CHRIS IN THE COMMONS: Fighting for the CPP you're owed

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP)
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-478, An Act to amend the Canada Pension Plan (arrears of benefits).

She said: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce legislation today, seconded by my colleague, the member for Welland, that would allow for full retroactive payments plus interest when someone applies for benefits under the Canada Pension Plan.

The CPP is a pay-as-you-go contribution-based program that is funded solely by employers and employees. It is absurd that a person who is late in applying for his or her pension under the CPP is entitled to only 11 months of retroactive benefits. This is not the government's money. The bill would put an end to this insufficient and unfair period of retroactivity and would do the same for disability pensions or the survivor's pension and a disabled contributor's child benefit.

Ninety-three percent of Canadians are members of the CPP. Making sure that they can access the benefits that are rightfully theirs will help to reverse the tide that is currently sweeping more than a quarter of a million Canadian seniors into a life of poverty.