping that it was now "Goodbye Charlie Brown."
The exchange, which was caught by a television camera, turned So-lange into an instant celebrity, and rallied seniors to push back against threats to their pensions. Shortly after the incident, the Mulroney government abandoned its plans to reform OAS.
In an interview last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the government is examining whether to gradually increase the eligibility age for OAS from 65.
Many suspect the eligibility age will be raised to 67.
The government repeatedly has said that any upcoming changes will not affect anyone currently receiving OAS.
Mathyssen said she hopes the tour focuses seniors on urging the government to leave pensions alone, and to let them know there is one party that will listen to their point of view.
"We're giving them a way to make their voices heard, and let them know they're being heard," Mathys-sen said.
Marston will visit Toronto, Brampton, Ont., Sault St-Marie, Ont., and Dartmouth, N.S.
Mathyssen will go to Vancouver, Victoria and Saskatoon, and Blanchette-Lamothe will visit Quebec City, Montreal, Rimouski, Que., and Bathurst, N.B.
Original Article
Source: edmonton journal
Author: Jeff Davis
Three New Democrat MPs - pension critic Wayne Marston, seniors critic Irene Mathyssen, and deputy seniors critic Lysane Blanchette-Lam-othe - will fan out across the country between Saturday and Wednesday, the party said Tuesday.
The MPs said they will meet with groups of seniors at locations of their convenience, and hear their concerns and suggestions about how Old Age Security should be managed.
The three MPs say their offices have been flooded with emails and letters from concerned seniors. The outrage prompted them to launch the tour, Mathyssen said.
Mathyssen said seniors are a force to be reckoned with, as former prime minister Brian Mulroney learned when he cut benefits to the elderly.
"I think this government, by virtue of its back-pedalling and pussyfooting around, realizes it has made a serious mistake," she said. "This is the rocking-chair revolution."
In 1985, Mulroney was confronted by 63-year-old Solange Denis, who accused Mulroney of backtracking on an election promise to leave the pension regime alone, famously quipping that it was now "Goodbye Charlie Brown."
The exchange, which was caught by a television camera, turned So-lange into an instant celebrity, and rallied seniors to push back against threats to their pensions. Shortly after the incident, the Mulroney government abandoned its plans to reform OAS.
In an interview last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the government is examining whether to gradually increase the eligibility age for OAS from 65.
Many suspect the eligibility age will be raised to 67.
The government repeatedly has said that any upcoming changes will not affect anyone currently receiving OAS.
Mathyssen said she hopes the tour focuses seniors on urging the government to leave pensions alone, and to let them know there is one party that will listen to their point of view.
"We're giving them a way to make their voices heard, and let them know they're being heard," Mathys-sen said.
Marston will visit Toronto, Brampton, Ont., Sault St-Marie, Ont., and Dartmouth, N.S.
Mathyssen will go to Vancouver, Victoria and Saskatoon, and Blanchette-Lamothe will visit Quebec City, Montreal, Rimouski, Que., and Bathurst, N.B.
Original Article
Source: edmonton journal
Author: Jeff Davis
No comments:
Post a Comment