Teachers Institute on Canadian Parliamentary Democracy – Applications Opened!

The Teachers Institute is a unique professional development opportunity for teachers of governance and citizenship education. Each November, the program brings together approximately 70 educators from across the country, for an intensive, informative, unforgettable week on Parliament Hill. This is a unique opportunity to experience an insider’s view on the intricacies of government and the ...

Dying with Dignity

We need to grasp the nettle of the thorny ethical problem of assisted suicide and the right to die with dignity. The solutions will not be simple because the problems are complex. Nevertheless, Canadians are demanding better answers. We need to engage in a respectful, informed discussion starting with a review of the various legal ...

Health Care Costs

The widely repeated claim that the growth in aging Canadians as a proportion of our population will drive up health care costs is not supported by the evidence. Empirical evidence suggests that the aging population is not a major cause of increased costs. According to the Canadian Institute of Health Information: “Analyses of the drivers ...

Dementia and Alzheimer’s

The number one cause of dependency and disability in seniors is dementia. Our health care system needs to focus resources on the increase in the diseases of aging, particularly dementia and Alzheimer’s. We need to significantly improve supports for family members. So often a senior becomes the full-time caregiver for their spouse. Particularly, seniors of ...

Fairer Pension Rules

For many retirees from the military, the RCMP, judges and other federal positions, there is a bizarre, arbitrary prohibition for pensions to be continued to the surviving spouse. Superannuation Acts block pension benefits to widows and widowers if the pensioner married after age 65. This odd rule dates back to the Boer Wars of the ...

Pensions

In the spring of 2012, the Prime Minister surprised Canadians, including his own caucus, when he proclaimed from the high perch of Davos, Switzerland that Canadians’ pension system was about to change. With that, with none of it being discussed in the 2011 election, the 2012 budget changed the age at which Canadians qualify for ...

Are RRSPs a solution?

RRSPs are terribly tax inefficient. For the $8.5 to $12.1 billion in annual net tax expenditures (around 30% of total contributions), the median value of RRSP assets by Canadians under age 65 is a woeful $40,000 and those over 65 have less than $55,000 — not enough to rely on to supplement one’s pension, especially ...

Spring 2014 – Supporting Seniors

This issue of my outreach newsletter to you, my constituents, is focused on the issues facing seniors. This is my 60th year (the year in which I will turn 60!) and I have to say, thanks to a successful hip replacement, I feel better and fitter than I have in decades. We have a lot ...

Your Opinion Matters – Supporting Seniors

Also in This Issue… Introduction Are RRSPs a solution? Pensions Fairer Pension Rules Dementia and Alzheimer’s Health Care Costs Dying with Dignity Teachers Institute on Canadian Parliamentary Democracy – Applications Opened! Your opinion matters! Print this page...

Letter to US Secretary of State John Kerry Regarding the Keystone XL Pipeline

Mr. John Kerry Secretary of State U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street NW Washington, DC 20520 March 7, 2014 Dear Mr. Secretary, I am writing you as a Canadian Member of Parliament and the Leader of the Green Party of Canada. I am writing to urge that you reject the proposal from TransCanada to ...