10,000 signatures reached
To: Kamal Khera (Minister of Seniors) and Chrystia Freeland (Minister of Finance)
Stop the GIS clawback: Support low-income seniors
Stop the clawback of GIS payments for low-income seniors who received CERB.
Why is this important?
Almost 90,000 seniors will have their benefits slashed because of an administrative oversight. Seniors who accepted financial support to help them weather the pandemic are now having their benefits clawed back by the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA). [1]
Seniors who receive the guaranteed income supplement (GIS) can earn less than $19,248. [2] But rather than support them when they need it more — the CRA is pulling the rug from under their feet.
As winter approaches, more and more stories are emerging of seniors who are struggling to make ends meet and don’t know how they’ll get by as their income is cut. One senior in Edmonton has to keep the lights off and the heat so low that her home is freezing cold, because she can’t afford to pay the bills. [3] It’s unacceptable.
After a pandemic that disproportionately affects older populations, it’s disheartening to see the government roll back support for seniors. But this isn’t going unnoticed. Several MPs and advocacy groups are already sounding the alarm. [4,5]
Now we need a wave of public pressure to get this on the government’s radar. The more signatures we get, the harder it will be for Ministers Freeland and Khera to ignore. Sign this petition now to add your voice.
Sources
[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cerb-cra-gis-payment-clawback-1.6237311
[2] See 1
[3] https://globalnews.ca/news/8347132/low-income-seniors-gis-struggle/
[4] See 1
[5] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-loss-of-gis-because-of-pandemic-benefits-is-creating-a-financial/
Seniors who receive the guaranteed income supplement (GIS) can earn less than $19,248. [2] But rather than support them when they need it more — the CRA is pulling the rug from under their feet.
As winter approaches, more and more stories are emerging of seniors who are struggling to make ends meet and don’t know how they’ll get by as their income is cut. One senior in Edmonton has to keep the lights off and the heat so low that her home is freezing cold, because she can’t afford to pay the bills. [3] It’s unacceptable.
After a pandemic that disproportionately affects older populations, it’s disheartening to see the government roll back support for seniors. But this isn’t going unnoticed. Several MPs and advocacy groups are already sounding the alarm. [4,5]
Now we need a wave of public pressure to get this on the government’s radar. The more signatures we get, the harder it will be for Ministers Freeland and Khera to ignore. Sign this petition now to add your voice.
Sources
[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cerb-cra-gis-payment-clawback-1.6237311
[2] See 1
[3] https://globalnews.ca/news/8347132/low-income-seniors-gis-struggle/
[4] See 1
[5] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-loss-of-gis-because-of-pandemic-benefits-is-creating-a-financial/